I've updated the homepage to the Green Pages. Instead of showing the full list of companies, it now gives you the A-Z letters to click on.

The search engine is added, too. You can now search for companies by name. You'll see it on the homepage. Also, while inside the feature, the search box on the top-left will also search just the green pages.

Yea! That's great! Thanks, Dave!

GREAT! Thanks.

Someone said that, in ATP, "Ask and ye shall receive." I don't want to blaspheme, but I do want to agree with that comment.

@Dave, I've been using Christianson's Nursery as my guinea pig for this feature. I've re-edited their product list to just include those they are really strong in, rather than all the products they actually sell (most of the list). What I don't know how to do is pick the 'type' of company - this is not a mail order nursery, it is a physical nursery. Where is that choice?

Deb, at the moment there is no way to change an entry from one type (ecommerce) to another type (garden center) so for now I have to manually change them (and I did change this one.)

I'll at some point in the future have the ability for people to propose changing the company type.

Ok, and thanks for making the change. I'll keep playing with this great feature - thanks!

Hmm, maybe I'll take my camera to my favorite local nursery and write a review for them. Lots of people come to Savannah as tourists or as college students, so it may be useful information to them.

Here's a random thought on the Green Pages feature - would it be useful to include the state location on the initial search list? So far, there is the name of the company and how many recommendations. If I was searching for a good native plant source (for example) I would likely choose one near my general area over one farther away. An example is I buy all my vegetable seed from Territorial Seed (either via e-commerce or at local seed racks) which produces seed specific to Pacific Northwest conditions. Another example is I was searching for a white mulberry tree, and ordered through a company in Oregon (one state south of me), figuring their stock would be more suited to my conditions than a nursery down in Florida. Also, theoretically less time in transit. ??

Great Job Dave!! Thanks for all your hard work!!!

Thanks Cat.

Deb, I'm definitely going to include location in the search. It's on the upcoming feature list.

Another possibility would be yet more checkboxes for "specializes in".

PNW seeds
Southern vegetables
Northern (cold-hardy) flowers.

After all, if "Location" is the location of an online store, they might not specialize in that region at all. For example, where is Parks' corporate location?

However, at some point, there might be too many check boxes. Maybe, maybe not.


Territorial Seeds - Vegetables West of the Cascades
Ed Hume Seeds - short season and cool climate areas. ... high altitudes and early or late planting in warm climates.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - Mid-Atlantic and Southeast,

RickCorey said:Another possibility would be yet more checkboxes for "specializes in".

PNW seeds
Southern vegetables
Northern (cold-hardy) flowers.

Honest question here: which companies specialize in the above? And what is a southern vegetable?

Cat said:Great Job Dave!! Thanks for all your hard work!!!

Dave,

I guess "regional seeds" could be a misnomer. Instead of PNW, one could say "short season and cool climate areas". Maybe "large daylength variation".

Instead of "Southern", one could say "hot summer".

Instead of Northeast, "short season and cold winters"

But "PNW" is how I think of Ed Hume and Territorial, since they are local to the PNW and advertise that way. Ed Hume is kind of a NW "personality" and many of his awards and books are regional.
(GARDENING WITH ED HUME, NORTHWEST GARDENING MADE EASY. )

Territorial Seeds - "West of the Cascades" is the term they use

Ed Hume Seeds - short season and cool climate areas. ... high altitudes and early or late planting in warm climates.

Here's one company that advertises itself as specializing in a region:
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - Mid-Atlantic and Southeast,

I'm not wedded to the idea for the Green Pages, but when I look at a new seed company, I always check out their "about" page to see where (and whether) they have a trial farm, and whether they claim to be particularly familiar with and stock seeds for my region.

Regional specialization could easily be stated in comments or reviews instead of check-boxes.

P.S. I think you've added really great features to this, and it's already the most usable and helpful "Recommended" feature I've seen online. Is it getting heavy usage already? It seems to be filling up with new data very rapidly.

Ok, I just added a garden center and wrote a review. How do I note what they specialize in? Should that have been part of the review? I couldn't find anything to check at the bottom of the page.

There is currently no specializing checkboxes for garden centers. That only is setup for ecommerce-only companies.