I've split this post into two parts: the one with plant question has been moved here, and this part is now in Questions and Discussions about UBC Botanical Garden. -- Daniel I have tried to use the hort line but its hours are so short that somehow I always miss calling during that time. I also must say that your site does not invite questions. I guess perhaps you don't WANT questions. I can understand that. But I hope you will reward my persistance since I am on the verge of buying a lot of something to go next to my cryptomar or whatever. It would be satisfying to have a lot of the same thing. Dorothy Sikora
Hello, As you can see from the History of Horticultural Extension at UBC, Hortline was a funded operation until 1989. During the mid-80s to mid-90s, UBC Botanical Garden lost roughly one position a year, every year, because of annual decreases in its budget. Among the positions lost was a staff member dedicated to the service. In the time since, the UBC Friends of the Garden have stepped in to make some service available, volunteering their time and expertise when money was no longer available to support the free service for the public. I apologize on behalf of the garden that the hours can be inconvenient, particularly in a world where 24 hour service is expected. We are making steps to improve things a bit by adding voicemail to Hortline so that people can at least call and leave a message. Despite the loss of another position due to a budget cut this year (in public education, no less - a position that helped support the Hortline on difficult questions), we hope this small change will improve this free service for the public. With regard to the site: by saying that the site does not invite questions, I can only assume you mean the part on our contact page where we state Please do not ask gardening or plant questions by email. It's because we have this alternative (the forums) that allows everyone to participate and learn, with sometimes a much more rapid response time (and the potential to correct and disagree). If, instead, you meant the user interface on these forums, I agree that it's not the best. There is a learning curve, but the people from around the world who participate on the forums are friendly and patient with questions when asked with kindness, as are the staff and volunteers at the garden on here. In closing, I hope you now feel that your persistence has been rewarded, as your plant question posted had been answered within minutes of its posting by a generous member of this little plant enthusiast community. I had also posted a reply, and I hope that despite the fact that the answers were similar, I added value to the original answer by providing an extra tip for information searching. Please also inform your spouse that faculty members of UBC are invited to become complimentary Garden Pass Members at the garden.
I visit this site on a very regular basis for a variety of reasons. One only has to look at the varied posts to see how dynamic and alive it is - posts from all over the world and a very wide range of interests and levels of expertise. There is also obviously a willing, helpful and committed pool of contributers who are actually involved with plants in a varied of situations. Gardeners who so new to the hobby that they need help to identify and grow "easy" plants are obviously comfortable in posting and are not intimidated, while there are also the gurus who are very generous in sharing their knowledge. It is far more efficient and fulfills an educational function to a greater number of gardeners if all of our questions and answers are available to all rather than on a one on one email basis which is time consuming and inefficient. Many thanks to UBC and all the other amazing folk who contribute. Margatet
