This is the last post in this series and it's Petunia's turn from Petunia's Garden in Washington, USA. Enjoy!

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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I've enjoyed growing herbs, flowers and vegetables for years but had a number of dark years without a sunny enough spot. Now I'm enjoying it all again and this is the second summer for my current garden.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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I spent a rainy Saturday this past March hunting around the internet for vegetable garden ideas and photos and that is when I discovered garden blogs, especially those about allotment gardens in the UK. Before the day was done, I had my own blog! I thought it would be fun to share with family & friends that don't live nearby and a great way to keep a garden journal. It has been all of that and more.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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Other gardeners have been a source of inspiration to try things I haven't grown before and a source of tips on how to grow them. After reading about them, I planted parsnips. I also planted pole beans and runner beans for the first time this year. A number of gardeners blogged about trenching to help feed and provide moisture for the beans. It made me spend a little extra effort on the soil for my beans and they seem to have benefited. And, oh the recipes for using fresh vegetables! That's been a tasty benefit also.

Continue reading "Introducing: S Petunia (Petunia's Garden)" »

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Alice, from A Growing Delight, was the first blogger who found me when I first started my blog. Her infectious commenting and willingness to make others feel welcome within the gardening blogosphere is second to none and I find whenever I go to comment on another blog she's beaten me to it - again! Not only is she is a great commenter, hence her huge comment base per post, she's a great gardener as well and spends her time dressing up her garden in Australia's Capital City, Canberra.

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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I started gardening when I was about 7 years old. We had quite a big, somewhat neglected garden on my parents’ dairy farm. I found some violets hidden under a hedge so I dug them up and replanted them in other places. Some grew and some didn’t, but the thrill of gardening and watching plants grow began then and has continued for more than half a century. My mother also allowed me almost free rein in the garden, so I was able to dig, rake, mow, pull up and replant (or sometimes not!) to my heart’s content. A Yates Garden Guide became my ‘bible’ as I dreamed of all the flowers that I wanted to grow. My grandmother encouraged me to plant anything, saying, “You never know, it might grow.” That also included flowers taken from vases once they started to wilt. I still love propagating plants, especially by cuttings and division.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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My daughter suggested that I start a blog early last year as I might ‘meet’ someone with similar interests, primarily gardening. I had no idea what a blog was at that stage and struggled to find any other gardening blogs in Australia. However, within a very short time, I found several new ones in this country and many others across the world. My blog has expanded beyond the ‘garden fence’ to include other topics, supported by photos. I particularly enjoy taking photos of clouds, sunrises and sunsets, trees and water. I feel closer to some of my blogging friends than I do to my personal friends.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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It’s hard to recall a particular gardening tip, having read so many, but the experience has given me a greater understanding of gardening conditions and experiences in other countries and climates, and a greater appreciation for the benefits of being able to garden all year round, despite the continuing drought in this country. My gardening knowledge has increased whilst international distances seem to have shrunk.

Continue reading "Introducing: Alice (A Growing Delight)" »

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I found Corinne after she commented on this blog and I'm so glad I did. Corinne's another Australian gardener and runs a nursery in South Australia (the state to my right) where she sells mainly Australian natives. Plants like eromophilla's, correas, grevilleas and banksia's abound on her blog at Mallee Native Plants Nursery.

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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Initially gardening was something I did to keep the grounds of our home tidy when we were first married. My father was a great vegetable grower as was my husband’s mother. Gardening became something I did to unwind and relax and provide for the kitchen. Later the interest changed to propagating plants to grow. I found that I got great pleasure from doing this and then seeing the results growing in the garden. This then became my hobby/lifestyle.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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My son is an IT Wizz and is very much into blogging. He could see the potential in blogs and encouraged me to begin a blog on what I know a lot about, which is Australian Native Plants. I began this in a tentative way knowing how I wanted it to turn out but not actually sure that I could do it. I wanted my blog to be a diary of sorts, chatty and casual, giving useful and helpful information, and conveying my enthusiasm for the unique native plants in our country.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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The best and most useful tip I learnt from listening to others, reading and experience is the importance of good drainage for plants. This single factor will enable plants of many kinds to grow in otherwise inhospitable locations. Even the provision of a mound with as little as an extra 10cm of height compared to the surrounding soil will be enough to be effective. I have heard that this will also counteract the effects of high alkalinity (high soil pH) when trying to grow plants that resent too much lime in the soil, like many Grevilleas. I have yet to prove this but it is certainly worth trying the idea.

