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 We update
the site every Sunday with new articles. If I am away I may not always put
my update on the main page but the articles are always new and fresh each
Sunday. I travel quite a bit and it is not always easy for me to get to
computers or internet cafes while away. If there is an article that had
provided you with much needed information, please take a moment and send a
note to the writer. They are very important to all of us and I know they
would appreciate hearing from you.
Our Help
page will be continually updated to bring you the latest in helping you, our
brand new garden visitor, find your way around our site...it really is easy,
so I hope you will continue to enjoy your visits here and let your gardening
friends know about it as well.
Have you
checked out the Events area or the Clubs area of the site? These areas are
both set up so that you can add either if not listed already. If you have a
gardening event happening in your area, and it is not listed, then please
feel free to add it - just make sure spelling is correct. If your club is
not listed, please check at your next garden club meeting to see if the
board would like it. If they do, please have someone from the board fill in
the form so that we may set you up.
The garden
forum is set up so that you may ask garden related questions...we encourage
you to use it so that you can all learn from these questions.
Please also
visit our Pix area of the site...this is where we have put all the recaps of
my trips and tours, plus here you will find our garden pictures.
We try and
put out a newsletter each month...if you have signed up as a member you will
receive it and if you have just put your email in at the bottom of the home
page, you will receive it as well. Please make sure you have put your
correct email address in or you will not receive it.
We invite
you to visit our main resource site
www.ICanGarden.com but also to click our latest website devoted to
our gardening tours only
www.gardeningtours.com
We love to
see all the new members we have sign up each week. Our membership
information is private to us only, and when you fill in the form, please
fill it in as fully as you can. It tells me where you garden, how you came
to find the site, and what other things you are interested in. The sign up
at the bottom of this home page is just to receive the newsletter. It does
not give you access to the members area. That requires email and password by
you!
When you
sign up at the top of the home page with your email and password, you signed
up for our members area ... this will give you access to the Forum, Email
Pals, Seed Savers, and the Live Chat. You can 'lurk' in the Live Chat and
Forum, but you cannot participate unless you are signed up .... which of
course is always free.
www.gardeningtours.com lists our upcoming garden tours -
this will be our 13th year so if you have never come along on a tour with me
before, make this the year you do!
ICanGarden is FREE to our visitors, we are supported by
an excellent array of garden suppliers as sponsors. You can help us by letting these sponsors know you appreciate their
support of our website.
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
You may have noticed that
we changed a couple of items on the home page
last month.
 We added a new area on the far right hand area that
provides a direct link to a number of items on the site
like tours, books, and other products.
Finally, if you still
can't find what you are looking for - email us at
donna@icangarden.com
More next month....
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
As I mentioned in the
last newsletter, ICanGarden started with a number of
goals. One of the other goals Donna had in mind was to
help garden clubs everywhere. We know first hand how
hard it is to create a web site, manage a web site and
fund a web site.
As part of our commitment
to help garden clubs, we have developed a set of tools
that allow clubs to have their site at no cost.
To get your club online,
simply click on the "clubs"
main menu, and then click on the "add
a club".
Once you have filled in
all the basic information, click on "submit". Once we
receive the information, we will set it up so you will
have your own site with all the features of a calendar
of events, a section on other pertinent links, a full
discussion forum, and a section for your own articles.
You will be in full
control of you site, you will have the ability to
advertise your site to your members and to prospective
members of your community.
If there are other items
we can help you with in promoting your site, we are here
to help.
Finally, if you still
can't find what you are looking for - email us at
donna@icangarden.com
More next month....
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
Are you a garden
supplier? Do you know a supplier of great gardening
items? We have a section in ICanGarden.com called
Suppliers where we list almost 1000 suppliers and we'd be
happy to list any other companies that would be of value
to our members.
To get your company
online, simply click on the "supplier"
main menu, and then click on the "add
your supplier to our database".
Once you have filled in
all the basic information, click on "add this
catalogue". Once we receive the information, we will
review the catalogue / company.
