RAYWOODBRIDGE wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 7:53 pm
Good thinking Gregory. I always scan the ads in Cactusworld, it is a good reminder if nothing else.
Wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention ads!
I don't think conventions are shunned by a younger generation because of the name, comic cons get 6 figure attendances! I think it's just about marketing ours correctly, spreading the word and having something of interest to everyone - probably a while before we get 100,000 through the door at Capel Manor though.
Likewise with journals (research journals that is) readership is certainly on the up with big money involved in scientific publishing, Nature are firing out a journal title every year now. Bradleya's listing on BioOne will only widen the readership of its articles.
Greg
Member since 2012
Cold hardy cacti and slow growers.
Chez I agree, but the 'club' does not have to down grade itself and become only a short term frivolous thing. Already I have seen media posts saying succulents are so last year
It's still very much on according to the page on the Convention on the Zone 15 website and on the BCSS Calendar of Events. As far as I know it's been cancelled but I wonder if the BCSS, if asked, would have underwritten any losses if it had gone ahead with no further tickets sold. Once cancelled, it's unlikely to be revived for future years which is a shame as previously, it's always been well-attended and a good social occasion.
Stuart
Hello Stuart.
I agree with you entirely that the Society should help the zones financially if needed . there again
i think zone 15 has a reasonable ammount of money that does not get used? like you stuart i have
been going to the convention for many years but i fear we have missed a trick here.
Brianc.
Acid John wrote: ↑Sat Feb 08, 2020 10:34 am
Chez I agree, but the 'club' does not have to down grade itself and become only a short term frivolous thing. Already I have seen media posts saying succulents are so last year
It depends what you mean by "downgrade". My findings have been that many people in the BCSS, not all, just want people to join the BCSS who are interested in 'collecting' plants ie amassing a greenhouse collection rather than enjoying a wide range of plants, including succulents and cacti. So in that respect I disagree, it (BCSS) does need to be more inclusive of everyone who loves the plants, thats exactly why new members aren't staying. It doesn't mean its a short term thing or frivolous. I started growing as a child in the 1970s. I only had room for a few plants in my own house when I left home in 1986. I have been growing them again the last twenty years but I am not a greenhouse collector, I am an avid gardeners keeping unusual plants in the garden and house. My greenhouse / polytunnel is just for raising plants or winter protection, big difference to many in the BCSS. I am not finding succulents are "so last year" when I go out and meet people at plants swaps.
I have been asking people the last two years what they think of the Society, long standing members, lapsed members and potential new members. As I have already explained, the name does put people off who are at the start of the plant journey. I don't just think this, I know it.
I saw it in a 'Home Designer Magazine' wish I had saved it now.
I also started off with a few windowsill plants (they came with the Women of my life when we married) but soon every window was full of them usually stuck to the curtains! prompting the purchase of an 8' x 8' greenhouse. But I did want to know everything about them even if it was species I had never kept. Most of that information or where to obtain it came from the forum posts which were freely given and much appreciated. I do understand that some people want a lighter read and good luck to them but I want more in depth articles not just glossy pictures.
Acid John wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 2:27 pm
I saw it in a 'Home Designer Magazine' wish I had saved it now.
I also started off with a few windowsill plants (they came with the Women of my life when we married) but soon every window was full of them usually stuck to the curtains! prompting the purchase of an 8' x 8' greenhouse. But I did want to know everything about them even if it was species I had never kept. Most of that information or where to obtain it came from the forum posts which were freely given and much appreciated. I do understand that some people want a lighter read and good luck to them but I want more in depth articles not just glossy pictures.
Its okay, you don't have to prove you read it, I believe you. I don't ready many magazines for that reason, poor journalism. Many people, me included, don't need such in depth information about their plants, we grow too many. We just want to know enough to provide the right conditions for it to flourish and see how we can push the boundaries of growing outdoors in the UK.
I don't want a lighter read, I don't ready trashy glossy magazines full of adverts. It my target market the BCSS is missing. I have an acre of garden and have been gardening for fifty years so I'm not a novice. I don't have many 'ordinary' plants in my garden. Perhaps I am what you refer to as "downgrade"? LOL. Good job I'm not easily offended.
No offense intended but we both require different things from the same society. I also like gardening and vegetable growing and can think of nothing better than visiting 'Yellow Book' gardens.
Acid John wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:47 pm
No offense intended but we both require different things from the same society. I also like gardening and vegetable growing and can think of nothing better than visiting 'Yellow Book' gardens.
Our garden is filled with tropical or tropical style plants, Mediterranean and arid plants. The main structure is provided by various Yuccas and palms, hardy succulents and tender plants in summer. I am the target market that would be visiting these zone events if they were better advertised and the BCSS more inclusive. There are a lot of thriving plant groups out there which are still going crazy for C&S. I was about mobbed when I visited an event and took some tiny plants. People were going mad for rooted P. ovifarum plants.
Its a real shame this event has had to be cancelled.
Still no mention of cancellation on the BCSS 'list of events' or on the Zone website. It's a bit ironic that an event that was cancelled due to poor ticket sales six weeks beforehand has had 2468 page views on the Forum. I know some of them are random Google/Bing bots etc but how it there that much online interest about a cancelled event.
Stuart