Adding gypsum to heavy clay soils, as well as compost and other organic material will help to break up the clay particles and improve drainage. People who have clay soils are much to be envied because of the fertility and moisture holding capacity of these soils. (Especially compared to the non wetting mallee soils and sand dunes I have dealt with over the years.

Continue reading "Introducing: Corinne Hampel" »

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The Inadvertent Gardener as a blog title always intrigued me. Isn't that like the "accidental tourist?" Apparently. Genie states at the top of her blog, "Need garden advice? Then you probably shouldn't send me an email." - lol. That's great, and an awesome name for a blog. Get to meet her here...

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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While there are plenty of people with a penchant for gardening, I have never been one of those people. I either over-watered or under-watered, and next thing I knew, whatever green thing I tried to coax along into healthy existence had withered and died.

In September 2005, I moved to Iowa City. In April 2006, I decided to overcome my black thumb heritage and plant some herbs in a couple of pots. (Details here) Next thing I knew, I had a garden.

The garden itself was Steve’s idea. He’s my boyfriend, and the one who suggested that I give up the pot habit in lieu of working directly with the dirt.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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I'd been looking for a way into the blogosphere for awhile, but didn't want to write a boring blog about my daily eating habits, who I hung out with at a bar, and what movie I like in any given week. I think the market on political ranting is more than covered, and I know better than to blog about work. It wasn't until Steve and I actually started planting the garden that it occurred to me that this might be the perfect thing to write about. First of all, it was all new information to me, which meant I'd have plenty to research and address. Second, I figured I was going to be spending a lot of time on the Internet anyway, figuring out what in the world to do with this rectangle of dirt and the green things we'd put in it. Third, gardening was so out of character for me that I figured it couldn't help but be funny to chronicle.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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Dad told me every gardener should plant twice as much as they can possibly eat. That way there's plenty for the pests and still something left over to enjoy!

Continue reading "Introducing: Genie (The Inadvertent Gardener)" »

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A Study in Contrasts is one of the relatively 'new kids on the block.' But, don't let that fool you - young doesn't equate to small. Kim's blog is a dynamo of ideas as she shares her gardening ideas in her new great looking landscapes.

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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In 2000, after my then-husband and I bought our first house. I started gardening there for three reasons:

1) I like to eat well. Not only do grocery store tomatoes taste like insipid imitations of their garden-grown cousins, but also fresh herbs are ridiculously expensive in the grocery considering how easy they are to grow.

2) My "new house" was a 2-story colonial built in the 70s that looked like every other 2-story colonial on the street--and there were many of them. The landscaping was boring, the tall house sat uneasily on a flat lot of grass, etc. Definitely not my idea of a cozy dream home nestled within greenery.

3) As a "country girl" who'd been living in cities since she first left for college in 1994, I NEEDED to reconnect with nature!

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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I think that I tried every single year to start and maintain a proper garden journal, but I just couldn't do it. Having a blog offered a great way to have my own journal online--much easier for me to maintain--and I could post pictures along with my thoughts instead of relying on pencil sketches and vague descriptions. Also, I discovered GardenWeb and found a whole lot of cool garden bloggers who seemed to be having one heck of a lot of fun. I definitely wanted in on the community.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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Begonias like it a little on the dry side. (So THAT's why I had been having so much trouble with them all those years!) Thanks, Janet!

Continue reading "Introducing: Kim (Blackswamp Girl)" »

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Carol gardens in Indiana in the US and believes that "we should all strive to sow, grow, and sustain good things in life's garden." Her blog May Dreams Gardens is a great read and the community she has grown there is very close.

