Petals by Páraig: I Found What I Was Looking For

When I was small, Shoot was a football magazine. Perhaps it still is, but I'm not!

Following a comment seen on my Facebook Garden Bloggers group, I investigated the online service SHOOT. Having registered for the free trial (a very tight 48-hour window) I discovered that it was something that would be very useful, and I paid the small subscription. Over the years, I've come across similar online sites, but none were what I wanted. I was so taken by this very professional service that I just wanted to tweet my thanks:

Petals by Páraig: I Found What I Was Looking For https://t.co/Hrotbnp0B7 Thank you @shootgardening #gdnbloggers #highlyrecommended
— Pat Burke (@petalsbyparaig) November 17, 2016

What is Shoot?

Here is the blurb directly from the horse's mouth:

"Forget rummaging through different reference books and notepads, with a My Garden Notebook you can keep all your gardening information in a single place."

Being an organised gardener (being an organised person) I created my garden, and over the course of a few weeks, I added most of my plants online. To say that it was time well spent is an understatement!

Why does it work for me?

It is my online garden journal
I can plan sections of the garden according to so many criteria
I have started my Plant Wish List, based on above
I keep track of everything (within reason)
I print off my plant list
I print off my monthly plant tasks that are automatically generated from my list
I get a Recommended Plant List based on my current list (great for companion planting)
I created an online autocad-like visual of my garden

Petals by Paraig back garden

What will it not do?

Unfortunately, I still have to dig the vegetable patch in spring, together with all other tasks that involve actually going outside to the garden!

Of course, a service such as this will be a complete waste of (online) space if it does not serve a useful purpose, so do not be drawn in. It may not be for you. However, even if you do not subscribe to the garden journal service, the site is freely abailable as a search reference for over 22,000 plants. I think this section alone is on a par with the RHS website.

I still have a few notebooks hanging around. There's one in the shed, one in the glasshouse and one beside the laptop. I also scribble on the back of seed packets, and even put a few post-it notes where I cannot fail to notice them. But, the long and short of it is that Shoot will increasingly become my online garden. As we say in Ireland, "Míle buíochas dhaoibh!" Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Helleborus niger "Christmas Rose"

My garden blog post would not be complete without a photo or two to reflect either what's happening currently in the garden or even a throwback to the good summer. I have selected Helleborus niger "Christmas Carol", as it is just now coming into bloom at a time when very little else is. I bought it only last month, and it's a stunner! The entire helleborus family is known as "The Christmas Rose".