Re: Most influential blogs

**D* N* <n*@gmail.com>**

Hi Suzi,

As a blogger, I wasn't going to touch this one, but I decided to after all.
BTW, a shout out to Jodi from bloomingwriter and Eliz, Amy & Susan from
Garden Rant.  Also, howdy to all my other blogging friends on this list, and
there are a bunch of us.

At the risk of missing man I read (and there's no way not to), I'll list the
ones I always catch.  However, I don't know that any of these are more
influential than any of the others.  I just like the writing, and as I've
come to know them, the people behind the blogs too.  Like Eliz, I probably
have over 100 blogs on my Google Reader right now, and I also follow several
on Blotanical, BlogCatalog, and I watch for new posts on Plurk, Facebook and
Twitter.

These are in no particular order:

Mr. McGregor's Daughter:  Love her sardonic wit and her constant fight with
Benjamin Bunny.  She also has the botanical education to back up what she
writes.

Cold Climate Gardening.  Kathy's was one of the first blogs I read.  Her
writing is sharp and precise, and knowing how difficult it is to keep plants
alive in her cold and very short season, I admire what she does to be able
to garden.  Our climates seem like polar opposites.

May Dreams Gardens:  one word:  funny.  Carol also has a Master's Degree in
horticultural something or other.  She, like the two women above, became a
good friend, but I read her before I ever met her.

bloomingwriter:  Jodi writes beautiful prose, and she also gardens in a very
tough, cold climate.  I am fascinated by this and enjoy reading about her
garden when mine is burnt to a crisp.

Garden Rant:  I would bet that almost everyone on this list reads GR on a
regular basis.  These four women, three of whom I now call friends (I've
never Michelle), tapped into something in the gardening industry that wasn't
being said.  I like how each of them has their own separate voice, and by
now, I can usually tell who is speaking before looking at the byline.  They
are very educated about their subject, and I find myself learning something
new each time I tune in.  I also read each of their individual blogs which
set an entirely different tone.

Digging:  Pam's blog was one of the first I ever read, and I read it a long
time before I created my own.  She takes beautiful photographs, and she is a
landscaping professional.  Her words are pure poetry about a subject with
which I am totally obsessed, and she gardens in a climate which is about a
month ahead of mine.

Idahogardener:  If I'd never tapped into Idahogardener, I wouldn't have
known a blessed thing about Boise and its wild, wild west.  Mary Ann is a
great writer, and I like her prairie horticulture insight.  Plus, she's
funny.

Clay and Limestone:  Gail loves native plants, and she has created a prairie
meadow outside her home/office.  She is a counselor, and she writes such
soothing lines, I sigh and say "ah" when I read her.

Fairegarden:  Although I wish Frances's blog wasn't written with white type
on a black background (it hurts my eyes), I love her enthusiastic writing
style.  She loves gardening,and she's very good at it.  She is also one of
the nicest people every.  She, like Carol at May Dreams, is great at
establishing a sense of community with her readers.  It's probably why she
was the Blotanist of the Year at Blotanical.

Like I wrote, this isn't an exclusive list, and I try to hit all of my fav
100 blogs at least once a week.  I haven't even delved into my fav blogs
from England.  "Oh, to be in England in the summertime."

I was a bit nonplussed to hear that Garden Rant is "highly commercialized."
They do run an ad in their sidebar, but so does Cold Climate Gardening
(Kathy also has an Amazon store, something I would do if I could figure out
how) as does May Dreams and several others.  My blog, RDR, also has an ad at
the bottom of the page,and two ads in the sidebar.  I must be
extraordinarily commercialized.  Oh, and I make barely enough to pay for my
domain and all of the work I do to keep the blog up to date, so I'm not
making a fortune.

Suzi, I hope this helps.