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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I started gardening first as a little girl. My Dad would provide all of us kids with a little bit of space in the backyard, a few flowers, something to plant with (sometimes that would be a spoon) and we’d go at it. I decided as early as junior high school that I should do something with plants or horticulture when I grew up. But when I grew up, they didn’t offer much pay to horticulturalists, so I work in “Information Services”. But, I’ve always loved plants and gardening and feel fortunate to have a big enough yard to garden in and some means to buy fun tools like my hoe collection.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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I experimented with blogging a couple of years ago, but got more serious about it this spring. I love to write, I love to garden, so combining the two is a way for me to relax and forget about work and work problems. I find it interesting to see what other types of blogs some of the gardening bloggers have. In my case I have another blog where I post info from my grandmothers’ diaries, one day at a time with a few comments. She wrote the diaries between 1925 and 1927 and it really shows the differences between how we live our lives today and what she lived through in the 1920’s.

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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I’ve picked up a lot of good gardening tips along the way, but I think the best is to take care of your soil, amend it with compost, keep it from eroding, don’t dig it when it is wet, etc., because without good soil, you don’t have much success with gardening!

Continue reading "Introducing: Carol (May Dreams Gardens)" »

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First cab off the rank is Amy Stewart from the very sassy Garden Rant and also her personal garden blog, Dirt. She needs no introduction, but if you've just landed from another galaxy you can find out more about Amy at her website.

When did you start gardening as a hobby?

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I started gardening 12 years ago. I was fresh out of college and had just moved from Austin, TX to Santa Cruz, CA. I had escaped the heat and for the first time, I had a little bit of land, some time on my hands (no more tests to study for!), and a little bit of money from my first real job. I quickly fell into a routine of getting up on Saturday morning, going to the nursery, and coming home with my car full of plants. I'd spend all weekend in the garden, clearing out weeds and replacing them with whatever crazy thing had caught my fancy. No plan, no organization, no clue. But it was fun! And this story formed the basis for my first book, a gardening memoir called From the Ground Up.

Why did you start blogging about your garden/ gardening topics?

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I actually started blogging when my second book, The Earth Moved, was about to come out. I thought it would be fun to blog about the book tour and about earthworms in general, which very much included the worms in my own garden. I started that blog when Salon.com was hosting bloggers through RadioUserLand, and then I migrated to Blogger.

Because Blogger wouldn't let you create categories, I created a second blog when we brought home baby chicks from the feed store. I wanted a place to post pictures of my fabulous chickens! And then I started a third blog just to write about general gardening topics. It all got to be too much, so now I just have one blog at blog.amystewart.com and I imported everything from my old blogs. And I moved to TypePad, where I can categorize my posts, so it's easy to find all the chicken posts, all the earthworm posts, all the garden posts, etc.

I'm about to go on a book tour for my third book, which is called Flower Confidential, so I'll be blogging from the road again. This time I hope to really geek out and get one of those clever smart phones that lets you post photos and text to your blog right from your phone.

And now I'm part of a group blog called GardenRant. It's just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on. (Wait a minute--who said you had to keep your clothes on? I'm not telling!)

What's the best gardening tip you picked up along the way?

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Dirt! There is nothing more important than good soil! Spend the rent money on compost! Spend the grocery money! Feed your garden and it'll feed you!

Continue reading "Introducing: Amy Stewart" »

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The time has come for us to take some R&R with the family so rather than leave you with nothing to read for the next two weeks we've asked a few garden bloggers to share their stories.

I gave each of them 6 questions and 24 hours to answer them. Over the next fortnight one will appear each day and share a little of their gardening journey. We have a great line up already however if you received an email and are considering whether to join the series don't procrastinate - there's always room for more. If you didn't get an email from me and would like to be considered for future series similar to this please send me an email.

If you want to keep up with the series without checking back each day feel free to subscribe to the feed. (If you don't know how to do that follow the directions here).

I hope you enjoy the series and meet some great bloggers.

BTW - the order they appear in is the order in which I received them (No preferential treatment here).

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