11 January 2008

Two years of blogging


How quickly the time flies…today makes two years since I started this blog! Along the way a lot of things have been changed, in the garden, in the blog, in the world.

In my immediate world, the garden has expanded, with more interesting new plants (and some interesting old ones); the house has changed colour (but that white door still isn't yellow, a first-thing-in-spring project); some plants have gone to sleep, and some have yet to arrive here, like the Mimulus cardinalis in the photo just below. Lots of new books have come to live in my library, and while I'm personally working on another book, we're not there yet. We've developed the garden to be even more pollinator friendly, including plenty of native plants and a monarch butterfly waystation area.


Here’s what I wrote in that first post:

Words are a lot like seeds from flowers, grasses or trees. They get cast out onto the winds, or in this case, the Web, and we never know where they will end up or how they will fare. Some may tumble onto fallow ground, in which case they fail to germinate. Others land on fertile, prepared land, where they may flourish and bloom. Of course, not every word or every seed planted will prove to be a stunning rose. Some may be weeds. But that's one of the reasons that I connect gardening to writing, and writing to gardening. Both are facets of who I am, not something I just do. And while not every sentence I write is a rose of perfection, hopefully there aren't too many weeds.

There are about 220 posts here and in the archives since Jan 2006; I’ve removed probably 40 others, some because they were really stale-dated, some because I wanted to use parts of them in articles. I haven’t kept a stat-counter that whole time, but I can tell you that since mid-April of 2007, there have been some 42,000 visitors to bloomingwriter. Those include return as well as one-time visitors, and they come from all over the world, although especially from: Canada, the US, and Australia, with some regular visitors coming from Scotland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland.

Just as the readership here has increased, my readership of other blogs has radically increased; and this has been a great delight to me, because I’ve learned so much from each one of my fellow gardening blogs. In fact, my gardening hat is off to each of you who also blogs; from you I’ve learned so many new things about plants, about gardening, about parts of the world that I may never get to visit, and in some cases I didn’t even know existed (hello, Blithewold!)

This is not something I make any money off, and it may puzzle some people why I’d do a freebie when I make a living as a writer. (Maybe one day I’ll make enough from Google adsense to, oh, I dunno…buy a new plant!? I’m not holding my breath on that.) A lot of my professional work is about gardening, although I do deal with other topics of interest too. I love gardening in all its many facets, and one of those facets is the people I get to meet, either by email or in person; gardeners, nursery operators, landscapers, fellow writers including my fellow bloggers. Because I learn so much from others, I figure that writing the blog, and the email newsletter that I do for people mostly in Atlantic Canada, is a way of giving back to the gardening community at large. It’s just good gardening karma; a way of sharing seeds of information the way we share plants and seeds. And it’s fun, just like grubbing in the dirt is.

Or hanging out with the catchildren. Happily, ours haven’t learned to use the computer. Not yet, anyway, for anything but sleeping on. That’s not to say Mungus isn’t plotting…

29 comments:

  1. Congratulations on two years of blogging. I can't remember when I first started to read your blog, but whenever it was, it was my lucky day!

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  2. Jodi, Congratulations on 2 years of blogging. That sounds like a long time to me. :)

    I just love hearing about your cat children as well as your other pets and of course your garden. I am glad the cat children leave most of the writing to you. You do such a marvelous job. I look forward to all you have to say. I won't even complain about the 'weeds'. :) I wish you many more years of brilliant ideas to write/blog about.

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  3. I like the way you put it---that blogging is a way of giving back to the gardening community. And you're right, it's also just plain fun.

    Congratulations on your two-year anniversary. By blogging standards, that may make you an old-timer. ;-)

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  4. May your blog and garden remain weed free for another two years.

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  5. Congratulations on two years of blogging, Jodi. I didn't realize you'd been doing it that long.

    I enjoy reading your many creative posts and am very appreciative of you many comments left on mine.

    Best wishes for a very productive 2008 !

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  6. Awesome effort jodi. I've really enjoyed your candid comments and the many thoughtful articles you've posted.

    I'll drink a toast to you...

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  7. Happy Blogversary! I've only been a visitor here for a few months, but they've been fun and informative months. Thanks!

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  8. Jodi: The world is a better place for your eloquent words! Congratulations on two years of posts! Your sentiments expressed on why you blog is close to many of us! Having made a living in the lawn & garden industry for the past decade plus, sharing my garden with, well, whoever, is one of the most satisfying experiences I have had. If only there were more time to read more blogs and figure out all the little techie secrets then life would be all the more satisfying! Thanks for your words and pictures!