Dee

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 3:01 PM, Elizabeth Licata <ealicata@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
> Hi Suzi,
>
> When you're a blogger, you read many, many other blogs. That's how we
> support each other. It's kind of like this listserv. We're a community.
>
> Now, according to my Google Reader, I am trying to follow over 100 blogs! I
> do read a post from each of them about once a week, though I don't always
> comment.
>
> I have my favorites, but I think it's more because I have gotten to know
> the personalities behind the blogs more than because I feel they are
> influential.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> Eliz.
>
>
> --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Susan McCoy <susan@gardenmediagroup.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Susan McCoy <susan@gardenmediagroup.com>
> > Subject: RE: [GWL] Most influential blogs
> > To: ealicata@yahoo.com, "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers
> Forum" <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 3:53 PM
> > Elizabeth, everyone loves GardenRant.  What other blogs do
> > you read?
> >
> > Suzi McCoy
> > Garden Media Group
> > 1620 Baltimore Pike
> > P.O. Box 758
> > Chadds Ford, PA  19317
> > Voice (610) 388-9330 Cell F610-220-8400 Fax (610) 388-9331
> >
> > On the web at GardenMediaGroup.com &
> > GardenPlot.BlogSpot.com
> > Your reputation is our mission.
> >   Please consider the environment before printing this
> > email
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: gardenwriters-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> > [g*@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf
> > Of Elizabeth
> > Licata
> > Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 3:22 PM
> > To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
> > Subject: Re: [GWL] Most influential blogs
> >
> >
> > Hi Barbara,
> >
> > If we're "highly commercialized," someone had
> > better show me the money.
> > It has not materialized yet, nor have I high hopes that it
> > will. I blog
> > because it's fun.
> >
> > But thanks for the "reasonably good writers"
> > part. And thanks for
> > reading!
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Elizabeth Licata
> > gardenrant.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Barbara Martin
> > <cottagegardenpro@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Barbara Martin
> > <cottagegardenpro@yahoo.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [GWL] Most influential blogs
> > > To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers
> > Forum"
> > <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>, "Susan
> > McCoy"
> > <susan@gardenmediagroup.com>
> > > Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 12:42 PM
> > > Hi Suzi, If I bother to look at gardening on the
> > internet at
> > > all, I look at GardenRant, mostly for the
> > quality/quantity
> > > of the comments and to see what topic is
> > "hot"
> > > among the "cool" people. I appreciate that
> > the
> > > writers are prolific, smart, up to date, and
> > reasonably good
> > > writers. I also feel it is a highly commercialized
> > blog and
> > > discount it accordingly. Call me cynical. Cheers!
> > >
> > > Barbara Martin
> > > latest post "Luxury Spending for Creatives"
> > > http://reptitude.com/
> > >
> > >
> > > --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Susan McCoy
> > > <susan@gardenmediagroup.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > From: Susan McCoy
> > <susan@gardenmediagroup.com>
> > > > Subject: RE: [GWL]Most influential blogs
> > > > To: cottagegardenpro@yahoo.com, "Garden
> > Writers
> > > -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
> > > <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > > > Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 5:25 AM
> > > > Speaking of blogs, which ones do you all read?
> > Which
> > > do you
> > > > think are
> > > > the most influential?
> > > >
> > > > Suzi McCoy
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > gardenwriters mailing list
> > > gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> > >
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
> > >
> > > GWL has searchable archives at:
> > > http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
> > >
> > > Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> > > at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
> > >
> > > Post gardening questions/threads to
> > > "Gardenwriters on Gardening"
> > > <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > >
> > > For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> > > http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gardenwriters mailing list
> > gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
> >
> > GWL has searchable archives at:
> > http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
> >
> > Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> > at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
> >
> > Post gardening questions/threads to
> > "Gardenwriters on Gardening"
> > <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
> >
> > For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> > http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> gardenwriters mailing list
> gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
>
> GWL has searchable archives at:
> http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
>
> Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
>
> Post gardening questions/threads to
> "Gardenwriters on Gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
>
> For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
>

-- 
Dee Nash
Freelance Writer
2101 E. Lakewood Drive
Guthrie, OK  73044
405 282-4738; Cell:  405 410-2338
nashgarden@gmail.com
Check out my blog @ www.reddirtramblings.com
Oklahoma Gardening Examiner @
http://www.examiner.com/x-711-Oklahoma-Gardening-Examiner
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters