I use a Mac program called "Delicious Library." It was originally designed to house book collections, which is why I own it, and if you scan a book's barcode it will automatically download and enter relevant data and art. I so wish it could do the same thing with Hoyas!

I like keeping databases and I am very particular about the programs I use. It took me years to find a recipe database I was happy with, and I actually considered using that program to house my Hoyas, but DL won out.

I was looking for was a program that had the ability to house the information I need to track, including photos, and could easily export to other shareable formats.

I did consider using Excel, as I do a lot of work with Excel and know all its hidden treasures, but it's hard to include text paragraphs and photos without it becoming cumbersome to thumb through. I suppose you could keep individual tabs for each plant and then create a set of overview tabs that pulled data from the others, but it's still kind of wonky for the amount that I intended to record. It just isn't intended for that kind of utilization.

There are three major downsides to "Delicious Library":

1. You cannot create your own categories, or edit the names of existing categories. There are a lot of categories, and only the ones you are currently using are visible. However, the categories have collections like books, music, clothes, and antiques in mind, thus my "foliage" category is named "format." I imagine they will improve this on some future update.

2. You cannot associate more than one photograph with the entry. I'd like to be able to include yearbook photos of my own plant as well as a representative photo of someone else's mature specimen.

3. It does not encourage rich text formatting (e.g. new paragraph, indent, bold font), which makes my notes section look like a badly edited newspaper column.

The upsides to "Delicious Library":

It's easy and attractive to work with. I CAN get all the data I want in there. It exports very easily to xcel, txt file, and even html, making it easy to quick update my GW profile or send a trader a current version, while controlling which categories they can or cannot see. I also like that it has a "browsing" view and a "editing" view, so when I'm just searching it to determine whether I have a certain species, or how long I've had a plant, everything looks tidy and streamlined. Naturally, it also does all the stuff you would expect of Excel, allowing me to look at my collection as a series of sortable columns, so, come winter, I can sort by heat preference, and get a short list of all the plants I need to worry about keeping warm.

This is what I keep in there:

1. Full name of plant
2. Publication data
3. Section
4. Description of foliage and vine
5. Description of bloom and scent
6. Growth habit
7. Country of origin
8. Date of acquisition
9. Price
10. Size at acquisition (cutting, small plant, established plant)
11. Vendor/Trader
12. Preferred light/temperature/water
13. General notes (disputes over identification, detailed information about natural habitat, interesting tidbits, etc.

There is some variation on how much of this information I have for any given plant, as you can see from the entry shown in this old picture. However, each plant has, (now) as the bare minimum, a complete entry about how I acquired it and its light/temperature/water preferences.

If someone has found something that works better, I'm always scouting for something new. I've been toying with the idea of switching to a program that I use for writing, which allows you to link any number of supporting documents from multiple pictures to pdf files to spreadsheets, to your subject. It's designed to be kind of like having a virtual tackboard for every character or theme (or in this case, Hoya specimen.) It does export, but not as prettily as DL.

Well GG, I am sooooo jealous.

I just use a simple excel spreadsheet, keeping track of when and who I got it from, rooted or cutting, and flowerings. Also, a notes column on temps/lighting/watering.

Renee

That's really cool GG!! You're SO organized and I love all the details you provide for each hoya.

I'm afraid I haven't gone hi tech quite yet. I'm still using Notebooks and a pen,lol...I list the names of the hoyas when I received it and who I got it from. y pictures provide when they bloomed for me for the first time. I really need to get with the program.

I'm a bit technologically challenged and need something that's simple to use. will see what else others are using and find one that's simple for me to use.

/GG That is a cool DB. Is DL Mac only? If I created a fully functioning DB then I would use Access. I would include several fields which you can query and a clean form based GUI for input. I currently use Excel with seperate photos and text documents. All organized together of course.

-David

It's Mac only. Come to think of it, it has a lending function, that tracks who and what you loaned out, with an automated system that syncs with your address book and sends out reminder emails. I wonder if there's some way I can use that to track who I give cuttings to. (Not to harass them to return them, of course!)

Yes, Access would be the way to go with the MS suite. Unfortunately, I'm Access retarded. Oh, I can use it alright, but not so well that I'm leaping at the chance to create my own Hoya DB lol. I did use Excel for a little bit and I linked to the relevant photographs/documents I'd saved elsewhere. That was a decent method.

