Newsletter: January 2025
We hope you’ve had a great start to the new year! Due to the holidays, we skipped December’s edition, so this January newsletter covers the updates from the past two months. In this newsletter:
- Alongside many minor improvements, the most notable feature releases include QR code support for our public site and greater flexibility in assigning accession numbers.
- As part of our commitment to better supporting our community, we conducted a user survey and have now analyzed your feedback.
- In December, we had the privilege of visiting two gardens in the Netherlands and hosting our final webinar of the year, during which we highlighted 2024’s success stories and key product updates.
Public QR Codes
Share your collection with visitors through scannable QR codes. When scanned, visitors will be taken directly to your public plant records where they can explore and learn about your collection. To learn more, visit our release notes page.
Flexible accessioning numbers
Several of the gardens that recently joined Hortis have been working to integrate fragmented legacy data from paper records and other formats and adding this information retrospectively.
To better support this process, we have now introduced greater flexibility in how accession numbers are managed. This update will allow you to bypass automatic numbering while still maintaining consistency with your existing accession number format. To learn more, visit our release notes page.
User Survey
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in our user satisfaction survey! Your feedback has given us valuable insights into what you appreciate most and where we can improve. These results will help shape our roadmap and enhance how we communicate Hortis to the wider community.
Key takeaways from the survey:
- 97% of the respondents would recommend Hortis.
- The capabilities that users find most beneficial are:
- Mapping the collection
- Data accuracy and ease of use
- Cloud-based Web App
- Integrated Shared Taxonomy
We truly appreciate your input and look forward to continuing to improve Hortis based on your needs. Stay tuned for more updates!
If you recommend Hortis to others, please check out our Everyone Wins Referral Program. https://www.hortis.com/referral-program
December Webinar: Celebrating Success & Product Updates
On December 4th, we wrapped up our final webinar of the year, highlighting five inspiring success stories from around the world. We also recapped the most important product features launched in 2024. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and shared their thoughts! If you missed it, you can watch the recording here.
The success stories, covered in the webinar:
- Paving the way to a world-class botanic garden. Conservation & Education at James Cook University, Australia.
- From Root Ball To Cloud. Preserving Heritage at Muiderslot, The Netherlands
- Making Plant Records Useful Again. Staff Engagement at Wave Hill, New York, USA
- Did You Hear That Pin Drop? Biodiversity Conservation at Indianapolis Zoo, Indiana, USA
- Transforming Record Keeping. All Hands On Deck at Tohono Chul, Arizona, USA
Workshop at De Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
In December, we hosted an in-person workshop at De Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam titled "From Vision to Reality: See How Hortis Has Evolved and What’s Next." The event kicked off with a recap of two years of improvements, followed by a hands-on session where delegates explored Hortis in the garden using their own devices—just as we did in our previous workshop. This interactive approach sparked valuable discussions on workflows and best practices.
It was a fantastic day filled with insightful conversations and constructive feedback. A big thank you to De Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam for hosting us, as well as to the Dutch Association of Botanic Gardens and all the delegates who joined us for this enriching event!
An Enchanting Visit to Muiderslot
As part of our visit to Amsterdam, we had the pleasure of exploring the Historic Gardens at Muiderslot, just outside the city. Director Henk Boers and Roel Pleizier warmly welcomed us, guiding us through the enchanting castle and gardens. We had the opportunity to experience the Hortis public site in action, sparking insightful discussions about its impact and future possibilities.
A heartfelt thank you to Henk Boers and Roel Pleizier for their generous hospitality! You can learn more about Muiderslot and their use of Hortis here.
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