Plants Map Journal: September 2014 Update

Here’s what is growing at Plants Map!

This week we started work on Plants Map 2.0 and soon we announce the launch of several significant site improvements. We are working to make the site easier to use and beginning to add social features and more advanced maps. Visit PlantsMap.com and grow with us!

Got Sunflowers? Show us!

Add your pictures to Plants Map and in our next Journal update we will feature some of the profiles that have added sunflowers. Click here to Add a Sunflower!

Thank You To Our Growing Community!

We’ve picked a few profiles to showcase this month. Check out these great gardens, plants and photos:

Have You Updated Your User Profile Yet?

Add a photo of yourself and share your gardening bio and tell about your growing interests and activities. We’re adding a section on our Plants page so that users can find each other or search for gardeners with similar interests and connect. This is a heads-up for you so that you can jazz up your profile before we turn on this feature!

Plants Map Is More Fun When Shared!

Please share this email or your Plants Map profile and invite those you know to Sign In and showcase what they are growing! It’s a great way to be able to see, learn and experience what your friends, family and others are growing. Plants Map is a website so there is no “app” needed. It just works in the browser on your smartphone, tablet or computer!

Business Profiles Launching Soon

If you are a business or a professional, we have profiles for you coming soon! If you would like more information and want to be included in our launch please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear your suggestions and ideas on how Plants Map can help you grow your business.

Our Awesome Social Network Followers!

We want to extend a special thank you to Bren Haas for her great blog post & video on Plants Map: Interactive Tagging Connect People with Plants. She writes, “Once you add your plants, shrubs and trees to the website you can order interactive tags that will totally BLOW YOUR MIND!”

Welcome To Our Newest Organizations

Featured Organization

Village of Gridley, IL – Susan Laiming contacted us about Plants Map Signs for trees in Westboro Park in Gridley, IL. Their village has planted over 40 trees that were donated by community members and in memory of others. We assisted with setting up their profile, importing their trees inventory and have just delivered Plants Map Signs to put in the park. We would like to thank the Village of Gridley for contributing to our growing community and we hope you enjoy the signs.

Nonprofit profiles for ‘green’, botanical, schools and horticultural organizations are free. It’s an opportunity for garden clubs, tree programs, plant societies, public gardens and community gardens to gain exposure for their projects and programs, increase volunteers and members and reach more financial supporters as well. Start a free nonprofit organization profile today or contact us for more information.

Plants Map Tags & Signs News

We continue to get strong interest from around the country in our interactive plant identification signs. We can now import plant lists for people and organizations with large plant lists. Visit theConnecting People With Plants page for more information.

This month we delivered Plants Map Signs to two of our first organizations that started profiles on Plants Map: Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative and the Utility Line Arboretum at Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech. Thank you for helping to grow our community very early on and we hope you and your visitors enjoy the signs!

From Dave in Ontario (Canada) –

You mean the tags connect to a webpage for each of my plants?

YES! Plants Map is about telling the stories of your plants! Add a plant and each one you add gets its own webpage where you can tell the story in your own words with your photos and notes. Plants Map Tags and Signs are optional but they allow for easy access to update your plant’s webpage with notes and photos from your smartphone while you working in your garden. Tags and Signs allow visitors to your garden to see your photos and information on your plant webpages.

Upcoming Events

Be sure to visit PlantsMap.com on September 26 as we premier a new video created by Ciel Productions that tells the story about Plants Map and shows how we’re connecting people with plants.
September 19-20 – Plants Map will be introducing more people to ‘fingertip gardening’ at theLewis Ginter Botanical Garden Fall Plant Sale! Come out if you are in the Richmond (VA) area and stop by our booth for a special treat. Did you know Fall is also the best time for planting
September 26-28 is Startup Weekend Fredericksburgand our cofounder, Bill Blevins, will be participating this year as a coach. If you are in the Fredericksburg (VA) area this is a great event to attend to find out what it’s like to be an entrepreneur for a weekend. You just might launch a great idea too!
October 2 – Plants Map is excited to exhibit in the first DC TechDay: a science fair for tech startups. This is an opportunity to gain exposure to consumers, investors, press and other startup enthusiasts or those interested in joining our development team. Admission to attend is free so if you are in the Washington DC area check it out.

We are looking for interns interested in GIS, programming, database development and other business tasks. Please share this email with anyone you think might be interested.

Your ideas, suggestions, feedback or comments are always welcome. Contact us at[email protected]. We are growing a new community one plant and one garden at a time with your support!

Thank you and Happy Fall Gardening!

Have you visited Plants Map on Pinterest? We have collected some great pins on Fall Recipes, end of season Gardening Tips like seed saving, and ideas for creating beautiful Fall Containers.