Pimp my garden? JK

A great idea,,,,,,,,,,,,A step by step pictorial outlining the process from seed prep to mature plant. harvesing inf and winter prep cou;d be added. had this idea once myself

I like it. I think this market is huge.

I looked around the web and found many sites for gardening.

This is one that seems to be like your idea.
http://www.greenweb.com.au

You have Notification idea that seems novel.

I think you could have something good if you make your self out shin the rest.

]V[oogy

I think your idea is great but as Moogy said there are many sites about gardening. But you can try to be different. Good Luck my friend.

sounds like a possible http://www.hypeshere.com/gardening/htm =)

try to innovate, even a whole island is being formed and manmade into new landscape... your Idea could make some difference as perspective exchange for their project.

good one!

Great idea! I wonder if you thought of taking a more philosophical slant to make your page stand out? As in you mention how man has (re)shaped his surroundings since the the earliest of times. This is an interesting angle and gives the gardening theme a more artistic and humanist feel which could set you apart from other sites.

I have more to say on this if it is up your street....

Loads of luck :-)

I think a website like you describe could really take gardening resources on the web to new levels. There are many "social" elements you could add to a website like this to really stand out from and offer more than other gardening websites. Offering tools like a yard planner (much like furniture sites offer room planners) or suggested varieties based on locations to aid in the decisions involved in starting a garden would be useful.

Keep in touch vanhees!

Thanks for all the comments!
I do think there is a great potential both commercially as terms of numbers of users for this site. At the moment I'm not sure whether to sell the idea or turn it into a business.
Tommy

Wow. Sounds like a great idea!

I like the social aspects of it. Tips and hints would be great. Groups from different regions can post tips about growing in that region. I can see local nurseries paying to be advertised to people near them. (Although if you are a real gardener, you know which nursery you like.)

I also like the idea of getting a "celebrity" gardener or two to blog on the site, and then maybe being a clearinghouse for other gardening blogs.

And posting pictures...I know from personal experience that gardeners love to show off.

Sounds like you could make this work. Myspace for gardens.

Great Idea!

Keep going!

I believe the idea is good. Except not really original. Because there are lots and lots of gardening sites on the inter-web. So, there would be a lot of heavy competition with existing sites.

I love the idea of a gardening website, here's my slightly-crazy take on this idea: http://www.cambrianh...er/ideas-id/dnAQY4S/

hey man y not include something about saving the environment to it too...i would be a good catch i guess!
and also u can include gardening tips!...which can indirectly be like ads if you wish...were in the the content credit can be given to whom so ever concerned !!

cheers'
varun

So, how exactly dose this site compete with the other gardening websites all ready up?

http://www.garden.org
http://www.gardenguides.com
http://www.gardenweb.com
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/
http://www.hgtv.com
http://www.gardenguides.com

They all have major domain names and are full of more content they you could possibly produce in a reasonably time period.

Link Fix:
http://www.garden.org
http://www.gardenguides.com
http://www.gardenweb.com
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/
http://www.hgtv.com

Gosh cambrianhouse has a broken post system.

hey gooback7 - I fixed up your posts. When posting links in comments you don't have to enter any HTML code, just type the link as it would appear in your browser address bar - i.e. http://www.cambrianhouse.com - the system will auto-hyperlink for you.

but now for the real reason I'm here, to post a comment... :)

I think going after a niche market like gardening is a great idea - as a novice gardener I probably wouldn't sign up for the site but I might go to the site to find out what people in my area have planted/growing successfully - (sort of like a recipe book for flowerbeds/pots - there are books out there like this already).

Getting community members would be your critical success factor since more members = more traffic = more advertising revenue. What would be your plan to attract community members?

Hi Christine.
Imagaing you can pull this of, the rest is peanuts. You have to contact each and every garden magazine there is (and thats a lot) they are always on the lookout for something to write.
Tommy

I'm sure I have commented on this but maybe my comment was on a similar idea.

Go for it. There are many gardening sites, sure, but so what. It's OK to do another one, make it your own style and if it's good, people will come.

how do you figure 2 billion?

Patrick: there are so many garderners out there.

There seems to be a lot of positive response on this idea. Make it so!

Thanks Fitzpatrick.
The trick is that i'm an idea man and I need someone to do the job if you know what I mean.
Tommy

Good Idea. I have a KOI Pond with different aquatic plants in and around the pond. There are specific sites for both the plants and the fish in it. How to care for each, what to do each part of the year, etc. There are also opportunitied to share widsom back and forth, ask questions and post pics of succeses. I think your idea would be great if you start out with a specific site in mind like a Rose Growers site, or Tulips, etc. Maybe even as broad as Landscaping in general or Vegetable Gardening. Grow out from there. Sell add space back to other sites or suppliers. Hold contests voted on by other subscribers. Best Rose, Tulip, or Garden, etc.

