That is all there is to it. I like Daylilies and Iris very well, but these are not the only interesting and beautiful plants in the world. They are vastly outnumbered by more interesting plants, at least for a steady diet.

Looking at this weeks newsletter I see 3 Daylilies photos, 3 Iris photos and three other varieties in the top 9 database photos. For the 9 Multiplant photos there are only three that contain iris's along with other plants. While I would love to see a little more diversity myself, those plants are the most popular plants so they are the ones that are going to show up the most often.

And the way to influence what is published is to contribute photos, and add your 'thumbs' to those you like.

The newsletter simply reports on what happened this week- the members themselves actually dictate what happened.

As Bonehead stated- thumb your favorite (non daylily or iris) photo, and it is more likely to be one of the listed ones for the week.

Even better- submitting *your* favorite plants and multiplant images will ensure that others get to see more variety

Winter is a GREAT time to be adding all of your favorite plants- helps us all dream about spring

I do understand what you mean, but I guess these are the most popular plants or their owners just happen to give more thumbs up and submit more pictures.

It's a numbers game.

There are literally tens of thousands of daylily and iris cultivars. And the point of hybridizing has been to make them more attractive and more varied. And they are very easy plants to make crosses with so the crosses get made. The crosses bloom within a year or two. Many other plants take longer for the hybridizing cycle. And they grow and increase well and are extremely easy plants to share with friends.

And they are very pretty.

And they photograph easily and well.

I think the owners of the submitted photos can not give themselves thumbs up. So the votes definitely come from other ATP members. This shows the trend, at least for this week is the bright and lovely colors of the daylily and iris photos.

I love them all, but it shows me that I need to get busy posting other types of plant photos, and do a better job of presenting them in the best possible conditions. I hope this thread sets off a deluge of submitted photos of all kinds of plants.

goldhillal said:That is all there is to it. I like Daylilies and Iris very well, but these are not the only interesting and beautiful plants in the world. They are vastly outnumbered by more interesting plants, at least for a steady diet.

After joinining ATP some months ago I didn't use it. A main reason for not using it, other than general confusion, is that every time I accessed it I would see the pics of irises and day lilies. And then I'd log off. It gave me the impression that there was a slant or emphasis re these plants. (I have nothing against them per se and have many NOID irises that I have liberated.) So now I'm avoiding our TX heat and trying to figure out how to use this site and when I saw this comment felt compelled to add my 2 cents. Nuf sed.

Favored plants seem to come and go in waves. Lately I've noticed lots of interest in hen/chicks, which are all so diminuitive to me they barely make it into my personal list. I do appreciate that they come in lots of different colors and such, but I don't remember which one might be tucked where. I just enjoy them where they pop up (and some seem to disappear quickly), but they seem to be quite popular lately. Roses were big for a while as well.

I'm not a fan of any one particular plant, so just roll with what the current craze is and wait for the next favorite-child to come along. For those who tire of daylilies or iris or whatever, seek out other forums to participate in and perhaps drive more interest in other directions. My current passion is attempting to restore native habitat, which is fairly complex and doesn't really have a specific forum - so I poke around in the Wildlife, Wildflowers, Water Features, Bird/Butterfly forums along with my regional forum and try to ferret out or begin discussions specific to my current interest. Which may change in a heartbeat...

And, alternatively, if you really don't want to be exposed to a steady diet of daylillies and irises, unsubscribe from the newsletter for a while. Or give it a glance and a toss. Seems rather a non-issue to me.

Im tired of same ol pics. To ! I gests skip em. The newsletter ? Skip over to. Vote 4 flower ! I didnt vote ### l just go to fourms i like. An dats few ! Im into veges.
Different an unusual flowers an veges !
Your ok bonehead an you too tex__sue

He's got his own language green, just roll with it.

Well, I spend lots of time at the veggie forums too.

I too have noticed all the Irises on this website and in the newsletter, but I did understand that this was because the Iris is more popular right now. Kudos to all those Iris lovers who like to post. I like the Iris photos also - they are quite beautiful. I hope the Amaryllis lovers will post more, because that (and roses) are my own favorite. So hey all you Amaryllis lovers and hybridizers, please get posting!

I think it's gotten worse since the new plant pictures don't show up on the left side anymore. I used to scroll down and give lots of thumbs up, but I don't do that anymore. I also liked that it was limited to one plant per user so even if someone came along and posted 20 Daylily photos, you would still see a good "mix" on the side, unlike the photos recently added to the database which seem to appear exactly as they are added. Meaning, if someone adds 20 Daylily photos in a row, that's all you're going to see unless you keep hitting refresh. I don't make it past my "recently watched threads" anymore.

Good point, Mellie. I appreciate photo contributions of the single best bloom shot and/or to different parts of the plant (bloom, leaf, stem, etc.), rather than the same bloom from every conceivable angle - but all contributions are welcome. I also miss being able to give a thumb on the fly - I used to scroll down and give out thumbs/nuts like candy. Seems that now one must actually open the posting to give a thumb -- or am I missing something? I do realize the site in still 'in progress' due to the merge of ATP with NGA and try to just patiently wait for things to settle in. I also have a scrolling aversion (I use the keyboard more than the mouse), so if I have to keep scrolling I just move on to something else.

I agree with Melanie and Deb. On the home page there is a huge blank space under the "Recently Tipped" list. I miss seeing the individual pics of flowers contributed by the members. These are now below the multi-plant lists, and if I wanted to see more of single plant pics I have to click on more... I crave "eye candy" of individual flowers. Furthermore, I have noticed that the "Today's featured plants" list is growing.

I do not add pictures of the same bloom at the same angle the same day but am guilty of adding pictures of near perfect blooms of the same rose taken during the season and even following year. For example I have contributed a number of pictures of rose Marilyn Monroe. Maybe that is repetitive but if I load one today a new member might see that cultivar for the first time. This holds true for all plants/blooms. I enjoy seeing fresh pictures on the home page when every I look in.

Good point Paul. I look forward to the time the actual photos will be categorized somehow. I know Dave has given this some thought and hope it may be a winter project. Half the work would seem to be done, as we already do categorize them when adding to the database. There was discussion a while back on the best way to implement that - tabs or some other way. I often find it useful to check out photos of newly emerging growth to better identify what I planted where. I also find it useful to see how a plant appears after their prime when they can be pretty ragged or scruffy looking. All photos are helpful.