I stick around for the friends that I have made and put up with craziness of Houzz.

I do have several Facebook groups as well, one being Paul Zimmerman but it isnt the same as the connections made here.

To search in a specific forum, go to the top of the page and next to Houzz is a magnifying glass and " Search in Gardenweb. Type in your query and choose the forum you want to search in the drop down menu.

Next to a post are edit and delete buttons.

I don't load pics very often, but I've never had a problem doing that.

I see the things you see also. I'm on a PC, but I think a lot of the problems are from using phones and tablets to access this site. Sometimes people are on houzz.com instead of gardenweb.com ,and that can cause problems, too.

I agree about Facebook, and I think it's been a major problem for this site. I loved the Holidays board, but it's nearly dead because everyone immediately jumped ship and went to Facebook when there were changes here. I wish all those people had stuck around and gotten used to the changes instead of leaving.

Sharon, yes, a LOT of people have left the forums for good. I really miss Virginia, Tammy, Lynnette (Old Rosarian- she left the forum, and has sadly passed away since) and several more. Some left for specific reasons, including the ones you mention. Some left because of the hack a couple of years ago that leaked personal info. One left because during one of the fiascos How-uzzlezz posted her email address as her user name in the forums, on every post she had ever made. Several left due to the constant changes being made. One left because they couldn't sign in using their user name, was forced to create a new account, and then was locked out of the new one, too! It's been an unending fiasco of incompetence on How-uzzlezz's part. My nephew, who is a programmer/IT security specialist, looked over Houzz and said that it was one of the most user-unfriendly sites he'd ever seen, second only behind ATT!!!!!! lol. He also said that he could fix every usability issue in a week if he were given admin access.

@woodrose77 Evidently you're among the fortunate few who CAN still search a specific forum. Houzz doesn't roll out the changes consistently among all its servers (they seem to be geographically specific), and depending when they get around to it, you'll end up with the same problem eventually. Searching a specific forum is no longer possible for most of us. Yes, we USED to be able to do what you still can do, but not now. I posted this just last week in another thread, replying to flowersaremusic, who was complaining of the same problem, only in her case, even the search bar had disappeared:

The search bar is there for me, but they've royally screwed up the search. I can't choose to search a particular forum anymore, it only allows me to search site-wide in all discussions. The other choices are photos, shop, pro, stories, or users. But nowhere can I search in "Roses" or "Antique Roses". I also used to have the choice of searching only the forum I was in, and also got a drop down menu with options of other oft-used forums/subjects/users/etc. But no more.

Now, when I search, I get a 100 totally unrelated posts, and maybe one or two random posts from the rose forum...that still have nothing to do with what I was looking for. So of course the search results are uzzlezz. In order to find anything (especially a specific older post!!!!!), I have to use Google to search Houzz.

So it's not user error, or ignorance of how search works (or doesn't, in this case). It's that the rolling changes just haven't reached you yet. We've seen this happen time and again with changes affecting only some, up to the point it suddenly affects everyone. I attempted to take a screenshot of the options I now have in the search bar, but the drop down menu disappears when I try to take the screenshot, so you'll have to take my word for it ;) But just to show how uzzlezz the search function now is, I tried searching my own user name under "users". First of all, it replaced the underscore in my name with a hyphen, and then gave me these results:

So it seems I don't exist, lol.

woodrose, the way you describe search is the way it use to work for me. Now I do not get to choose.... and I am on a PC

Fortunately, I don't really need to do searches. And I found out that I could post photos easily as long as I reduced the file sizes. If I reduce them to 7-ins. at the largest dimension, X no more than 300 dpi, I don't have a problem.

But FWIW, there are two rose forums on Facebook that I do follow. One is Paul Zimmerman's Rose Gardening page, and the other is devoted to organic rose gardening. Also, folks are welcome to ask questions on the Heritage Roses Group page:

(4) The Heritage Roses Group | Facebook

A great many very experienced rose folks use the Zimmerman page, so it's easy to get a lot of input there.

I follow this forum, Antique Roses, and Florida Gardening (which sometimes is about roses lol). I post on Instagram but having been doing that much either this summer. Facebook, I don't use much anymore but mostly post on Bee groups and Goat people, when I do lol.

I have been mostly absent here this summer due to a lot of stuff going on with my family and we have been spending our extra time on property searching etc. We have finally settled on something in the Panhandle area of FL. Gonna be in a zone 8b instead of 9a. I dont know if it will make much difference for my roses. I will probably have to build a "real greenhouse" for my tropicals though.

Once we are settled, I will be posting more because I will definitely need help setting up my new rose beds and gardens in that vast area lol. I don't even know where to begin....

I was a regular member here (pre-GW, then GW) from 1998-~2010, but I got more involved in AP chemistry forums and eventually stopped reading/posting here for ~10 years. But I made a lot of friends here back then, and met many people in person when I used to do a lot of rose road trips. And then there was the rec.gardens.roses group, which could be great. When I retired in 2020, I just logged into my old GW/Houzz account, and it was still there. I don't do searches here, but occasionally do a Google search and get threads from here. I haven't had trouble editing a post or posting a pic. I use a MacBook laptop. I'm logged in at Houzz, not GW. I also participate in the NGA forum, but it has very few people. Beth in Nor. Cal convinced me this spring to join the FB Rose Chat group, which I did, but I rarely get the time to read it, The few imes I've been there, it seems like all they do is post pics. I still regularly participate in my FB AP Chem page, and FB keeps sending me emails about the other groups... I'm stunned at how many different rose ones there are! Jeri, I was tempted by the Paul Zimmerman one.

Susan, the Zimmerman site is good, because a great many people find their way to it with questions, and there are plenty of people from all over the world, who will help with those.

Jeri, I just got another email from FB with the Zimmerman site recommended, so maybe I'll sign up! Along with your rec, I like the fact that Kim liked your post here. He's one of the folks I'd like to see more of.

Aw, thanks, Susan! One of the best things about Paul's FB site is it has the greatest number of site members so it reaches the most people. If you're looking for something, it makes it much easier to canvass those who may know what you need to know or find.

Kim, I just submitted my request, so waiting on approval. I hope I didn't offend them by suggesting that they change "it's" to "its" in group rule #1. Once a teacher, always a teacher :-D

Too funny! I doubt it will be an issue. Get ready! There is MUCH of that to try not to see!

I'm sorry for your being bed and couch-bound @comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate). It really is lovely to "see you"!

Comtesse, one of the things I noticed after coming back here after a long absence was that when the OP makes their message, they can choose to include other forums. Which is probably why you saw replies from modern rose savages when you just wanted to read the Antique Roses forum. I don't remember that being the case way back in the day; it seemed as if a post would appear on each forum separately, and you'd only see their replies, but I could be mis-remembering.

I don't remember when the additional forum copies were enabled but it seems it's been a while.

I've been on gardenweb/houzz since2004...probably guilty of cross posting questions. When I'm searching for a rose with particular attributes, it doesn't matter much to me personally if it's a modern rose or antique...I may prefer one over the other but living in a place where growing Rose's is challenging, one cannot be picky. All said I keep coming back to these forums for the awesome people and the incredible amount of knowledge and help people are willing to share.

I always love your posts, Comtesse. I really miss the Antique members too. That was nice to have people with the similar interest. Life is so unpredictable and so many are struck too young.

I am a relative newbie on the forum compared to the early Garden Web folks. I used to read the forum and gaze at all the wonderful rose photos long before I joined. It’s hard to believe I’ve been a card carrying member for around 10 years now! When I joined, I was a teacher and former gardener designer. Now I am an aspiring writer and stay-at-home mom.

I am not much of a joiner, and I must be the ONLY person on the planet who has never joined FaceBook. Or Twitter or…. I know, right? This forum is my sole and soul social media event. I came here specifically because of the unique membership and rich conversations about Old Garden Roses, although I do grow a few moderns like Tom Carruth’s, Paul Barden’s and Kim Rupert’s creations. I have considered joining the Daylily Forum, but the membership there just doesn’t have the same feel of shared camaraderie. Also, I grow mostly heirlooms, and the Daylily Forum is focused on newer varieties. IF I were on FaceBook, I’d definite join Paul Zimmerman’s group! But honestly, I have to work hard to carve out time in my days for both gardening and this forum (which has a community unlike any other on Houzz), so I likely wouldn’t be able to keep up with the commitment. Even on this forum, which I absolutely love, I have to step away off and on due to the challeges of raising a child who is twice exceptional in a cookie cutter world and some unpredictable health issues of my own.

Like others here, I miss so many who no longer seem to post! This forum has been filled with people that I’ve never met but would go to the ends of the earth for—across similarities and differences and across the miles. There is no other space on Houzz where I have witnessed a community step up as this one did for Burlington. Members constantly welcome new gareners of old roses with open arms and heartfelt encouragement, you all reach out with support during struggles and loss and you make growing and finding joy in antique roses a worldwide, hand-in-hand enterprise!

Comtesse, @comtessedelacouche , it is WONDERFUL to hear from you! I am so very sorry to hear of the progression of your health challenges. Please do keep checking in if you can bear the forum challenges. This space is much emptier without your presence! Every time I admire my Duchesse de Brabant, I think of you and the Australian Tea ladies who published their informative and delightful book. I hope you have beautiful roses growing and blooming outside your window right now, but if not, here is a pic of Frances Dubreuil/Barcelonea and of DdB just for you!

Carol

@comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate) We miss you. Join us whenever you feel able, may it be soon and often.

John

Although I find Houzz annoying, especially when it eats my post or won't let me submit for the tenth time...the organic rose forum is very helpful. I certainly google if I need to know about a specific rose as the search is hopeless.

Facebook.... it was super helpful about 6 years ago and I used it a lot, that wasn't for roses, but when I needed help/input on really precise things from a small but world wide group.

For plants especially roses, it is super helpful to know the person's zone and growing conditions and what they focus on, this is why I use Houzz.