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  9. All my congratulations on this very special anniversary! I'm so glad that last year I found the way to your interesting and also stimulating blog. Looking forward to all your following posts.
    Barbara

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  10. Dear Jodi,
    2 years - that's pretty much time. As I remeber I somehow found your blog among first ones when I discovered gardening blogging in October'07. Lucky me!
    Thank you for yor efforts, pictures you take and words you write. This is a great gift to be invited to share part of your life and learn things from you.
    Thank you again and greetings from melted Poland :)

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  11. Hi Jodi,

    Happy blogaversary! Please keep up the great work. I love reading your blog.

    Take care,

    Katie at GardenPunks

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  12. Mungus is dreaming about using his extra toes to type better than the other kitties once one of them figures out how to double-click the mouse.

    Congratulations, Jodi, on 2 years blogging! I hope to be able to say the same thing someday. You are an inspiration to me in so many ways. You've been a great cheerleader to me and a wealth of information. I am so glad we met in Bloglandia (as Barbara Jacksier calls it)!

    Hugs and warm wishes,
    Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

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  13. Congrats, Jodi :-)

    Two years - well done you! I am new to your blog and look forward to seeing what this year holds for your garden :-D

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  14. Congratulations on 2 years of blogging, Jodi! I haven't been visiting you quite that long, but what visiting I have done has been very enjoyable. :)

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  15. Hi Jodi:
    I'm so glad to have found your eloquently written "seeds"... always delightful to read and to imagine what it would be like to live with a fluffy white blanket for so many months.

    Congratulations on 2 years!
    Have a great weekend!
    Meems in Florida

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  16. What an accomplishment! And what a following you have, Jodi. It's an inspiration to all of us who are just starting out. I love your comparison of writing and gardening. They are both so similar - like a journey without an end.

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  17. Hello,

    Your blog is very inspirational! I am considering moving to the Annapolis Valley from B.C., so I was exploring blogs from people in the area. It looks like such a beautiful area where a person could live a simple, natural life.

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  18. Thank you all for your kind words! You're the reason I keep at this, because I learn so much from each of you. And it fascinates to see what we have in common, even across so many miles, provinces, states, and continents. Viva garden blogging!

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  19. Hey Jodi, stick a couple candles into a super sweet cup-cake, or pour a couple stiff ones and celebrate. We never get enough excuses to break the rules, in fact I think I will join you, congrats

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  20. I just discovered your blog and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been blogging off and on for a while, mostly off. I've done some writing in the past, too. I have a cat blog: karnakstreetkats@blogspot.com
    My cat kids have learned to use the computer. One of them keeps putting files in the trash. I recommend a waterproof keyboard. One of my cats likes to throw up on mine.
    January Cat

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  21. Happy blog anniversary! Did you have a celebration? Looks that that kitty may have have partied too much.

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  22. Always an inspiration as a fellow gardener and writer, I thank you, Jodi, for following your heart beginning 'day 1' of your blogging journey.

    "The best things in life are free"

    Happy 'blogging' birthday!

    hugs ...

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  23. Hello from Blithewold and Happy Anniblogiversary!! I'm very glad to be learning from you (can I learn to love Berberis?) - keep sowing those wordseeds! I look forward to meeting you in person some day - maybe you'll get a paying gig to bring you down here!...

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  24. Happy anniversary! Keep on telling it like it is! I've enjoyed reading your posts & look forward to many more.

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  25. Congratulations, Jodi! I love what you wrote in your first post, it was beautiful. I'm very glad I found your blog too.

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  26. Congratulations on two years blogging Jodi!!! Well done you! I vastly admire you for the wonderful blogs you write! This is another great one! You have such a way with words my dear, it's good that you became a writer/blogger and let us share in that magic web of words you weave. Not forgetting the lovely pics of your garden and the cat-children.

    BTW Dolly Daisy is willing to give typing lessons and instructions on how to use the computer to your cat-children. Mungus seems the obvious candidate. ;-)

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  27. Hi Jodi:
    I do like your initial "writ" comparing words to seeds....I fear I have many weeds to my name.

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  28. Congratulations, Jodi on the two year blogiversary - you're a delight to read and a pleasure to 'know'... just wish I'd found you sooner!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  29. Congratulations on two years of blogging. You are truly an inspiration for the rest of us!

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