Gardeners arent geek!

KRT
Good idea.
Of course the gardeners could also form special interest groups with this site.
Tommy

ooh ooh ooh I want this. I am a garden freak. Much of the information I find on the web is meant for other growing areas that are warm. We have such a limited growing season here in Canada I would really like to connect with gardeners who know our weather conditions. When to plant, when to put the garden to bed, fertilizers etc..

btw, does anyone know how to split a Hosta safely so that 1 or both don't die?

nice idea. I'd like it if there was a garden planner so you could design a virtual garden.

Good idea!

Hi There has to be a market for this idea

Hi There has to be a market for this idea

annievee
Just split them by tearing them in two or use a knive..
You cannot hurt a plant
T

Thanks for all the nice comments.
I know this can be succesfull, but the problem is that I'm not the person to build this. I develloped, but in the pre web time.
Tommy

Good idea, don't let competition hold you back - even the gods of CH say somewhere that it's all in the execution - lots of people have the same ideas.

On a different note I'm a little wary of a online gardening community founded by a guy who says "you cannot hurt a plant"...

i actually like this and simply wanted to improved this if i have the hand to check the other existing sites....

I like the idea very much. I do agree with KRT in that you should start out focusing on one specific area of gardening and grow with demand from there. Attempting to cover everything from the start would not only be difficult, but I feel it would detract from the quality of the experience. Find a niche that you're interested in, that also has a market, and go for that.

@Selise

"nice idea. I'd like it if there was a garden planner so you could design a virtual garden."

That is an awesome idea. Imagine if you could upload photographs / videos of your garden & have the files converted into a computer generated layout onto which you can easily add & remove bits and pieces. Fantastic!

Sounds like a great idea, I also agree that there is a huge market for this sort of thing if done correctly.

I would love to be able to type my co-ordiantes into a website, and receive emails on a regular basis; which would alert me as to choice of plants flowers etc, (together with photos') which could potentially thrive in my garden/climate. The ability to order them from the same site would be a big plus.

Perhaps the site could also concentrate of modern day concerns, such as (esthetic) security etc. i.e. plants which discourage unwanted visitors.

For instance in my case. Whilst security gates and decorative walls are practical around the entrance. I use thick bamboo planted closely together, as an alternative to 12' high fencing in order to protect the remoter areas of my country estate. In other areas I blend in brambles, whitethorn etc.

You could make it into a facebook application. Though not sure how many in the gardening scene are also facebook users....

Love the idea. I garden but often miss out on proper pruning and harvesting. Something to remind me would be great. How would you account for variations in latitude?

This is a great idea. The gardening market is enormous. I like most people can't do it. I would love a service like this.

Great idea, you could start this today using Ning.com. I have used them before for several projects. They provide a social networking platform that is free to use. You can upgrade to get your own domain and insert advertising for ~$25 per month.

Looking forward to hearing more about your project, good luck!

When you get a chance, I would appreciate any feedback on my idea too. Thanks!

I like the plants catalogue idea. The fact that gardeners are proud :D makes the true potential of this idea.
You can even create contents from time to time, e.g. 'Biggest Watermelon' or something like that.
Good luck :)

Ups, typo.
I meant contests / gardening competitions.

Interesting idea. You might check our website http://www.wijzerinmijntuin.nl. This sites helps to promote personal garden books that are printed on demand from a database. Inside these garden books you will find your personalized garden maintenance calendar and an interesting description of each plant in your garden (see the examples on the website). However, the database is different than other plant databases and focuses on:
1) What is interesting about having this plant in your garden (it's USP's more or less)?
2) The specific maintenance for this plant made easy (e.g. there are several sorts of Hydrangea/hortensia, but what about the one in MY garden)?

We tried to bring this concept online (including monthly emails "Your garden maintencae for this months" or by SMS "This Saturdauy is a great day for pruning roses"). The biggest problem we encountered is the commercial model. The Dutch advertising market for garden related products is very small and scattered too. Making the database internationally does not simply mean translating the information but also adding plants and changing the existing information (e.g. when to prune) as the climate is very different.

Currently, we are no longer producing the garden books as we were not able to sell the amounts we needed. However, we have a large customer oriented plant database, pictures, etc. Did anyone take this idea further and is interested in it?

Heiko Bleeker
ForMe BV