What curators say about collection management with IrisBG

• Specimen № 01

  USA

  IrisBG’s ability to store images relating to individual items (plants) allows us to extend our identification season beyond the winter.

  IrisBG has been an invaluable tool for record-keeping at Descanso Gardens. Our organization was a relatively early adopter as we transferred from using BG-Base nearly a decade ago in 2014. IrisBG is relatively intuitive for a plant database, which allows volunteers and other horticultural staff to interface more directly with the records. Even for those staff members who do not directly use it, features like the built-in mapping allow horticulture staff to look over my shoulder and make sure we’re talking about the right plant when they give me planting, relocation, or removal updates.

  Our garden has a significant number of accessioned but unidentified camellias. IrisBG’s ability to store images relating to individual items (plants) allows us to extend our identification season beyond the winter. We are also able to use it to designate plants as belonging to sub-collections within our core collections both at the taxon level and the accession level, which is valuable for designating things like historical plantings versus new plantings that expand the collection.

  I think the most valuable aspect of being an IrisBG user is the community that the company has worked hard to bring together. Monthly Coffee Chats are a great way to learn more about the software, how others are using it, and who to get in contact with to discuss new ideas or troubleshoot. I almost always leave a Coffee Chat with two or three new emails for plant recorders around the world who are working on similar projects and want to share resources or collaborate. The company also actively learns about what its users need during these meetings and works to incorporate that feedback into new features and fixes.

  Overall, IrisBG is a powerful tool that offers Descanso Gardens the resources we need to safeguard our plant records data, and access it to share with the public in a meaningful way.

• Specimen № 02

  USA

  As a collegiately affiliated garden, I have been particularly impressed with how accessible the Garden Explorer has made our collections for teaching and learning, supporting both enrolled students and lifelong learners.

  While I am not a direct user of our collections software, I personally appreciate your cultivation of the IrisBG community as a trusted resource for news, learning, and how best to employ the tools you provide. As a collegiately affiliated garden, I have been particularly impressed with how accessible the Garden Explorer has made our collections for teaching and learning, supporting both enrolled students and lifelong learners. We're also very excited about the continued potential of the platform as an engagement tool for virtual tours, seasonal highlights, and broader public connection.

  The following is an excerpt from a 2025 update from our Nursery and Collections Manager shared with our members on the software update to IrisBG: This new software has made our lives much easier, and we can do many more tasks in far less time. Students in our plant identification courses have already started using the Garden Explorer to help them study for quizzes and exams. Now that I see all of this data in new ways, it has given use interesting insight into the gardens’ earlier collections.

• Specimen № 03

  Laos

  The support we have received over the years, technically as well as morally from the IrisBG Team, was professional and generous, a real partner with whom we were able to work long distance and hopefully for a very long time to come.

  In 2012 we were working on the opening of the Pha Tad Ke Botanical in Luang Prabang, Laos (we opened to the public in 2016) and looked around for our options. Being a small garden without institutional support in a small country there were big specific issues: only 30% of the Flora described, few trained botanists (less than 10 in the country) with hardly any English and low IT/computer capacities. Comparing the existing databases around that time we were very happy to learn of IRIS BG. Its intuitive approach to the data without clunky coding, and especially the seamless integration of Herbarium and Living Collections seemed to me as a non-botanist, non-gardener heaven-sent. The support we have received over the years, technically as well as morally from the IRIS Team, was professional and generous, a real partner with whom we were able to work long distance and hopefully for a very long time to come.

• Specimen № 04

  USA

  At this point, it is indispensable to our curatorial operations, and we utilize daily it to track, map, inventory, label, and photo catalog our plant collections and donor-funded garden features.

  As a rapidly growing public garden and resource in the Penn State University community, IrisBG has significantly increased the efficiency and accessibility of our plant records data since we acquired the software in 2015. At this point, it is indispensable to our curatorial operations, and we utilize it daily to track, map, inventory, label, and photo catalog our plant collections and donor-funded garden features. It’s so satisfying to be able to organize data and create reports so quickly when a researcher, professor, student, visitor, or garden staff member is in need. I’m constantly discovering new ways in which its potential can be tapped and I look forward to future developments!

• Specimen № 05

  USA

  I realized that we finally had the opportunity to get a comprehensive and professional solution for the arboretum.

  When I arrived at the The Dawes Arboretum in 1996, the records system had just been computerized and was on a flat file DOS system which was very unwieldy. Slowly, I began to design my own relational database using Visual FoxPro and created a very usable solution. Although very satisfied with what I had developed, when I came across IrisBG for the first time in 2013, I realized that we finally had the opportunity to get a comprehensive and professional solution for the arboretum. IrisBG does everything I had developed and more.

