GardenBloggers

What Plants Talk About

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:41:00 +0000

A few months ago Mother Nature Network asked me to write a post for their website about plant sentience. My working title as I was writing the post was Do Houseplants Dream of Electric Sheep? The editor I work with at MNN went with The Case for the Ethical Treatment of Plants, which better...

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7 Of The World's Strangest Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:20:00 +0000

For the first time in a long time I'm not looking at the garden being released by winter with optimism, but rather, with boredom. Yeah, you read that right. I think I'm bored with my garden. I have been wondering how I could rejuvenate my interest in the garden and this list of 7 of the...

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Top Gardening Trends and Springtime Flowers on StumbleUpon

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:43:00 +0000

This time of year there’s a lot of talk in gardening circles about trends in gardening. Most of the time the “trends” seem to be pulled out of someone’s drainage hole, or they’re thought up to support a brand an agency might be representing. So, it’s interesting to see this list of the “Top...

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Make a Garden Blog Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:52:00 +0000

We're all familiar with movie trailers, and over the past few years trailers have become a popular way to promote new books, especially books about gardening. But garden blogs have been slacking in using this promotional tool. Until now. Amy, of Get Busy Gardening, just...

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You Grow Girl Launches The Grow Write Guild

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:44:00 +0000

Are you bored with writing your garden blog, or need a change of pace? As someone who writes in the "how-to" voice for my garden blog, sometimes, crafting a post can feel rather daunting. Then there's also the creative slump you fall into. I find it hard to write outside the how-to voice after all...

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FTC Updates Disclosure Guidelines for Blogging and Tweeting

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:48:00 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission released new guidelines this week for better disclosure in online ads, and social media marketing. The update to the 2000 "Dotcom Disclosures" guide is primarily focused on online advertising and markers, but there are clearer guidelines for bloggers and users of sites...

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The Disappearing Farmers of Silicon Valley

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:51:00 +0000

Who would have guessed that with every Apple product we buy, and every social media startup we join that we would be contributing to the demise of farmers? But that’s what’s happening in Silicon Valley. Once home to a booming chrysanthemum business and cut flower business, the farmland is...

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How "Crimes Against Horticulture" Are Committed

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Last month, In the Garden Online had an excellent take-down of the forced “crimes against horticulture” meme. Blooming Writer also chimed. What is it about the whimsical and crazy-looking pruned trees and shrubs that inspire such disdain among certain groups? Elitism. I don't get it. But then again...

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Flower by Andrew Zuckerman

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:38:00 +0000

The world of plant photography has been thoroughly explored. From the ugly, poorly composed photos of online plant catalogs to the striking plant photos some people have managed to capture with cell phones. It also seems like everyone owns a DSLR nowadays and can manage the occasional good picture...

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Weeds Pick Up Radio Waves

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:13:00 +0000

Russians have made many great contributions to the world. Like vodka, and more vodka. There is also an explosion of Russian dash cam video footage on YouTube that garners lots of views. In addition to the dash cab footage, one of my Internet obsessions is watching the many “Jackass” videos from...

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English trees to Orkney via garden blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Diana Studer) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Diana Studer gardens for wildlife at Elephant's Eye. She is joining Garden Bloggers as a contributor. Diana will highlight interesting garden blog posts from around the world in a feature we're calling "Garden Blogs Through the Elephant's Eye." About Diana We live in Porterville (near Cape Town...

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Garden Gloves for Anglophiles

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:33:00 +0000

If you still haven’t taken down the bunting from your viewing party of William and Kate’s wedding, chances are you’re an anglophile. “What garden gloves would the Queen Mother choose?” you ask yourself as you stroll down the garden center aisle at Walmart. Well, I don’t know what brand of garden...

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Changes at Garden Bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:59:00 +0000

Shortly after I registered this domain, I decided to use it as a vehicle to help other garden bloggers make changes to their template, and navigate some of the pitfalls of social media and online publishing, and documenting some of the ridiculousness of blogging in the same style that other...

