To Garden Honestly

From "Minnesota" 1980 by Joan Mitchell An ornamental garden is not always what it appears to be The call to action appeared in my inbox: “are we gardening while the world burns?” Yes, I got the easy reference to Nero, Rome and all that, which is, historically, a fairly complicated story in itself. And yes, ornamental—as distinguished from food—gardening, could be considered an oblivious, even oppressive activity, especially if conducted with plenty of staff in the pursuit of displaying wealth using plants and techniques that harm ecosystems. But rebelliousness rose in me. As a serious modern gardener, I wondered, does this person not understand where gardening is situated in the history of our species and how it can be used to make a fierce statement about possible futures? And I’m not talking about utopian ideas of getting back to the Garden of Eden, either. Nettled, I did look around the internet and found that the phrase seems to have come from an essay in which the write ...

One Year on the Blog

A year ago, after my comments on others' blogs got longer and longer, I realized I could start my own. So I did. Since then, I've learned a great deal--about blogging, about writing, about whatever it is I'm writing about. Writing this blog has become essential to me. What was intended to be a blog about gardening has become a blog about living in the biotic community from the point of view of a gardener. Which I hope doesn't sound too pretentious.

Many thanks are in order.

Thanks to all my blogging friends, from Blotanical and elsewhere, you who welcomed and helped me when I started, who read and comment, whose blogs I visit regularly--a network that seems to expand daily.

Thanks to the editors, bloggers and readers at Energy Bulletin who have made me feel welcomed in that lively, most interesting community. Thanks to those who follow with Google Friend Connect and those who now have "found me on Facebook," too, where I only recently set up shop.

Finally, greetings and thanks to all of my unknown readers who show up in my stats, many from the U.S., but who also hail from, to me, far flung places, among them Iran, Israel, Brazil, the Philippines, Ukraine, the UK, Canada, Australia, India, and Russia--so many countries, so many ecosystems and ways of life!

In the midst of frightening, tragic world events, blogging, as I experience it, is a form of community building, is an activity of hope. It is hard for me now to imagine life without this cyber community.

Best wishes for health and happiness to you all during this next year.

Comments

garden girl said…
Congratulations on your blog anniversary Adrian! Your voice adds a great deal to the sustainability conversation. I truly enjoy your well-researched, fascinating posts. It's a pleasure visiting. Thanks so much for what you're doing!
Diana Studer said…
Happy blogaversary! Your posts are always worth waiting for ;~)
Don Plummer said…
Congratulations! We're looking forward to another year of thoughtful articles.
Garden Girl, EE and Don,

And looking forward to reading your posts, as well. Wasn't sure if this blogging thing would last for me, but it seems to have taken on its own life.

Now I'm always thinking about the next post. What did I think about before? Who knows? I don't. Must have had some extra space in the attic I call my brain. ;)
Dave Coulter said…
One of my favorites spots in cyber-space! Keep up the good work!
Anonymous said…
Happy Blogaversary, Adrian. I just named you on my current post as the garden blogger who had done the most to educate me about the importance of native plants. So thank you, and I'm looking forward to another year of thoughtful and thought-provoking posts. Best, Jean
Hi Dave, well, you should know this blogging thing is partly your fault!

Hi Jean, I'm honored. I've learned a great deal from you, about gardening in different zones, and about blogging.