Information in the database is presented on the screen in a simple and clear manner, so it is not necessary to remember the details, but here is a description of the plant data just in case it is of interest.
Each plant is held in a central set of records known as the Plant
Master. The records have a number of fields, all of which
may be used as search criteria:-
Name (botanical name)
Common Name (or names - a list, up to 255 characters)
Synonyms (old and alternative botanical names)
Plant Family
Plant Type (shrub, tree, grass, etc.)
Description (free-text)
Cultivation (free-text)
Propagation (free-text)
Design & Use (free-text)
Additional Notes (free-text)
Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Ground cover
Scented, aromatic
Poisonous or irritant (searchable as include or exclude)
Edible
Medicinal
Season of interest
Leaf colour
Flower colour
Fruit colour
Stem or bark colour
Growth rate
Height (searchable as min or max)
Width (searchable as min or max)
Growth habit
Full sun
Part Shade
Shade
Dry soil
Moist soil
Wet or waterlogged soil (includes aquatic)
Clay soil
Sandy soil
Coastal
Notably tolerant of varying conditions
Soil pH tolerance (acid, alkaline etc.)
Soil pH preference
Minimum temperature
USDA Hardiness Zone (min and max range)
Area of origin (native region for species, or place of breeding
for cultivars)
Pictures are kept in separate Picture
Libraries, linked to the plant records by the botanical
name so that picture thumbnails appear on teh screen when plant is displayed. Any number of pictures can be associated with each plant. The
picture records consist of:
Plant name
The image itself (embedded or a path to it)
Caption
Photo credit
Notes field
The name, caption, photo credit and notes fields are searchable.
User plant lists can be created, using the botanical
name. There is no hard-coded limit to the number of lists stored
or the number of plants in each list. While normally seen as a
simple name list, each list item can hold detail information fields.
Duplicate names may optionally be allowed in order to record different
locations and sizes etc.
Plant name
Location
Plan ref. number
Size
Quantity
Cost
Notes (free text)
The plant names in the lists are linked back to the master
records, so that all plant details may be quickly browsed .
