Yes, I started blogging on this date eight years ago. So much has changed. I’ve been through three different publishing platforms, adopting WordPress in 2005.
Felt so alone when I started, so began a blog directory to keep track of other garden blogs. Now my directory is only the tip of the iceberg! Zanthan Gardens was one of my first garden blog buddies.
But the goals that I stated in that first post are pretty much the same, except I never did manage to make it work as a collaborative blog (my friend Bub announced she was getting OFF the internet before I got the chance to ask her to be a co-author). And I decided against creating a fan page for Winterrowd & Eck, though I did review A Year at North Hill..
Now instead of a pioneer, I am more of an old fogey, getting left behind in the dust as all these young whippersnappers latch onto social media, the new frontier, so to speak. But I’m still plodding on. a citizen of the increasingly populated Blogasphere, with neighbors on every side.
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: @sweetrebecca
As usual, I’m late to the party here! I had meant to congratulate you the other day but it was quite a hectic day for me. So here I am wishing you a hearty ‘Congratulations’! My own blog is just a little over a year old, so I’m extra, extra impressed that you’ve been writing for so long – and it shows with such wonderful posts. Here’s to the next 8 years!
Twitter: @truegrit
Congratulations on this milestone! Your blog has stayed fresh and inspirational to me
Bravo for your continued contributions to better gardening and the blogosphere .
Ilona´s last [type] ..Why Plant Perennials
Twitter: @citygardening
You go girl! I’m so glad to have met a significant mover and shaker in the blogosphere!
Lorraine Flanigan´s last [type] ..Tour the Trees of Casa Loma with LEAF
Twitter: @I forget
Happy Blog anniversary Kathy! Wow! Eight years! I do not even think I knew what the word meant that long ago. You are a pioneer! I look forward to visiting your blog more often and your directory… had not heard of it and will go there now. I am only one and half years old at blogging and want to change formats too. I see you have a link to blog design… well I have a good deal to explore here on your blog. I wish you many many more happy blogging years! ;>)
Carolflowerhillfarm´s last [type] ..A Regal Emergence Monarch Metamorphosis Final Act!
Twitter: @commonweeder
Kathy – Congratulations on your 8th! blogoversary. I’m coming up on my 3rd anniversary, and all through that time I have counted on your for inspiration and instruction. Your blog directory pointed me at other good blogs and your blogging tips were invaluable since I jumped in without knowing anything about the blogosphere. Also, I really appreciated a blog that dealt with the kind of weather we ‘enjoy’ here in Heath. Thanks for pioneering and persevering.
commonweeder´s last [type] ..Weeding- Mowing – and a Surprise
Twitter: @alisonkerr
Wow, eight years! My congratulations to you. I’ve been blogging for two years now and it seems like a long time. I shall have to come back and peruse your archives, which must be considerable. Thanks for pointing out your directory – I hadn’t noticed that and I’m always looking for another garden blog to visit.
Congrats on 8 years of blogging. I wish you many more years of gratifying posting.
Congratulations!
Laurie Brown´s last [type] ..At Last- A Nice White Marigold!
Congrats on eight years! Sure enjoy your posts, keep it up.
Congrats neighbor! Thanks for being an inspiration.
Twitter: @thefrugalgarden
Happy 8th blog birthday Kathy. It’s the more experienced blogs like yours that make it so much more fun for us newbies!
Lisa´s last [type] ..How to Garden Like You’re in the Tropics When You’re Stuck in the Snow – Featured Elsewhere
Happy 8th anniversary in the blogsphere! You, Kathy, have something that is most lacking in society today – perseverance! Here’s to you and glad to call you my friend!
Congratulations on your achievement, Kathy, not least of which is still remaining relevant with all the newcomers on the scene. I think your blog is still fresh and definitely worth reading.
Pam/Digging´s last [type] ..More wildlife in the garden
Twitter: @f
Congratulations on your blogiversary…you continue to be an inspiration to me. Here’s to the next 8!
Yours was one of the first places I visited when I began blogging, and your directory is the stuff of legend. Congratulations on 8 years, which in blogging years makes you about 156.
I was wondering how old my blog was in internet years . . .
Congratulations! Stalwart pillar, inspiring visionary…best wishes for many more years.
Eight years, wow is all I can say. I have only been blogging for 42 days. I can only imagine what it would be like after eight years. Congratulations. I liked how Carol described bloggers. I hope to be a perennial, too. At least in my job of landscape design, I am. Blogging takes time and imagination. Many of the blogs that I follow have heaps of imagination and good writing ability. They keep me interested, and I even learn a tip or two from them often. Yesterday, I learned what to do with brugmansia. Being a cold climate gardener, I was pleased to know how to winter it over successfully.
Twitter: @DaffodilPlanter
Congratulations Kathy, and many thanks from a junior garden blogger! I see you’re going to be sharing your wisdom at a GWA seminar next month. Now you just have to decide *which* peony you are
Daffodil Planter´s last [type] ..Invasive plants on the lam
Twitter: @reddirtramblin
Honey, you should consider yourself a pioneer. Look at what you’ve done for bloggers like me who followed after you. Thanks for holding my hand and helping me navigate Wordpress three years ago. Plus, it doesn’t seem like there are many bloggers in that cold climate of yours. Congrats and thank you.~~Dee
Twitter: @clayanlimestone
Kathy, Thank you for leading the way! Your posts continue to inspire and delight me. I am honored to know you. gail
Twitter: @suburbangarden
Congratulations! Your posts are never dull and old hat; you always have something relevant and interesting to say. Yours was one of the first blogs I read, and it’s still at the top of my list of must-reads. You are an inspiration.
Twitter: @susieshomemade
Congratualtions! What a great accomplishment:-)
Twitter: @HelenYoest
Congrats Kathy! Eight years is quite the accomplishment. No doubt staying true to your mission of educating your readers in cold climate gardening has kept people coming back. Here’s to another 8 years!
Wow – knew you were around before me but hadn’t realised just how early. Congrats – not only for still being here but also for the quality of the posts over all that time. here’s to us old fogeys, I say …
Sue In Milan´s last [type] ..Growing Avocados
Twitter: @Faire Garden
Dear Kathy, most certainly not an old fogey! Happy blogaversary to a true pioneer! I like what Carol says, you are the peony among us, lasting long after the homestead has crumbled and returned to the earth.
Frances´s last [type] ..The Red Spotted Purple And Friends
Twitter: @NickiinNY
Congrats, Kathy! You are not an old fogey!
Nicki´s last [type] ..Board of Education
You’re right; I’m going to change that!
Twitter: @indygardener
Well, none of us consider you an old fogey! Eight years is quite an achievement. How many garden bloggers have come and gone in that time? Some were annuals that barely lasted a year. Others were biennials that went along great for two years and then died out. Very few end up being the perennials that we can count on year in and year out. Congrats!
Thank you, Carol. This is the danger of writing late at night when you are tired, and then immediately publishing instead of letting it sit a while. You write things that might have been said in a better way. I thought of a better way and changed it.