I used to belong to Dave's Garden until they started charging for it. Candidly, does anyone here believe it is advantageous to also belong to DG?

I don't, particularly if DG is now a fee-site. The database here is always growing, and if I don't find what I want here, I just do a general internet search to fill in whatever info I'm missing (and update the database if appropriate). I could not imagine trying to keep up with more than one website, particularly if one is active in the forums. I also really like the My List feature here, it makes is so easy to keep track of my garden inventory, categorized how I like. That said, some folks do stay active in both and I'm sure they will weigh in.

I was a member of DG for a few years but left quite a few years ago because I didn't like the way the site was being operated under the new ownership. I also really disliked a lot of the ugliness that seemed to be happening between members on some of the forums; it seemed like there was more arguing and nastiness happening, than a pleasant, sharing community. I left ... and never looked back! 🌿 All Things Plants 🌻 which eventually merged into The National Gardening Association became my new "home"!

edited to add: DG may still have other non-gardening related forums that you enjoy and participate in and if that's the case and you feel the subscription fee is worth it, then you have to decide for yourself whether you want to pay for access. In my opinion, when it comes to Gardening Forums and Plant Databases ... there is no comparison; garden.org is THE BEST

No

@caitlinsgarden,
I visited the "Old Garden" for a while but did not like the way people treated each other. NGA is a better site. The admins are fair, honest, and just plain nice. To me, there is no sense in belonging to both garden sites unless a person wants to keep in touch with some old friends who decided not to jump ship when they had the chance. (That's my opinion; others may feel differently.)

Years ago I was always at Daves Garden. Then it's like it became a ghost town, at least on the forums I frequented. I rarely go there anymore. I love garden.org. I like the format much better.
I do like gardenweb also but not as much.

I agree with Plantladylin. I stayed for awhile after the change, but their tec crew took forever to fix a glitch, which were frequent. Here, Dave or one of his family respond to complaints, almost instantly. And also respond to suggestions by members. We make an effort to be polite. All this for free. You can't beat it!

Thank you! This is pretty much the answer I expected! "Dave" is here, now?

caitlinsgarden said:Thank you! This is pretty much the answer I expected! "Dave" is here, now?

Yes, Dave Whitinger and his family own and run this site ... the reason it's the best on the internet!

I still belong "over there"..........the only reason being the "Coffee and............" group, which is a closed group. I would miss my friends there mightily............and they are not going to leave and come here because there is no place that we could chat and "spill our guts" without everyone knowing it. At least there isn't any forum here like that, as far as I know. I may be wrong.............I am most of the time. I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

I agree with most of you. The whole atmosphere here is pleasanter. I dropped my "Daves" membership after a couple of years and only visit their free features occasionally. This site is without equals.

I never joined Dave's Garden but I was on many other garden forums. I came here once I discovered it. I must say the drama-free atmosphere is very unlike most discussion forums. It is a pleasure here!!

plantladylin said:
Yes, Dave Whitinger and his family own and run this site ... the reason it's the best on the internet!

So good to know. This site is vastly superior. Glad Dave is here.

quercusnut said:This site is vastly superior.

Yes it is!

Glad Dave is here.

Many of us were extremely happy after Dave Whitinger sold DG and started All Things Plants ... which then merged with garden.org when his family acquired The NGA .

The one thing I prize DG for is the hardiness listings for each plant. It's the most reliable source for that kind of info that I know. Many commercial sites do a great job of listing the hardiness of the plants they sell, (the one piece of info that's really important to be accurate when buying anything but annuals) but none of them have a comprehensive database of most plants.

The pics @ DG used to be high quality, now they all look washed-out and pixelated on rare occasions when I look at them, and hate the way I'm forced to click through one pic at a time.