Who do you consider the most influential garden bloggers?
I am writing a column for Examiner and need your input.
So what do I mean by influential? Well, you tell me. Perhaps it is someone whose blog you ALWAYS read. Perhaps it is someone who changes the way you think or practice about gardening. Or maybe it’s someone who influenced you in just a single, major way.
Please let me know. And please pass along the request or include in your own blog, linking here.
You can email me at gardeningexaminer@gmail.com, comment here or use the comment form here on my blog. I need your input by Friday, January 30. My column will appear the following week with your comments and links to your own blogs.
So, who’s most influential among garden bloggers?
You can also visit here and leave your comment directly at Examiner.com.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I don’t have a nomination for you, but I’m curious to see the results. I’ll bookmark the best!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I have subscribed to the Daily Digger RSS feed. It is the official blog of Digger magazine; a magazine for Oregon Nursery owners and growers. A recent post was about the USDA (APHIS division)issuing a Federal order restricting several plant species from different countries. They are trying to control the spread of the citrus longhorned beetle and Asian longhorned beetle. Here is a link to the site: http://diggermag.blogspot.com/2009/01/citrus-longhorned-beetle-fears-spur.html
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I don’t know how influential they are, but I know which ones I myself prefer. The blogs I return to over and over include some actual gardening information–how-tos, experience with certain plants, favorite plant combinations, etc.–instead of just a lot of ho-hum personal info with a bit of gardening around the edges. I also look for creativity and originality, and just plain good writing. A sense of humor helps too. Kylee of Our Little Acre is probably my favorite all around, and seems to have a good following, if that counts for influence!
January 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am
That’s an easy question to answer… Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
Her Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day on the 15th of every month has created a community.
January 24th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I would like to nominate Nancy Ondra who writes the blog Hayefield. Her Posts always have tons of information and wonderful plant/color combinations. I’m always inspired when I read her posts.
Also Pam from Digging. I want to nominate her also because she’s an Austin garden blogger and it helps to see what someone close by does with their garden. She takes great photos and have fun information. Pam is also one that is crazy good with plant combinations.
January 24th, 2009 at 9:45 am
It’s tough choosing any one particular blog (or Web site, they’ve become enmeshed as one in some cases) with so many good ones out there. It’s a bit subjective also, for what is best for my zone 5 garden will, of course, be different for her zone 7 or 9 plot. Nevertheless…
* Four girls “Gardening our asses off” – http://www.gardenrant.com/
* Joe Lamp’l (aka Joe Gardener) – http://joegardener.typepad.com/dailycompost/
* Hannah’s place, “Where gardening isn’t a hobby, it’s an obsession.” –
http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/
One more thing, I’m only a regular reader of Joe’s blog, the others poked me good when I visited them, thus their inclusion in my list.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Pam, from Digging was influential in my decision to start Robin’s Nesting Place. Her blog was one of the first garden blogs that I discovered and it was love at first sight! Her blog is still one of my very favorites, but my list of must reads has grown considerably over these last two years.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Hi Robin, I would also like to nominate Pam at Digging. She helped me get started with my own blog, Fairegarden. Her posts are terrific and her photos superb and she is a super nice person too.
Frances
January 24th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I enjoy Michelle with http://fromseedtotable.blogspot.com/
She does a nice combination of featuring plants and recipes.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Nancy Ondra’s blog Hayefield (http://hayefieldhouse.com/) is a favorite of mine!
January 25th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I ditto what Daisy said. I’m curious about results. I’m too new on blogging scene to nominate myself: http://askfarmerphoebe.wordpress.com, but I do have a heavy influence on the gardening choices I make. ;-)
January 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I have a few favorites and they are all fairly local to me. Kathy Purdy of http://www.coldclimategardening.com/ is wonderful. I woud also cast another vote for the women at http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/, as well as Liz Licata’s own blog http://allentowngardener.com/. I read a lot of garden blogs, but these are onmes I never miss.
January 25th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I mentioned several on the GE site, but I left out Kathy from Cold Climate. She is very influential and always writes such great, educational columns.~~Dee
January 25th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Pam at Digging was the first blog I ever read – guided there by an article in the local newspaper. She inspired me to start my blog and I find her to be both interesting and entertaining. I love her gardening style and her photography is always amazing.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I check out Helen @ Gardening With Confidence. She’s a gardening coach with maintenance tips and how-tos.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I would like to nominate Frances from Fairegarden. Her plant info and in particular her photographs, as well as her writing are always an inspiration for me.
January 26th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I am interested to know who you all think are smart and creative bloggers. I have found good information all over though. I do like the format of magazines.me and it would be fun to see these gardens make thier blogs into blogazines.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I would like to nominate Kathy at Skippy’s Garden-http://carletongarden.blogspot.com/.
She inspired me to start my own blog, she’s very creative, and she posts almost every day, which is one thing that I look forward to each day.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I like, You Grow Girl. Her blog also has tons of resources and a message board. yougrowgirl.com
January 29th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I like your idea, of selecting influential garden bloggers and would like to read your selections.
I don’t have any nominations to give you, though the links at my own blog show some of my favorites.
In this competitive world, I prefer to plant a few seeds and Lily of the Valley pips, visit blogs, write about my garden and continue my journey.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I know it is after your deadline, but I wanted to add to the list (even if it doesn’t make your article).
First of all, I agree with everyone’s nominations. I subscribe to everyone of those blogs with the exception of two. (Which I can’t wait to check out!) They are ALL fabulous bloggers and deserve nominations.
But there are three others that I did not see listed (or perhaps I missed them in the comments) and I think they deserve nominations as well.
1) http://www.AWayToGarden.com is written by Margaret Roach (former garden editor of Martha Stewart Living). Her blog is insightful, sophisticated and charming all at the same time. Her great photography also seems to show the “soul” of the garden.Very inspirational.
2) http://www.douggreensgarden.com (written by Doug Green obviously)features very informative posts (he used to own a nursery) with lots of humor. He is a thinker…usually thinking outside of the window box and as such he makes me think as well.
3) I noticed that GardenRant was mentioned many times and I agree this is by far my favorite blog. But what I did not see mentioned was Susan Harris’s blog http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com. Susan is one of the 4 ranters on GardenRant, but her sustainable gardening blog is just as good. Her information is cutting edge and she always supplies so many links and tidbits for further information. Her work is AWESOME.
Okay…I’m done. I feel so much better now!
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
First of all, thanks Donna and EarthGirl (over at Garden Examiner) for mentioning me! I’m humbled and flattered at the same time.
I learn so much from other gardeners, and a lot of what determines who is most influential for me is who is gardening with the same conditions I do. I tend to most enjoy those blogs that are by gardeners in the same general growing zone that I am. (Zone 5)
I still enjoy one of the first garden blogs I ever read – bloomingwriter, written by Jodi. I read soooo many great garden blogs, but Jodi’s is one I never miss.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
The most influential to me personally were Kathy Purdy at Cold Climate and MSS at Zanthan Gardens. However I started blogging long ago when those two were among the first ones out there. I still they are among the best and the first to come to mind when I think “garden blogger.”
At the time Pam at Digging and Carol at May Dreams were not yet on the radar screen. However they have had a big influence too; mostly by showing how garden blogging could be a social experience as well as a journalistic exercise.