This sounds totally stupid, but Hoyas are my HOBBY, and I want to work with a PRETTY program. I'm girlie like that sometimes.

Also, for the record, if I were disciplined enough to keep a paper and pencil journal, that WOULD be my top choice. Because it's maximally charming! But I write slowga, so if I leaves something to pen, I don't do it. Ever. :(

Oh wow GG. I have a Mac. Is there a way to import that to my Mac? I'd make you cupcakes!!!

I found a clone of DL that's for the PC- it's called Libra. It looks very similar to the screenshot you have, and it's supposed to do the same things. I'm trying it out now :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Libra Download

GG, you're quite a statistician! I keep a pretty simple database on Corel's Quatro Pro spreadsheet. (An old-school database I learned years ago...) I keep track of all my plants (about 350-400) and the data includes genus, species, family, month/year aquired and from whom, and then I have a last column with a link to a photo on my photo site. I keep track of the progress of my plants in my blog. It's interesting to be able to go back and see what I've written about a certain species over the years...

Denise in Omaha

I use Microsoft Access. I have one for hoya, a separate database for orchids, and another one for my african violets. A friend of mine uses Filemaker Pro. You can get it for PC or Mac. I have the PC version, but can't figure out how to get picture into the file. You are supposed to be able to export the Access database into Filemaker, but I am having trouble. I do as Denise does. The last column has a link to a picture on my photo-sharing site. I may just go and check out the Delicious Library program. It looks promissing.

Thanks for all of the responses! Wow, ya'll are all way more organized than me!

Kidsandcats-
Are you running Windows on your computer? The program looks great, but see it's not compatible with Windows 7. May try searching for a cloud version of something similar!

Kelly- I am running Windows, and I have Windows 7. I didn't see where it said it was not compatible with Windows 7 and I dl'ed it. Seems to be running fine on my system, though. Hmmm :/

Good! Saw a couple of reviews that said the users were unable to enter anything with Windows 7. Glad to hear you're able to! Think I will try this one!

Thanks again for posting!

Kelly

Yes- I've added pictures, descriptions, etc, and all is working as it should. Glad I could help!

Can you have more than one picture per entry? Just downloaded it!

I haven't tried to add more than one, so I don't know. I'll have to check on that.

Have you had any luck with filling out details? Are you able to modify it?

I've been able to fill out details, and modify what I'd saved as well.

Finally figured it out! Now I just need to figure out how to use the existing categories! Wish we could rename them!

Thanks again! I'm really excited about this!

/bananas LOL I'm sure we can work out some kind of way for our Macs to interface, if we can work out a way for your cupcakes and I to interface.

/kidsandcats Great find! I'll be curious to hear how this ends up handling for you guys.

/Denise I do have a creepy love affair with data and databases. I'm one of those people who feels more rested from an afternoon fine tuning my iTunes files than an afternoon at the spa. Now, if they'd just make my laptop waterproof so I could do it in the bath, I'd be perfectly content.

/Kelly I email Mike.

lol jk.

I get my background information from all over. I basically just start a Google dig on the plant, comparing people's notes and trying to drum up any debates or discrepencies. I would do these digs anyway, so putting it into DL is just a matter of copy/pasting the good stuff. I have a million sites bookmarked, usually w/helpful titles like "site w/lots of sp." (lacunosa.se), but I rarely use my bookmarks. It's all about the search engine, with me.

When possible, I like to incorporate descriptions provided by the vendor, because I know they're looking at the same specimen as me. For growing conditions, I always use hoyor, when she has the information available, because I'm used to her way of categorizing things. I sometimes end up disagreeing with her, and then I just update my notes. I always specifically search for ID debates, particularly here on GW and in the hoyan archives. I don't neccessarily take anyone's opinion as law, but I like to flag all related entries.

It's pretty easy finding two dozen bloggers who have assembled worthy descriptions of wayetii, but some of my DL entries still look barebones after days of searching. For these plants, I'd really like to start making blog entries of my own so that I can make publically available notes that were difficult for me to compile. I also find that habitat information more specific than country of origin can be somewhat tedious to uncover. This is another category of information I'd like to share as I build more consistant coverage in my database. I don't know. Maybe ultimately the best databases are the ones people keep online, because they are subject to peer review.