  We can now focus on managing our extensive collection and no longer have to worry about only having myself to depend on for updates and development. The web module utilizing images was a major upgrade to our web presence (and much easier to upload)! Our grounds staff are also very happy with the mapping features and other capabilities. These are just a few of the many benefits IrisBG has had for the arboretum. I highly recommend it!

• Specimen № 06

  South Korea

  The IrisBG program provided gardeners with an opportunity to gain a broader understanding of plants while also clarifying the arboretum's identity.

  The IrisBG program was introduced to meet diverse plant information needs and requirements. Prior to IrisBG, the arboretum used various programs, including Ghini Desktop, Brahms, and BG-Base, and even developed its own. This is the result of the active support and academic demands of Professor Yongsik Kim (former director of Chollipo Arboretum), who has emphasized the importance of plant records.

  Chollipo Arboretum boasts a history spanning approximately 60 years. Initially, with a clear goal and vision, it focused on collecting species from five genera: holly, magnolia, camellia, Acer, and Hibiscus. Over time, various types of plants, in addition to the aforementioned trees, have been cultivated and managed. As a result, records of plant information have gradually become scarce.

  While field surveys were documented, they led to communication issues and began to derail collection policies and inventory management systems. This research will be crucial in rebuilding the chaotic system and clarifying the process from plant introduction to management and disposal.

  IrisBG is currently managed by the Plant Management Team. In many other institutions in Korea, plant records are managed by a separate document or records management team, organizationally separate from the plant management department, making close collaboration between the two departments often difficult. However, at the Chollipo Arboretum, the plant management team has integrated IrisBG operations and management data entry and management.

  This is not simply a delegation of system operations, but rather a deliberate reorganization. This approach can be viewed as an experiment, and while it may limit opportunities for cross-validation, we anticipate additional challenges will arise over time. Nevertheless, we plan to gradually address these issues as we continue to operate and improve the program.

  The most significant change is the paradigm shift in the arboretum's collection policy from taxon-based to population-based management. This shift provides decision-makers and boards with clear, evidence-based data they can use to persuasively inform strategic discussions.

  Second, we are making a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between planning and execution by linking changes occurring in field activities (field investigations) with internal processes (documentation and monitoring) in real time. We are confident that this approach will yield more predictable results and serve as an effective tool for improving management efficiency.

  By hierarchizing data within IrisBG, we anticipate it will play a key role in transforming data into actionable information and providing practical guidance for informed decision-making.

  If I were to highlight one or two noticeable and positive changes, the first would be the improved user-friendliness of the interface and the enhanced role of icons on end-user screens. The intuitive design makes it easier for users without formal training to learn how to use the system through the built-in usage functions, and it is noticeably more approachable than traditional database programs. In addition, the numerical indicators and functional roles of the icons are clearly and intuitively linked, allowing users to understand system status and functions at a glance.

  Until now, in using IrisBG, we attempted to achieve immediate results by importing all of our existing data at once through the data import function. However, because much of our legacy data has not been properly cleaned or standardized, we have decided to abandon this approach.

  Instead, we are focusing on entering sophisticated, high-quality data, starting with the five genera that the Chollipo Arboretum is most proud of—even if we only add one carefully selected record per day. Our goal is to ensure that this data meets international standards.

  Essentially, this reflects the simple principle that entering poor-quality data inevitably leads to poor-quality results.

  The IrisBG program provided gardeners with an opportunity to gain a broader understanding of plants while also clarifying the arboretum's identity. Staff were encouraged to explore the connections between their interests and their roles within the organization. Rather than viewing their work from the perspective of a different type of institution, this approach has motivated staff to systematically build knowledge directly related to their responsibilities within the arboretum or botanical garden. For this reason alone, I believe the introduction of the IrisBG program at the Chollipo Arboretum has proven its worth, and I am satisfied with the role it is currently playing.

• Specimen № 07

  United Kingdom

  IrisBG has been indispensable in helping us get to know our plant collections … It made it easy to research the plants and to then create management plans for specific areas.

  IrisBG has been indispensable in helping us get to know our plant collections.

  When I first joined the team, the amount of plants I had to look after felt overwhelming but using IrisBG helped me create reports of plants found in specific areas of the garden, that I could slowly make my way through. It made it easy to research the plants and to then create management plans for specific areas.

  The ability to add images to an entry is super useful too, as it helps us find where a specific plant is or what it looks like at a certain time of year.

• Specimen № 08

  USA

  In the past, it would take months to catch up.

  With a frenzy of planting in spring and late fall, paperwork would have to be postponed. In the past, it would take months to catch up. This first fall with IrisBG, despite spending time getting to know the product and rolling out Garden Explorer, we also managed to work through our backlog in record time.

