UK and European User Conference – Recordings, Slides and Summary*

UK User Meeting and Plantnetwork Plant Records Training Day at Mount Stuart House and Gardens

On 3^rd and 4^th of May, in fantastic surroundings and magical weather, the Mount Stuart Trust kindly opened their doors to the user community and PlantNetwork members. The delegates at the User Meeting consisted mainly of new users and PlantNetwork members, so we started the day with a 20 minute introduction, followed by 3 in-depth discussions related to label management, propagation and image handling.

After lunch, we had the great pleasure of being expertly guided through the great gardens and woodlands of Mount Stuart by Living Collections Manager, Graham Alcorn and Head of Landscapes and Horticulture, Don Murray. Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute certainly is a special place, which I hope I will have the opportunity to visit again soon. Only 33 miles from Glasgow, the place is steeped in history with the Stuarts of Bute establishing their seat on the island back in 1157. The 300-acre estate also contains a vast collection of champion trees and plenty of other horticultural gems.

Friday was followed by the “PlantNetwork Plant Records training day” which included many interesting talks from Mount Stuart Trust, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburg, Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge University Botanic Garden and National Trust. A report, including links to the presentations will be made available on the PlantNetwork website. Many thanks to Mount Stuart Trust for hosting the events.

* December 2019: This post was originally published under the title “UK and European IrisBG User Conference…”. After the collaboration on the IrisBG software package ended on December 6^th 2019, Botanical Software changed the name of its products and services to Floria. To avoid confusion about Botanical Software’s current involvement with IrisBG, we felt we needed to change the title of this post. The conference covers many generic topics about collection management and record keeping. We have for this reason decided to keep this material available as a useful resource. Strongly committed to our collaboration with the community, we will continue to organize conferences, workshops and other events.

2^nd European User Conference at Hortus botanicus Leiden

Although we have organized many community events over the years, last year’s European user conference was the first time we managed to put together a programme consisting mainly of presentations from the user community. Traditionally, a conference setting is a place to present best practices and portray the excellence of your institution. However, Reinout Havinga (Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam), who has taken the responsibility of compiling the programme, has in both years managed with great success to put together an agenda where presentations often focus on community driven problem solving. Many of these discussions and presentations are not necessarily directly related to the capabilities of IrisBG, but they invariably give very useful input on how we can improve IrisBG further. The format at the conference is a great place for sharing ideas and I hope all the delegates found it as rewarding as Øyvind and I did. Below you will find a complete listing of the programme on Friday, including links to presentations and recordings.

Hortus botanicus Leiden, one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world portrays a beautiful mix of an amazing history and the latest development in botany. The systematic beds at the entrance of the garden are laid out according to Carolus Clusius’ design from the late 17^th century. At the other end of the garden, you will find the new systematic beds that are being improved following the most recent development from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. More than 400 years of history, masterly presented. This year’s conference started with an optional compact 3-hour training session on Thursday, followed by a guided tour through this historic place, presented by the Curator, Gerda van Uffelen. The alfresco evening dinner on Thursday was held at the garden in beautiful evening sunlight. The IrisBG team would like to thank Hortus Botanicus Leiden for hosting this event and the organizing committee, Reinout Havinga (Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam), Gerda van Uffelen (Hortus botanicus Leiden), Margherita Tinti and Havard Ostgaard (IrisBG) for organizing the event. We are already looking forward to next year’s conference at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens.

Havard Ostgaard

Welcome by Gerda van Uffelen, Collection Manager, Hortus botanicus Leiden

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Session 1

How did Roel become enthusiastic about entering data into IrisBG? How did he manage to gain full control over his propagation work?

One for all, all for one: IrisBG at Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. Roel Westendorp, horticulturalist at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam.

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How would Havard define what to record, and what not to record? What is a ‘data entry reward loop’?

What to record and what NOT to record, that is the question. Havard Ostgaard, Manager at Botanical Software Ltd.

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Due to technical issues, there is ironically no recording of this session.

Workshop

How did the delegates of the conference help Mats to find indicators that monitor the success of his collection for research and education?

Key performance indicators. Mats Havström, Senior Scientific Curator at Gothenburg Botanic Garden

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View posters of group work

Session 2

See how Christopher is testing the limits of IrisBG on all levels.

Stock checking: how do you keep up with your plants. Christopher Weddell, Senior Gardens
Adviser at English Heritage.

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Experience how Renske’s colleagues help her find the last cookie in Mary Stuarts formal garden. Will she manage to plan ahead the symmetrical beds

Recurrent planting schemes. Renske Ek, Curator at Paleis het Loo.

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Workshop

How do Anneleen and Reinout use theater play to discuss the balance between scientific rigor and
practical record keeping in dynamic collections?

Sex, death and resurrection : grabbing hold of your annuals. Anneleen Kool, Associate Professor at Oslo Botanic Garden and Reinout Havinga, Head of Garden and Collection at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam.

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View posters of group work

Session 3

What is the latest toy in Pete’s curatorial department?