Once you've joined you'll be asked to choose an Avatar (the photo associated with your member profile), we suggest you use your company logo. Everytime you participate in a discussion, create plant care, or participate in almost any way, your Avatar will be seen, thus giving you free publicity. For more detailed instructions on changing your Avatar click here.

People will visit your profile (everything you do will be connected to your profile), so be sure to make it easy for them to find you. We've made it easy to add a link to your website or blog and much more. You can even include your gardening related RSS feed and your Twitter feed!

In addition to the free publicity you get with your user profile, you can add your company information (including links) to our Directory of Goods and Services section. To do this, just go to the Links, Goods and Services section, select a category and click on the "Add Your Listing Here". It will take you to an easy to use form. Just fill it out and you're all set. Remember to add a link back to the Mulch on your website. Search engines love that kind of cross linking. It's also possible to purchase better placement in our directory. You can learn more below, or in our Advertising Opportunities Page.

Do you have a gardening blog or do you have an RSS feed you'd like to promote? We've made it easy to add an RSS feed to your profile. If so, you can easily post it on your profile. Your RSS feed will be automatically shown on your My Feed tab on your My Profile page for all visitors to see. It includes the last three entries with direct links back to your blog and the feed address so others can subscribe too! Here's an example, just click on the My Feeds tab below your avatar photo.

Do you use Twitter? If so, you can show your Twitter feed and even post Tweet's from your My Profile page.  It's easy to do, you simply add your feed by editing your profile, here's how. Your Twitter feed will be automatically shown on your My Tweets tab on your My Profile page for all visitors to see. It includes the last five Tweets and visitors can follow you right from your profile on the Mulch! Here's an example, just click on the My Tweets tab below the photo.

If you have existing gardening articles -- especially those about plants or plant care -- we'll publish them along with your logo and links to your website and a blurb about your business or organization. This is a great way to use what you've already done to get people to your website. We have numerous articles which are seen thousands of times. This is a great win-win situation: our visitors get content and you get lots of visitors to your website!

Become a featured expert, is easy, it's free, and there's no ongoing commitment. Just complete a questionnaire and give a few lists of plant recommendations for your region and we do all the rest. This is a FANTASTIC way to get noticed and gain credibility. We link back to your business, blog or organization. Contact us to get started!

If you're member of the Mulch we will post links to your gardening related blog articles through an rss feed in our Friends of the Mulch section! It's easy, just join now and send us a note with the url of your gardening blog and we'll make it happen!

We connect everyone through your username,  so each time you answer a forum question it will show your username (which could be your Company Name) and that links back to your profile page, which you can use to promote yourself and your gardening business. Home gardeners are asking questions in our forums all the time, so every time you answer a question your avatar will stay with that answer, and your profile will be one click away from anyone who reads that answer (and that's a lot of people). More information about using the forums. Go directly to the forums.

As a member you can also create your own photo gallery. If you own a nursery, take a few photos of your place and give a little explanation in the comments portion of the photo. You can do the same thing if you're a designer or architect. You can show some of your best work. Many of our members are using these techniques to build or enhance their businesses. It's another great way to get some free publicity and show off your expertise.

Different than starting a photo gallery, this is about putting a photo of a specific plant into our Plant Encyclopedia. It's easy to do, and you will get a lot of exposure. People love to look at our plant photos, and your username (along with a link) will be seen on every photo you add. You can learn how to upload photos to our Plant Encyclopedia here.

Our system automatically connects people by the PLANTS they're interested in. Every time someone looks up a plant in our Plant Encyclopedia they can see who else is interested in that plant, so when you ADD A PLANT to your My Plants list they will see your avatar or logo and be able to visit your profile. Here's an example of everyone at the Mulch who says they own Rosemary.

It's easy to write a blog at the Mulch and you can even publish gardening related content that you've already published somewhere else. Your blog is connected to your profile page, so readers of your blog can also easily learn all about your organization.

Our system automatically connects people by the PLANTS they're interested in. Every time someone looks up a plant in our Plant Encyclopedia they can see who else is interested in that plant, so when you ADD A PLANT to your My Recommendations list they will see your avatar (or your logo if you use a logo s your avatar) and be able to visit your profile.

At the bottom of almost all of our content you're able to easily write a little comment for everyone else to see. Once again, all comments are automatically linked to your profile (which shows your username and avatar/logo and website) and therefore your profile page (and more free branding) is only a click away.