Where do I find the list of badges?

Hi Teri,

Go to your profile page (click on the little person icon at the top left of this page.) Under that first section you will see something that says Manage your microbadges, click there and somewhere it should say Manage and add badges.

I sent you five 's so you can purchase a badge of your choice.

I also sent you acorns to get a second badge!

plantladylin and jvdubb -- how did you get so many acorns? what is the best way to get them?

Terri, go to the bottom of this page and click on Acorns, which will explain how to acquire nuts. Posting pictures and comments to the database is helpful to all, adding a local garden event will garner 5 acorns for each event, and at times members will also send you a nut or two for an informative post, or just for the heck of it. Good luck!

Okay, not to brag, but I have over 1700 acorns squirreled away. So how did I do it? Well, a super easy way is to upload pictures to the plant database. Everyone likes pictures! I'm lucky to have several really nice botanical gardens around me where I go and take a picture of the plant, and then take a picture of the tag. But you can do the same thing at any nursery, Lowe's or Home Depot. In fact, I did the same thing at Lowe's last week and actually found several cultivars we didn't have pictures for yet! And if you're the first to add a picture, you get two acorns!

Another easy, yet informative way is to write a plant comment. Tell us how you feel! Did you have success with a certain plant, did something fail in your garden, did it get too aggressive, or just never thrive? Tell us all about it in a plant comment and get an acorn. Also, you help your fellow gardeners make decisions on whether they want to grow that plant or if it might do well in their area.

Ooh, one of my favorites is going to plant shows. Similar to the first idea, and so much fun. For example, there's a Rose show coming up on Saturday at a local mall just in time for Mother's Day. Plant shows are very good about labeling their plants so you can be pretty sure about the names, even if you know nothing about roses, like me. Again, I take a picture of the bloom, then take a picture of the form where it lists the name. Acorns, ch-ching! Also, it's a good way to get out of the house and have garden fun without sweating.

Thank you so much for the thoughtfully gifted Acorns!!! I have a tough day ahead of me tomorrow and purchasing my first two badges will be something very nice to look forward to. I have truly enjoyed the time I have spent here and I think I'm going to start adding plants. I took a picture of my blooming amaryllis today. I'd like to find where to share it and earn my first acorn!!

Badges are about the only thing I can do with my acorns as I'm outside the US and excluded from raffles etc.

Hi Kniphofia Sue I am new here so I don't know all the different options. Is it not possible to barter or trade acorns for plant seed or ?? -Terri

Terri, to add your photo, click on the Plant Database. It's easiest to then use the search box to find your plant. If you know the cultivar, that's great, but if not, most plants have what we call a "parent entry". Here is the link for the parent entry for Amaryllis: Amaryllis Scroll allllll the way down the page to the section called "Adding Actions". Click on "Upload a photo" and follow the instructions. If you need more help, just ask.

As for acorns, we use them to buy badges, reward other members for outstanding work, and to participate in "Not-A-Raffles". We call them that because there's no money involved, just acorns. They're only open to US members due to shipping costs, legalities over shipping plants to foreign countries, etc. I never participate in the raffles because I have very particular plant tastes, but we do have some good vendors that offer the prizes. Back before I joined, I heard they had an opportunity to buy mugs and t-shirts with your acorns (or money if you didn't have enough acorns). Maybe that will happen again once we settle into the new name. I wouldn't mind an NGA t-shirt.

No need to scroll "Scroll allllll the way down the page". In the blue section of the left side by the second row of images is the same Adding Actions section.

But then you miss all the pretty pictures!

True dat! But they could distract you so much that by the time you get to the bottom, you forget to add your own image.!

Thank you! Ohhhh I'd LOVE to have an NGA tee or sweatshirt! Is there somewhere to leave (Dave or...?) a suggestion?

I purchased my first two badges and posted my first picture, adding it to my plants data base!!! Woohoo!!!

My ATP tees are getting a little ragged. I wear them all the time. Perhaps @Dave/@Trish will allow for use to purchase the (new) NGA tees with acorns or a combination of acorns/cash.

Yes! That would be a wonderful way to show our passion and pride as well as promoting the new NGA. I only have a few shirts from our local nursery "Pikes" that say "I love to play in the dirt!" so NGA shirts would be welcome additions.

Another way to get acorns is to write an article or a short tip.

I think at one time, the way to submit them was to Tree-Mail them to Trish ...

nope!

The second row in the left-hand menu bar is "Ideas and Articles".
Click that.

You'll see a list of gardening ideas, plus a big blue "Submit one here" link.

Long articles got as many as 50 acorns each in the past.
Short tips get fewer.
Photos are almost require for articles, but sometimes Trish has added them.

I'm not positive that tips and articles are being fervently sought right now: we don't get many new ones posted on the Home Page.

I think we took a little break with the article because it was winter and not much was going on. Also, Dave and Trish had this big change coming "behind the scenes" so they were probably busy with that. But it seems like they've made a return recently. The butterfly thread keeps telling me I need to write some. I know some of my posts could be articles!