As far as smell goes, I usually put down other people's impressions, just to give myself something to daydream about, until I smell it myself and then I update. I'm actually not that good at describing smells, but I still seem to disagree with everyone about their descriptions. lol!

Other database comments:

I forgot to mention another database system/trick I use. DL has a rating system and I go through my collection periodically and change each Hoya's rank to 5 stars (or no stars if they were previously 5 stars) to indicate that I have SEEN that plant recently and it LIVES. I know some of you guys are thinking I'm an idiot, right now, but sometimes don't you wish you could just push a button and a little light would start blinking by the associated plant? It's like, you can figure out that you purchased the plant, but then where did it go?! Plants that I can't find after a full inventory, or plants that I am not sure are going to root, get ??? in front of their names, so I can keep track of them until their status is determined.

Incidentally, plants go in the database at time of purchase, not at time of successful rooting. If it dies, it gets an XXX in front of the name. The entries are based on acquisition, not on number of independent potted plants. So, if one lacunosa turns into 4 lacunosas they only have one entry. On the other hand, if I acquire two separate oreogenas, they get two separate entries.

GG - here is a sample of what I have to trade. Do we have a deal?

Key Lime Coconut

Peanut Butter Cup - Chocolate cupcakes w/ Peanut butter injected into the middle with Peanut Butter Frosting

Fauxstess - devils food cupcakes with homemade marshmallow cream injected with fudge frosting

Lemon Meringue

Lemon Chiffon with Lavender Cream Frosting

Irish Car Bomb - Chocolate cupcake with Guinness, Jameson ganache injected and Baileys Frosting

Brownie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting (made for V-day)

Jezz your making me hungry! lol

Oh my gosh! Did you make those???

Holy crp, bananas! I had no idea we were in the presence of a cupcake master.

I bet Kelly's wishing she'd negotiated for cupcakes instead of a stupid lamb, now!

Thanks for the compliments. I think that you may have come out on top in my humble opinion. Yes baking is one of my passions and hopefully part of my professional future.

The three things I love the most:
Baking, gardening and working with people with autism

I'm just getting up and running a non-profit that will employ people with autism and other related disabilities and our first professional endeavor will be cupcake baking using video modeling to train them.

So many things to be excited about right now! Including this database!!!!

That non-profit sounds like such a cool fusion of your interests/talents. I have a couple friends who work with people with autism and they feel as you do, that it's a life-changing love. But I definitely feel like it's something not everyone has a gift for. I guess that's true of everything, but with some things it's more obvious than others.

Let us know how it's going once it's gotten off the ground!

OMG...those are to die for!! You're an Amazingly talented baker...they all look amazing and super delicious! YUMMY!!

Wow, look at this response!

It's my zen, I'm trying to become as good at hoya growing as I am at baking.

While I don't have any amazing hoyas yet maybe I can trade cupcakes for clippings?

Haha, if you did, people would have as hard a time deciding on a cupcake recipe as you would have deciding on a Hoya cutting.

I think learning to grow plants and learning to bake are very similar types of skills. Both involve a certain measure of attention to detail, dexterousness, and knowledge. And both involve a difficult to define measure of precognitive perceptive instinct.

agreed!

banannas - if you ever make your way to the panhandle of Florida, I'll definitely trade some cuttings for those cupcakes!

Sadly, while I'm a decent cook, I cannot bake.

Renee

Oh and I downloaded the Libra also. Will be playing around with it today.

Bananas,
The autism fundraising makes the cupcakes even more fabulous! Good for you!

And, yes, GG, am sort of wishing now I had gone for the cupcakes! LOL

Kelly

GG- can I borrow that quote? It totally fits me! Except I'm more into the cookies than the cupcakes. The giant ones are really fun.

Ha ha, I like seeing the feet peeping out from beneath the cookie. It reminds me of this photo I took during a visit from my mother and sister when we did touristy things:

Renee,

Just so you know. Cupcakes can be mailed. We are working out the kinks now to see if we can go national for the subscripts or if we are going to need to keep it local.

Want to be my first coast to coast tester?

Anne

Quinn-
Pretty funny!

Anne,
Let us know how we go about ordering!

Kelly

Anne,

I'll be a guinea pig, no problem.

Renee

Oh wow, now beautiful giant cookies, too. Who knew my interest in Hoyas was going to end up being so destructive to my waistline! :X