Fleur-de-lis
by Sam Service
The Reference Book Fleur-de-lis was originally proposed by Violet Crumble. Although she is no longer a member at Fleur, her fingerprints remain in the charming names given to some of the topics on the Discussion Boards. The other person notably missing from the current Board is Apiladey Apilsin. He has not returned to us since "the crash". Apiladey's wit and expertise with bulbs and orchids is sadly missed, yet we must move forward and not wallow in what could have been. To this end, I asked the Marquis de Fad if he would share the MoBster duties with me. What he lacks in knowledge, he certainly makes up for with enthusiasm and mirth. Levity is always required in a Reference Book and hopefully he will offset my tendency to be just a trifle dry in what I write, *S*
The Discussion Boards are laid out in much the same way as a general gardening guide for the most part. There are topics for annuals, perennials, bulbs, trees, herbs, vegetables and fruits. (Notably absent is shrubs, but I don't think anyone has ever asked for that.) These are named by using the names of examples from the topic and making a goofy phrase from them. Various people have come up with them as required and some are quite clever. For example vegetables are discussed on a thread titled "Squash not the Tomatoes lest ye be Beaned and Peppered". We give thanks to Zoe for that one, *S*
There are a few other threads on the Discussion Board as well. There is one named "Swath of the Scythe", and its scope is rather broad. It covers human intervention in the plant kingdom. Hence everything from invasive introduced species to the history of agriculture falls under this heading. As of yet we have not had to break it down further and create new threads, but as a Member of the Board I am always hopeful!
On the Social Boards, apart from the usual "links" and "books" and so on, we have two threads which seem to be well used by the membership, *S* One is a question and answer style thread where the members can pose questions to each other in hopes of an answer. Often times there are solutions to problems that have been handed down from one generation to the next that actually work, and these are great items to share! The other thread on the Social Boards which I like, is called "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary..." It is for sharing the challenges and joys of gardening in the members' own back yards. I think I have used it to bemoan the exponential explosion in the slug population caused by much rain and little heat. Of course there are the successes too, and that would be the thread to celebrate them on and share one's joy with the other members.
Since coming back from "the crash", the Reference Books have been slower to take off than most of the Novels. This is to have been expected, *S* almost everyone's number one priority upon return was to get their Novels going again. Despite this, I am pleased with the progress of Fleur-de-lis, it is meant to be a relaxing and fun place where people can share their enthusiasm for the often green, living things we share our planet with. Nothing is more soothing than the shade cast by a majestic tree in the middle of summer, and I would like to think that Fleur offers that sort of tranquility to those of us bitten by the gardening bug and an enthusiasum for the outside.
