While I think that the "FAQ" as outlined by swanoir was presented tongue in cheek ('the humus'), many of the subsequent comments and/or links to threads that could/should be included in a FAQ were presented in a more serious tone. And maybe they do make sense as a foundation to a real LD forum FAQ. But I've also sensed something else in these comments that may contribute to the apparent lack of communication between new posters seeking advice and those that regularly frequent this forum and offer it. And that is that the long checklist provided by Miss R must be (or should be) answered in detail before posting. Well, of course not! But it is definitely something worth reviewing and giving some thought to. This checklist, or something very similar, is what most designers utilize when first meeting with a prospective client. It gives them a feeling for what the client wants to do with the property, how they intend to use it, what they hope to get out of it and how much effort (time/$$) are they are intending to put into it. Hopefully, reviewing an outline or checklist such as this could help to refine and focus some of those blank slate questions and even educate those new posters totally unfamiliar with the process the degree of complexity, the number of variables and exactly what is involved in the formulation of a landscape design. Even DIY landscape texts intended for the homeowner with no previous design or landscaping experience offer similar checklists to get one started thinking about the process. Obviously, this is overkill for those questions that are more issue-specific, but I think very appropriate for those that are much broader and far less focused.

The only thing Dave has said that I can disagree with, is that it's 'simple' to find all your posts by typing in your user name in a search. Yes, it does bring up all your posts, but it doesn't bring them up in chronological order. If you've been here for years as many have, you could have many pages of posts to review before you might stumble upon your most recent posts. I gave up on trying to find my posts in that way. I did decide to 'check the box' on each thread I post to, so that it will be sent to my email. That was not easy either. I had to contact support because after repeated efforts to set my account to allow emails, it wasn't changing it. Once I did contact Tamara, they did change it and now I do get emails for the threads I'm following. But, I don't always get them and sometimes they come into my email box days later. lol But, for now, that is working the best so far for trying to keep up with threads I am following. But my email box is now needing a lot more time weeding out. I use the Cornell site to read reviews on different vegetable varieties and like that site. I have however started following others' suggestions that Google/Gardenweb searches turn up better results than GW and have found that works better for me sometimes. I try the search function and if the results are just too random and I find myself *sighing*, I just start a new thread and ask for what I need. edit: I see someone above has said, that sometimes other members 'insist I do a search'. I have rarely had that happen to me, thankfully. My way of looking at it is, that every subject we discuss is a repeat of some earlier discussion. Some of the forums, especially over the winter, are so inactive, that any discussion is a bonus, even a repeat one. If we all did searches and found the answers we needed, we wouldn't need to be discussing live every day. And btw, even if you find posts on the subject you are looking for, they are not always giving you what you want. Sometimes there will be 3 posts on a thread. Or the exact question you wanted to ask was not discussed. Or the person on the forum with the most experience was not on that day. This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Fri, Jun 27, 14 at 17:07

Foliage has always been important to me. Blossoms are nice and are a large part of the garden, but foliage is what carries it through the seasons and makes a landscape garden, instead of just a cutting garden for blossoms. When I see people's gardens on the internet usually I see a collection of close-up flower pictures. That's not a garden, it's a nursery catalog. It has no sense of 'place'. The setting is just as important as the foliage or flower in my mind. Where is it located in the garden? Also, I've noticed there seems to be just pictures of perennial foliage. That limits this Forum quite abit. What about conifers and trees I know there is a separate forum for those, but I think they should be included here too. In fact, anything without blossoms being the main part of the picture qualifies as far as I'm concerned. ""

Claire, I am not sure I've ever heard the term cute associated with starlings . . . ;>) Jane, that series of robin photos is absolutely stunning. I am always interested in the content of photos, but this month there have been a bunch of really lovely photos as far as composition and clarity. I'll submit some photos which are a bit more basic than artistic. I'm not sure how Claire gets such stunning turkey photos. Ours are very wily, and if I open a window or door to take a photo, they jog off in the opposite direction to the nearest shelter. So mine are taken from inside the house, and often through a combination of screen and glass. During the recent snowstorm, our local flock scooted across the road and down into the cornfield. I managed to catch a couple of photos before they disappeared into the evergreens to find shelter. They were moving much faster than usual; definitely looked unhappy about the weather. Arriving down the access drive into the field: From Turkeys in the snow December 27, 2012 And halfway across, scuttling rapidly towards shelter: From Turkeys in the snow December 27, 2012