BRIDGING THE GAP BET WEEN TWO WORLDS
Despite the increasing shift from paper to electronic media distribution, which is totally at the mercy of the grid, much is still available through more than one medium. For example, The American Horticultural Society publishes both print and electronic versions of its magazine, The American Gardener.
“ We don’ t really change much between digital and print editions,” said David Ellis, AHS director of communications and the magazine’ s editor.“( The website) is usually more about adding extra information beyond what we have space for in print.”
Unlike hard copy, online resources can be readily updated with new information, disinformation, or be erased. You can easily delete a defunct nursery and add a new one, or update plant nomenclature, which changes with new taxonomy.
“ Keeping current is important for our audience,” said Ellis, who notes that the magazine often lists both former and current plant names for continuity.“ When we use websites to check plant names, we want to make sure those sites are on the cutting edge of nomenclature.”
For native plants, Ellis recommends the USDA PLANTS site, which details native and nonnative plants and identifies plants that are potentially invasive in North America. For cultivated plants, The Royal Horticultural Society’ s Plant Finder, based on both organizations’ reliance on sci-entific research.“ Knowing that a professional is doing it in a professional and unbiased manner is important,” he said.
“ Most of us trust the National Park Service and the EPA and their employees,” Jentz said.“ But lately there seems to have been a shutdown of information. I haven’ t gotten press releases from USDA Agricultural Research Services, which had the most relevant recent research coming out of the government.”
But that’ s another story – look for it in On the QT’ s August issue.
GWA member Nancy Taylor Robson lives on the rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, where wildlife both enhances and challenges gardening, as well as other aspects of life.
East coast setting for GWA gathering
The GWA regional meeting in the Boston area included a stop at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, where Region I members and guest were on their best behavior.
Region V gathers at Brenton Arboretum
PHOTO COURTESY KIRK R. BROWN
EDITOR’ S NOTE: In mid-May, Norwegian government officials announced that the Svalbard seed vault had flooded, due to soaring temperatures in the Arctic at the end of the world’ s hottest year ever recorded. That caused the permafrost to melt, and heavy rain to fall instead of the typically light snows. Although no seeds were lost, the world’ s best-designed doomsday insurance plan is now threatened by climate change.
Attendees of the GWA Region V meeting June 2-3 begin a trek through the collections of the 141-acre Brenton Arboretum near Dallas Center, Iowa. The first GWA Region V meeting to be held in Central Iowa attracted 21 members and guests from 6 states: Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Ohio, and Virginia. Visitors attended programs at The Brenton Arboretum and the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
PHOTO COURTESY DEB WILEY
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