Latest News and developments on The Garden Network

• What our members say - A handful of the great feedback we've received from our membership, a snapshot of views on how the site continues to blossom - CLICK HERE.
• Support us! - Would you like to help support The Garden Network? We appreciate any help members can give in making this FREE resource even better - CLICK HERE for how...

After the 'Jobs and Recruitment' group was started several weeks ago, we thought their may be a need for a central area for all members to advertise job vacancies, CV's or anything else gardening related for sale, swap or barter - so hence our new 'Marketplace'...

• Jobs and Recruitment - post your CV details as a classified, or add current job vacancies for your business...
• Tools and Equipment - sell garden or power tools you no longer use, or find specialist landscaping equipment you need now...
• Landscaping/Planting Materials - sell excess materials/plants from your project or garden - or find what you need here...
• Edible Produce - excess produce from your Allotment? You could swap it for something you dont grow here...
• Contractor Required/Services Available - Homeowners outline your project and request a quote, contractors can advertise too...
• Training courses - do you have places available on your training course, or do you need some training for you or your employees?

Use the search facility or browse classifieds by category. Got an idea for a Category - LET US KNOW HERE. For more details on using the Marketplace - CLICK HERE.

• Careers - After several requests and posts from career changers, students and garden business startups, we have canvased opinions from some of our more experienced members and produced some guidance on legal advice, insurances, marketing, qualifications and industry salaries. Its not trying to be the definitive guide by any means, and there will be more added in the future as the site develops - but will hopefully be of help to our newer members. For more details visit our Careers area - CLICK HERE.

• Member Polls - This is everyones chance to have their say about the gardening industry! We have created our Members Polls area, so you can cast your vote on subjects relating to you. This way, different members can learn more about each other - so Homeowners, Gardeners, Students and Businesses can benefit from greater knowledge on other members likes, dislikes and opinions. For more details on this unique, real world market research excercise - CLICK HERE.

Its fair to say, members are taking to this really well. Commissions are being awarded, homeowners are finding contractors, beginners are getting help, businesses are making new contacts, students are getting advice and we are getting some very positive feedback - many thanks for all your comments! We took a look at the data for last week...

• Over 200 new members in a week
• 46 new members in 1 day!
• Up to 20,000 page views a day
• Over 400 new friendships in the week
• A total of around 1500 messages sent
• Around 4,000 Profile, Blog and Album pages

Just a couple of the great comments we've had...

Jo Alderson, multiple Chelsea award winning designer "A big thank you to the garden network as I have just received a super commission as a direct result of this site! I wish this site had been around years ago - it is a fantastic resource & shows what a friendly & generous community of people are involved in the gardening world - it's quite inspiring!"

Wayne Richardson, garden landscaper, Kent "...thanks 2 garden network i have received my first job from this site, so its getting out 2 the public...big thanks garden network crew keep up the good work..."

Linette Applegate "...designers are meeting new landscapers, homeowners are commissioning projects and businesses are forming valuable new connections, it's great to see..."

Thanks also to several members who have passed on rumours about future membership charges. We will take this opportunity to clearly state that this site is FREE for members, with absolutely NO plans to make it subscripition at any point in time. It seems a few individuals/organisations are a little 'worried' about the arrival of 'Web 2.0' and the internet shifting from static websites to user-content sites like The Garden Network. Plenty more 'industry firsts' on the way yet!

• Exclusive Discounts - Several of our specialist members have offered some superb deals on a range of innovative garden products including lighting, tools, gazebos and buildings with as much as 20% off. All discount deals are for registered Garden Network members only...CLICK HERE for more details, or to signup for FREE now CLICK HERE!
• More Discounts - If you're a business and have a discount offer, you can now add this to your profile (visit Profile [edit] and go to 'What I Do' and scroll down to the bottom)

• Videos - We've added a selection of helpful gardening videos from across the internet, a little online guidance for our beginners, homeowners and amateur members...CLICK HERE.

• Voting System - Members can now vote on Photos, Albums, Blogs, Groups and Events. Hover over the star you wish to give an item (rated 0 to 10) and your vote will be cast. Expect some prizes later in the year for the most popular, so get snapping and let eveyone see your gardens - what's popular with members should soon become evident!
• The Homepage - We've reworked it a little, adding a new box to display the most recently uploaded garden photos and more Blog categories
• Example Photos - It's now rebuilt, to show the last 20 garden images uploaded by our members - CLICK HERE to take a look at the lastest images...
• Example Profiles - Also rebuilt, to show more on recent logins, signups and popular members - CLICK HERE to see more...

• Photo Albums - Some stunning albums and images uploaded, but don't forget to add titles and descriptions relevent to their subject, so visitors using the search can find them!
• Starting Groups - Some very interesting Groups have started already, remember to use 'Invitations' in your Group admin area to get it off the ground!
• Code of Conduct - We've tweaked to our 'Code of Conduct' to make it more clear why links only work in Profiles - CLICK HERE. Don't forget to check your Profile link works!

Horticulture Week describes The Garden Network as "...a networking website that looks set to become the 'Facebook' of the Horticulture world." - CLICK to see why...

• Code of Conduct - We've just made some key changes to our 'Code of Conduct' relating to website links, well done for everyone's patience! CLICK HERE for more...
• Blog Categories - Don't forget when you create a blog entry, to 'File' it under a category, so visitors can find your entry using our Blog Categories - now added to the Homepage.

We've just finished re-structuring some of the top-bar navigation, to better organise the 'example content' links on the left and 'member type' links on the right. More soon...

• My Course - students can specify their course (linked to the Member Search) so you can find other students studying a similar subject (visit Profile [edit] and go to 'What I Do').

• Live Chat - members can now make use of the new 'Live Chat' - visit Chat on your grey bar. It's a quicker way to communicate. To pre-arrange a chat with a specific member, try using a Message to agree a time to both be there - or just drop in and join the current chat online. Hope you enjoy! For more details on our new Chatroom - CLICK HERE

• New 'Membership Level' Profile Field - if you are a member of a Professional Association with several 'Membership Levels' - you can now specify this in your Profile (visit Profile [edit] on your grey bar, and go to 'What I Do'). For example... Membership Level: Registered Member for registered SGD designers.

• New 'My College' Profile Field - students can specify their college, which is linked to the Member Search area so you can find other students from the same college (visit Profile [edit] on your grey bar, and go to 'What I Do'). For example... My College: Writtle College if you are a Writtle student, tutor or lecturer.

• Featured Area - you can now see the latest Blogs, Events and popular Groups (not Private ones) quickly, which updates automatically - CLICK HERE.

• New Profile Fields - we have added a couple of new Profile Fields (useful for businesses) visit Profile [edit] (on your grey bar) and go to 'What I Do'.
• Using Groups - useful guidance for using Groups on The Garden Network - CLICK HERE
• Discussion Boards - a new Group function, you can now discuss many subjects within a Group using 'Discussion Board' postings - just like a 'mini-forum'.

• Homeowners Tips - some advice for Homeowners, on how you can use the site to choose the right business for your project - CLICK HERE
• Tips for Business - help for 'social network' beginners, on how to get the best from the site - CLICK HERE

Join the fun now, everyone is welcome - you just need to register. CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP - it only takes a few seconds!