It sounds like a very worthwhile project to me. I can't help you with how to set it up, but I can tell you how I'd like it to work, lol.
If you could list the plants and then tick off a box which corresponds to all the criteria you've listed, for ex.seasons? colours? growing conditions? etc. Then when a plant is selected the computer could pick all the plants that match that criteria. Does that make sense? Is there a program that would do that? I'm picturing a page with the perennials listed down one side with the criteria listed across the page.

Maybe you should write a book on the subject. It sounds like you already have a lot of the required material. Good luck with your project.

A worthwhile effort, but not one you can accomplish with a single draft.

I think you need catagories. The same plant can be listed many times in different catagories. Like you said, bloom times, colors, growing conditions etc.

Start out with as many catagories as you can think of( you may want to eliminate some or include some together in your second draft) and your list of plants

Have a page for each catagory and under the catagory list your plants with references to other catagories. For instance it might go like this.

catagory--YELLOW FLOWERS
Correopsis, sunray--- 14 to 18 inches tall, bloom time, all summer, companion plants, veronica spicata or blue salvia.

Each one of your descriptions (plant height, bloom time, companion plants) will be a catagory and have correopsis listed in it.

When you have it all done, I would print it and put each page in a protective sleeve(dollarama sells the 10 for a dollar)and a binder so you can take it with you outside.

Great idea!!!--I think I will make a book of my own.

I think I have a better idea than making the catagories first.

List your plants and do the blurb like I did with correopsis. Then pick your catagories from the list. I still think I would put the same plant in each catagory. That way if you wanted to look up yellow flowers or what to plant where or what goes with what, you'd just go to the catagory and it would be there.

hi celtic,

i agree...great topic!
I'm always conflounded by how to organize info to make it useful...too many options.
have you ever used a database program like Microsoft Access? i recently took an online course on it to help with my cattle herd info. but i think this might be a good application, too. it seems intimidating at first, but if you take a course in it and keep the instructions on hand, its not at all.
the boundless info you enter can be sorted however you want and transferred to graphs and charts.

i think doing a series of color coded charts(laminated), one for each a category (bloom time, planting site, shade/sun etc.) would be handy to keep on hand in the ol garden shed.
the trick would be to combine all the different information (plant name, color, rate the combination maybe 1 to 3 or color code a check mark to represent a fair, good, or excellent combo) along with more than a two plant combo...is there a way of doing a chart from more than 2 sides and have them correspond where they meet, almost like a mileage chart?
let us know how it goes!

Thanks for your ideas. I'm still stuggling with how to formate the catagories. I think once this has been done it should LOL be easier to enter the data I have.

Ideally I hope to be able to enter the plants I hope to use along with the site and it will pop up info re compatable plants that siut the site and are a visual good companion!

Too much to ask for? not a computer person- however I have a friend who is a computer programmer and designer- only they're not gardeners and I will have to do a lot of explaining.

Xtreme gardener I'll have to look into Microsoft Access and see if it will work. I think this "project" may be one of those" Bite of more than I can chew"It will certainly keep me busy and 100's of hours at the computer- my HD may feel quite deserted-I'll enlist him into the project He-He-He-.

I've gone to the companion forum but started at the oldest rather than the newest to see if there has been and ideas already. Great site if you have'nt been there yet.Pleas keep the ideas coming as I greatly apprciate them all-- Maybe some day I'll do a pamphlet of this info with an acknowldgement longer than the plant list!!!!

Take care all.Haven't seen recent postings from a lot of people- perhaps they went north-opps I mean south for the Winter. Lois