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Free Premium Blogger Templates by Confluent Forms

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Last year on Twitter I came across the people behind Confluent Forms. They're a webdesign and development firm that is doing some incredible things with Blogger. Confluent Forms is making some really cool websites using Blogger and really showcasing the power of this content management...

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Disclosure and Trust

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Merriam-Webster defines disclosure as “the act or an instance of disclosing.” The example sentence reads: “We demand full disclosure of the facts.” If it all sounds like courtroom speak that has nothing to do with garden blogging: think again. The Need for a Disclosure Policy Back when IZEA...

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Get Published: Got Stink Bug Photos?

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:38:00 +0000

Mary Schier (blogger at My Northern Garden) editor of Northern Gardener magazine is looking for a creative photo of a brown marmorated stink bug for pay. Do you have a high res photo of a brown marmorated stink bug in a garden setting? I licensed them a picture of...

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Blogger Extracts Payment From Newspaper Publisher That Plagiarized Him

noreply@blogger.com (MrBrownThumb) — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:57:00 +0000

This is too sweet not to share. A blogger found that a local newspaper had plagiarized a post of his, and to add insult to injury didn't even provide him with a byline. So, armed with a letter, invoice and a camera he went down tot he office of the newspaper and this happened. via...

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Problem with Gravatar Comments on WordPress

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:13:00 +0000

As a blogger that uses Blogger, the comment feature of WordPress blogs has always been something I've admired and been envious of. They have always been "open" and easy to use. When the company that owns WordPress acquired Gravatar it made using the comment feature that much nicer. I...

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P. Allen Smith and Demand Media: Adding Insult to Injury

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:11:00 +0000

Hi Mr. Brown Thumb, I’m reaching out from eHow Home’s YouTube channel where we’ve been working closely with PBS star P.Allen Smith to create great gardening/design video tips and how-to’s the past few months. We’re big fans of your site and would love to work together to provide some of this...

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Facebook's "Timeline" Coming to Facebook Pages.

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:11:00 +0000

On March 30, 2012 Facebook's Pages will be redesigned to show the new Timeline style of profile pages. Ugh. What may look cool as a profile page just looks confusing as a Facebook Page. Here's a preview of what my garden blog's Facebook Page looks like using the new Timeline interface. Where...

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Garden Bloggers on the Cutting Edge: Example 192

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:27:00 +0000

In February of 2011 I blogged about the Global Garden Report of 2010 complied for Husqvarna and Gardena. The report attempts to categorize and contextualize garden bloggers and our role as garden communicators. At the time I highlighted a section of the report that reads in part, "Most often,...

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The ANLAClinic is a lot like High School

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:20:00 +0000

Last week I attended the ANLAClinic in Louisville, Kentucky, from Wednesday through Saturday. The ANLAClinic is a yearly educational event for members of the American Nursery and Landscape Association. During the clinic attendees listened to speakers, participate in workshops and seminars...

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Garden Bloggers Get WWE on NWF

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

While I was attending the ANLAClinic in Kentucky this week my Twitter feed erupted with outrage over the announcement that the NWF had teamed up with Scotts. I monitored the conversation online and kept relatively quiet. My silence on the issue was construed as apathy by a few Twitter...

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Persea non grata

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:53:00 +0000

A couple of years ago I wrote an article for Lawn & Garden Retailer Magazine explaining what garden bloggers were and how garden centers could connect with garden bloggers. After the article was published I was contacted by a garden center in Iowa thanking me for the article and saying that by...

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Garden Bloggers on the Road

noreply@blogger.com (GardenBloggers.Com) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:25:00 +0000

After the drama surrounding being falsely accused of creating a boycott of the GWA by a group of writers and bloggers in Fern Richardson’s secret Facebook group I was contacted by the ANLA Clinic to see if I was interested in participating in their event. At first I wasn’t sure that I had anything...

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