We also list over 1200
gardening links but we are always looking for new links.
If you know of a web site that isn't listed and you
think it should be, send us an email with the
information.
If there are other items
we can help you with in promoting your site, we are here
to help.
Finally, if you still
can't find what you are looking for - email us at
donna@icangarden.com
More next month....
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
ICanGarden started with a
number of goals. As part of her vision Donna wanted to
help gardeners find information, allow gardening clubs
to create their own site at no cost, and allow garden
suppliers to provide information on their products and
services. Donna also wanted to give seed savers/sharers
a place to swap seeds, and a place for gardeners to
showcase their gardening achievements. A calendar of
events allow gardeners to review upcoming events and
gives clubs and associations the ability to promote
their workshops, lectures, sales or any other event of
interest. Over time she added a forum where gardeners
could ask questions of one another and a live chat where
every Sunday they could chat with gardening experts like
Art Drysdale.
At the heart of
ICanGarden are the writers. There are over 200 garden
writers that provide a weekly collection of relevant,
timely articles.
There are no costs to you
as a visitor -- you can enjoy the thousands of pages and
lifetimes of experience shared by other gardeners. There
are some sections that we ask you "log in as a member"
as these areas contain some information on you that we
don't want to be made public.
Use the "search the site"
at the top of the site to locate articles, books, sites,
forum items, events, catalogues and seed saver items.
There are also members
area and help which contain their own areas of
information. Don't miss the main navigation "Bar" on the
home page as it opens up to numerous other sections of
the site.
Finally, if you still
can't find what you are looking for - email us at
donna@icangarden.com
More next month....
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
The ICanGarden site is
comprised of numerous sections to help you locate the
information you desire. Over the next several months, I
will be providing an overview of the various areas of
the site.
Last month we looked at:
Navigation
Member Login
Main Search
Home Page - recent articles
 This
week we will look at how ICanGarden is set up to help
you find even more information. For instance if you do a
search for something like "roses" - you will find that
the results are broken down into Document (Articles),
Forum entries, Books, Links (other sites), Classified
entries, Products, Events & Catalogues.
When you click (or
choose) one of the articles, not only does ICanGarden
show you the article but then on the right hand side of
the page there are numerous other "related" items
like articles, catalogues etc. By following the links to
these other related articles you will find other even
more expansive related items.
 Also,
I want to make sure you don't miss the many other areas
contained in ICanGarden - did you know there were almost
5,000 articles written by almost 200 garden writers,
with almost 1000 catalogues, over 700 garden books, almost
1,200 sites/links, hundreds of scheduled events, over
7,500 garden pictures (some from the most famous gardens
of Europe and England - as well as from gardeners across
North America) and over 500 garden clubs from around the
world.
These areas are located
under the main headings found on the home page.
More next month....
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Tom's Site Tip of the Month
The ICanGarden site is
comprised of numerous sections to help you locate the
information you desire. Over the next several months, I
will be providing an overview of the various areas of
the site.
Navigating around
ICanGarden can be done many different ways:
There are several other
items on the homepage that are extremely useful.
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Member login - by using the Member log in on the
home page, you will have access to all member
specific areas without having to log in again.
Further, in the future we plan on offering specific
specials to members only when they log in. |
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Search the site. If you are hunting for something
specific, like GMO (genetically modified organisms)
or violas this little search box will show you any
related articles, books, forum discussions, events,
sites, swaps or catalogues. In each case the search
shows the category, the total number of matching
items and then the first 5 results. Simply click and
follow the links. The
home page also displays the most recent activities
within the forum. The forum is a very active area
where gardeners help each other by answering
questions posted by other members. |
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The
home page also shows the most recent articles in two
ways - the entire list of new articles (top) and
then the same articles broken down into the sections
on the right under the various sponsors. |
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Once you have chosen a
section from the home page, like the Articles for
instance, you are then offered another series of choices
to help you more refine your research.
More next month....
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