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Horticultural Extension at UBC Botanical Garden
Gardening or Plant Questions
UBC Botanical Garden offers two ways of asking gardening or plant-related questions:
- Hortline - Call 604-822-5858 on Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 pm to 3 pm to speak with a garden volunteer or student who will help answer your question.
- Online Discussion Forums - Ask your question online (and learn from others!) by visiting our web-based plant and gardening community. No registration is necessary to ask the occasional question.
Please do not send gardening or plant questions via email.
History of Horticultural Extension at UBC
Dec. 1, 1973 David Tarrant appointed Education Coordinator (½ time) at Botanical Garden to answer questions and coordinate education.
Fall 1975 Plant Science started "Hort-line" under supervision of Dr. H.M. Resh.
1976 Botanical Garden answered 3125 queries on public information line.
1977 Botanical Garden answered 2993 queries on public information line.
1977-78 Plant Science continued operation of "Hort-Line".
1978 Botanical Garden answered 3473 queries on public information line.
1979 Botanical Garden answered 4900 queries on public information line.
August 1979 Memorandum signed between BC Ministry of Agriculture, UBC (for Plant Science) and BC Nursery Trades Association for operation of mobile plant clinic. The mobile part never fulfilled.
Spring 1981 Funding problems for mobile plant clinic.
October 5, 1981 New joint information service, HortLine, initiated by Plant Science and Botanical Garden.
1982-83 HortLine continues to be offered on a limited basis by Plant Science in cooperation with Botanical Garden.
January 1, 1984 to 1988 Botanical Garden took over sole operation of HortLine from Plant Science with staff in the winter and a Plant Science student in the summer.
1989 to present The days are reduced to two, Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 noon - 3pm, and volunteers answer the phone except from May 1 - Aug. 31 when summer students assist the volunteers on the line.
1990-1994 Jim MacPhail, then-curator of the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden operates the "Hortus Botanicus BBS", a dial-in bulletin board system which allowed members of the community to discuss horticulture and other topics. He continued to operate the BBS privately until 1998.
July 27, 2001 Online discussion forums open to the public, providing web access to advice from fellow gardeners with input from UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research volunteers, staff and researchers.
Late May 2003 Online forums reach 500 threads or "topics of discussion" in less than 2 years.
End of 2003 Online forums reach 1750 threads, an addition of over 1250 threads in less than 8 months.