  The time saved will enable us to work more towards improving the data quality and content which we share with our visitors to enhance their experience of our garden.

• Specimen № 09

  USA

  Every step of the way, we have been able to count on the IrisBG team for implementation, training, and ongoing support. This personalized, one-on-one assistance has enabled us to move as quickly as we have.

  Magnolia Plantation & Gardens is home to a historical collection of camellias, and with IrisBG, we have been able to document over 7,000 specimens so far. Every step of the way, we have been able to count on the IrisBG team for implementation, training, and ongoing support. This personalized, one-on-one assistance has enabled us to move as quickly as we have.

• Specimen № 10

  South Africa

  With IrisBG’s user-friendly interface ...

  Even without a dedicated plant recorder, our staff and volunteers have made huge strides in getting our plant records digitized, while also making it available to visitors via Garden Explorer. With IrisBG’s user-friendly interface, even our volunteers, with very limited computer skills, have been able to contribute to this process, while allowing for easy ways to inspect the precision of the data entered.

  Being located in a country with eleven official languages, our Botanical Garden is obliged to cater for more than just one language. The ability to make use of multilingual interfaces has been found hugely beneficial and has enabled us to attract funding from donors who wish to support multilingualism.

• Specimen № 11

  USA

  Everything is easier to use and more efficient.

  Switching to Iris has completely changed how we manage our plant records. Everything is easier to use and more efficient. I have really enjoyed digging into Iris and working with our records since we switched in September 2015.

• Specimen № 12

  Switzerland

  We chose IrisBG for perceived reliability: a broad user base, robust implementation, and many possibilities to implement our workflows.

  We chose IrisBG for perceived reliability: a broad user base, robust implementation, and many possibilities to implement our workflows. It also makes our data better, for instance, we now distinguish between items and accessions.

• Specimen № 13

  Norway

  ... easy creation and production of labels ...

  IrisBG has provided us with a particularly successful solution for the easy creation and production of labels for our collection.

• Specimen № 14

  United Kingdom

  All these tools help to maintain the integrity of the information associated with the plants in the garden, and help us to effectively use the Living Collection for its intended purpose.

  IrisBG makes it easy to manage the Living Collection, be that mapping the location of plants, labelling the collection, organising tours for the public etc. The software has made auditing the Living Collection simple, and we are able to de-accession many plants with ease, meaning that our records are now much more faithful to what extant in the garden.

  It makes sharing the information associated with the collection very simple. This might include, for example, creating a report of all the wild collected pines in a particular area of the garden, producing a Material Transfer Agreement to accompany an exchange of plant material, or recording observations about a plant from a visiting botanist for posterity etc. All these tools help to maintain the integrity of the information associated with the plants in the garden, and help us to effectively use the Living Collection for its intended purpose.

  The customer service IrisBG offers is excellent. The team are approachable and happy to help with any queries you might have. A really active community of plant records people has coalesced around the online Coffee Chats also, and this offers opportunities to discuss ideas and solutions with users from all over the world in a friendly setting.

• Specimen № 15

  USA

  ... we were up and running in a short time ...

  Hoyt Arboretum has been using IrisBG since July 2012; we had an existing database that though functional, lacked the expansion capabilities we saw in IrisBG. 8000 records were transferred by the IrisBG staff and we were up and running in a short time after making the decision to use the system. For our visitors the addition of an online searchable inventory with mapping capability was a big hit.

  The latest new tool is the creation of trail maps to allow visitors to self-guide a tour. This is important as our facility is free and open to the public, even when staff is not available. We are currently expanding our use of trail maps, with much positive feedback from Arboretum visitors.

• Specimen № 16

  United Kingdom

  Working with the IrisBG Team to implement a new collections management system has been excellent throughout.

  Their technical professionalism, high class botanical understanding, and quality of customer communication and service - including staff training, have been quite exceptional. We positively look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with the company and our use of the IrisBG system with them over the coming years.

• Specimen № 17

  The Netherlands

  After moving over to IrisBG, we have one less thing to worry about: software.

  The IrisBG team take responsibility for their product and make an effort to grasp the needs of their users. They welcome feedback and suggestions for improvements and consider how these could be implemented to improve the product. Our former program was developed on behalf of a consortium of botanic gardens, but unfortunately very few improvements were made after its delivery in 2002. We ran into all sorts of problems that couldn’t be solved without a major investment.

  The math was easy: Investing was inevitable, but with IrisBG we had the option of doing so with a reliable partner and a growing user group.

These are the institutions that offered to be quoted. See the full list of gardens using IrisBG, or meet the people behind them at our Coffee Chats.