Moon's Graden

Should have ability to do usual top-side viewing (w/ multi-angle scan),
pre-drawns of popular shrubs/trees (as well as operator-drawn), and handle
elevations for terraced areas, etc.

Anyone know of any programs like this?   Thanks!

Harsh-
                       /* my views */

Oooops !!  for some reason I am unable to send you a mail, I get "unknown host"
error from my mail-handler, so if you are still in need of the software review,
please send me a mail at:

The file (I just saved the articles from the net ... and it might not be all
that complete but is a good start) is long and I hate to have to post it on the net.

Harsh-
                           /* my views */

                                                          Bill Miller

What have you used in the past?
Are these general design programs that you have adapted or are these
specific to landscaping and Garden design?
Have you ever seen anything just off the shelf in computer/software
store?

Charlie - Sorry.  I sent that message before signing off.  Bad
nettiquette!

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Kristen Jessen

Are there any existing databases available in the Internet to get by using
FTP. If so - can you point me in the right direction.

I suspect many folk would be put off "doing it themselves" because of the
huge amount data (mostly text) they would need to input.

--
Tim

I've been trying to help out the arboretum at North Carolina State
University (NCSU). It is badly in need of a way to track its collection
of about 10,000 individual plants. The collection is constantly
changing. I guess this is more inventory than landscaping, but I am not
sure the two are really different.

Their problem with existing database tools is really graphical input and
output. One arboretum staff member refers to it as the "Camellia Society
Problem". The Camellia Society comes in and wants a map showing all
camellias in the collection. With existing database tools all you can
give them is a _list_ of all camellias and their bed number and them a
preprinted map of the bed locations. Since the beds are fairly large
it's still difficult to locate the plants in the beds. No where near as
user friendly as it should be.

Conversely, when a new bed is planted, the plant locations often come
back in the form of a sketch of the bed. The precise locations are not
as important as the relative locations. It would be much better to be
able to scan in a survey or aerial photograph of the arboretum and then
point and click at bed locations on the survey - this plant here and
that plant there - and so on. The plant coordinates would then be
automatically stored in the database. Then for output, you could print
out the entire bed. Alternately, to reduce the visual clutter, you could
print out only what's attractive _now_, e.g. not print the Narcissus in
August.

I'm no database expert, but the ones I've investigated won't let you
interact with images in this way (at least not the Macintosh ones). I'm
willing to learn a database and write the program they need but not if
we can't do everything we want. The NCSU arboretum reports to me that
this is a problem at arboreta all over the country. There's a great
product in there somewhere for a talented programmer.

Thought you'd like this perspective.

Arthur W. Kelley

|
|I'm an electrical engineering professor (and sometime programmer) whose
|hobby is gardening - sometimes I wish it were the other way around.
|

[Stuff Deleted]

|Their problem with existing database tools is really graphical input and
|output.

[More Stuff Deleted]

|It would be much better to be
|able to scan in a survey or aerial photograph of the arboretum and then
|point and click at bed locations on the survey - this plant here and
|that plant there - and so on. The plant coordinates would then be
|automatically stored in the database. Then for output, you could print
|out the entire bed. Alternately, to reduce the visual clutter, you could
|print out only what's attractive _now_, e.g. not print the Narcissus in
|August.
|
|I'm no database expert, but the ones I've investigated won't let you
|interact with images in this way (at least not the Macintosh ones). I'm
|willing to learn a database and write the program they need but not if
|we can't do everything we want. The NCSU arboretum reports to me that
|this is a problem at arboreta all over the country. There's a great
|product in there somewhere for a talented programmer.
|
|Thought you'd like this perspective.
|
|Arthur W. Kelley

Sounds like what you want is a GIS (Geographic Information System).  There are
many available and are used by the Forest Service and various branches of
state and local governments.I believe that most GISs can do what you want, I
don't know what's avaliable for MACs, though.  Good luck.

Sylvia Dutcher