International Rock Gardener – New SRGC Site Feature

[Lvandelft]

This is exactly why I love the SRGC and the Forum!
The people behind it could be already very satisfied  with the results
till now, but they always think about innovating the website.

The new feature is simply wonderful and magnificent!
Thanks for that.

[Hristo]

Simon and I have upgraded to Acrobat reader 9.3 from 5.0 and can now open this new resource.
Certainly a step into the future for the SRGC.

[Maggi Young]

I couldn't get it to open, but maybe it is another one of those bandwidth things

Simon and I have upgraded to Acrobat reader 9.3 from 5.0 and can now open this new resource.
Certainly a step into the future for the SRGC.

Aha, so that was the difficulty? So glad you have found a simple solution!

[Richard Green]

The presentation is great.  Perhaps each issue could have a theme?  For instance concentrate on an in-depth view of plants of a particular area, or a genus, or a type of habitat?  I began to think that the theme of the first issue was blue/purple/pink flowers until I reached the yellow Draba on page 13 !

To produce it monthly, the editors must be confident of having enough material, and having seen some of ZZ's offerings on the Forum recently I am sure that is right.  But I am also sure there are many of us who could contribute a bundle of pix with some commentary for our expert editors to put together.

[Maggi Young]

At the moment we are looking  more for a mix of items in each issue, with short pieces of information, to better pique the interest of readers who may be coming new to these plants and places.

To go into any subject in depth would be a problem for the size restrictions of our online format. If a particular item generates great interest, of course, there is always the Forum for further discussion and sharing information.  The Forum presents reeaders with a vehicle to add their piece to the mix, without the editors waiting and hoping that a number of contributors can be assembled on a certain subject at a certain time. A degree of serendipity and spontaneity is hoped for : and we are, most assuredly, as we stated from the beginning, more than keen to hear from anyone who would like to contribute.    Already we have some offers on the table...... we urge more of you to join in! 

[Ian Y]

Like Chris and Simon have discovered you will need Acrobat reader 9 or higher to view the new online magazine.

Because we want to include as many good quality images as possible while at the same time trying to limit the file size to 3MB or less we need to compress the files.

We are using Acrobat 9 to create and compress the documents, older versions may not be able to open them properly. It only takes a short time to down load the latest version from the link and it is well worth it.

Thank you all for the encouraging reception.

[Blue-bellied Frog]

Great presentation and photos.

If you have something very interesting, that can need more than 3 Mg, why don't make a part 1. part 2, etc..for that month?

Just a suggestion

[Stone Rider]

The presentation is great.  Perhaps each issue could have a theme?  For instance concentrate on an in-depth view of plants of a particular area, or a genus, or a type of habitat?  I began to think that the theme of the first issue was blue/purple/pink flowers until I reached the yellow Draba on page 13 !

To produce it monthly, the editors must be confident of having enough material, and having seen some of ZZ's offerings on the Forum recently I am sure that is right.  But I am also sure there are many of us who could contribute a bundle of pix with some commentary for our expert editors to put together.

To keep high standard and the refreshing variety, only the best photographs and smart compact articles (up to 200 words)will be prefered. Please, take the party with us. Zdeněk

[David Nicholson]

Just caught up with this one, a cracking start, well done all of you.

[Richard Green]

That now explains the approach better to me.  I am happy to party ZZ!  The mix of stunning photos from the wild and practical cultivation advice is a winner.  I am looking forward to future issues already.

[Tony Willis]

I have just found this one. It is superb,what a great first issue.

[David Sellars]

This is a fantastic innovation.  I particularly like the focus on alpines in the mountains and open garden cultivation.  I also like the notion of serendipity and spontaneity as it will make going to new issues more interesting.  I have a couple of suggestions.

For the layout I suggest that International Rock Gardener be at the foot of each page. This would ensure that if a single page is reproduced, the origin will be clear.

Have you given any thought to using Google as the means to index the magazine?  Google will index it anyway, of course,  but there may be ways to make it more effective so that after a few years it is not necessary for the SRGC to provide an index.  I am not an expert on Google (and it seems to be changing all the time!) but if you do have International Rock Gardener as a footer on each page, items in the document might be more focused in a Google search.  For example if you wanted to search in the magazine for all references to Saxifraga you would use the search terms Saxifraga "International Rock Gardener".

[Maggi Young]

Great suggestions, David, which we will take on board.

It is fantastic that we have the Forum to make tapping into the multifarious talents and opinions of so many international rock gardeners so simple!
thanks!

[Stone Rider]

This is a fantastic innovation.  I particularly like the focus on alpines in the mountains and open garden cultivation.  I also like the notion of serendipity and spontaneity as it will make going to new issues more interesting.  I have a couple of suggestions.

For the layout I suggest that International Rock Gardener be at the foot of each page. This would ensure that if a single page is reproduced, the origin will be clear.

Have you given any thought to using Google as the means to index the magazine?  Google will index it anyway, of course,  but there may be ways to make it more effective so that after a few years it is not necessary for the SRGC to provide an index.  I am not an expert on Google (and it seems to be changing all the time!) but if you do have International Rock Gardener as a footer on each page, items in the document might be more focused in a Google search.  For example if you wanted to search in the magazine for all references to Saxifraga you would use the search terms Saxifraga "International Rock Gardener".

Thanks David for your sincere interest and help. I will be back in White Rock B.C. for a few days in June so I must see you and your interesting garden too. Zdenek

[David Sellars]

Zdenek:

We were sorry that we had so much snow a year ago that you could not see anything in our garden.   We have had very little snow this winter and none at all in January. We sent it all to the UK !

June would be a much better time for you to come and we look forward to your visit. If you are interested we could also make a trip to our local mountains.  There is one location in the mountains in British Columbia where we can see Lewisia tweedyi and it is in flower in June.