We have a new website!
Please visit our new site at www.gardenfling.org to keep up
with news and upcoming Fling events.
We are now The Fling, previously called the Garden Bloggers Fling.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Madison Fling 2022: Blog Posts and Other Coverage
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| 2022 Madison Fling attendees at the UW-Madison Arboretum |
Thanks for joining us! We love reading your posts about the Madison Fling, and so do other bloggers and communicators, our tour's garden owners and sponsors, and the gardening public. To help us find your posts as you publish them during the weeks and months ahead, please tag them on Facebook and Instagram with our hashtag #gbfling2022. Also, please share your links on our official Facebook page, and you can send them to madisongbfling@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for more. We'll be collecting your coverage here (see below) so your fellow bloggers and social media communicators—as well as the garden owners, sponsors, and anyone interested in the Madison Fling—can read them. Check back periodically to find the newest links. Seeing different perspectives about the gardens after the Fling ends keeps the fun going!
Madison Fling Instagram, Facebook, and other social media:
Natural Gardening: Allen Centennial Garden
Garden Rant: Report From Madison: Green as Far as the Eye Can See
PlantPostings: On Plants and People at the 2022 Garden Bloggers Fling
Good Environmental News: Native Plants in Wisconsin
My Garden Zone: #GBFling2022 WOW!!!
The Queen of Seaford: Back to Flings—Let's Start With Trees
Nuts for Natives: Native Garden Design Ideas: Paths
Through the Greenhouse Glass: Plant of the Week: LOLLIPOP® Crabapple
Nuts for Natives: Native Plants: The 2022 Garden Bloggers Fling
Digging: Allen Centennial Garden on UW–Madison campus
My Garden Zone: Natural Garden Hacks for Weeds (Fling raffle and Cobrahead featured)
Digging: Ann Munson’s woodland garden invites mystery and play
Digging: Cindy Fillingame’s glowing, rainy-day garden
Digging: Snapshots from Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ meadow, event, and herb gardens
Digging: Planted plaza, fountains, and rose garden at Olbrich Botanical Gardens
And let's recognize our first-time Flingers!
Thanks for joining us! It's great to make new friends, and we hope you'll join us again.
Connie Cottingham (GA) – Garden Travel Experiences
Mark Dwyer (WI) – Landscape Prescriptions by MD
Amy Free (WI) – Create Ecology
Karl Gercens (PA) – Longwood Gardens Blog
Sharron Johnson (TN) – Cooper-Young Garden Club
Sheri Kaz (WI) – My Garden Zone
Susan Martin (MI) – Gardener Sue's News and Garden Crossings
Natasha Nicholes (IL) – We Sow We Grow
Camille Paulsen (WA) – Tahomaflora
Megan Speckmann (WI) – Far Out Flora
Chan M. Stroman (WI) – Bookish Gardener
Judy Valdes (WI) – Cobrahead Blog
Danniel Ward-Packard (WI) – Botanica and Obsessed Midwest Danniel
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Welcome to Madison!
Opening Night: Thursday, June 23
4:30 to 5:30 pm: Stop by our table in the Concourse Hotel lobby, to pick up your ID badge and your swag bag. Wear your badge every day; it's your ticket to board the bus.
If you miss the registration time, contact Anneliese or Beth at the welcome reception (Madison Children's Museum at 6 p.m.) and we'll find a time after the reception to get your things.
The swag bag will contain lots of goodies PLUS the tour routes and garden descriptions; be sure to find them in the bag and take them with you on the bus.
Daily Departures and Arrivals
DEPARTURES
Buses board promptly at 8 a.m. on Friday and Sunday; and at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
If you miss the registration time, contact Anneliese or Beth at the welcome reception (Madison Children's Museum at 6 p.m.) and we'll find a time after the reception to get your things.
The swag bag will contain lots of goodies PLUS the tour routes and garden descriptions; be sure to find them in the bag and take them with you on the bus.
Daily Departures and Arrivals
DEPARTURES
Buses board promptly at 8 a.m. on Friday and Sunday; and at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
ARRIVALS
Friday: We hope to be back at the Concourse at 7:15-7:30 pm. (Our promptness loading and unloading the buses and traffic conditions could affect the time.)
Saturday: We plan to be back at the Concourse at about 6 pm.
Sunday: We plan to be back at 6:45-7 pm.
Weather forecast as of Tuesday 6/21:
Weather forecast as of Tuesday 6/21:
It will be warm Thursday through Saturday, but quite comfortable on Sunday. We'll have plenty of water to drink. The nights will be comfy, though. Restaurants may have their A/C kicked up high, so plan to bring along a sweater or a light jacket.
Time to Fling!
Friday, June 17, 2022
Planning Your Trip to Madison
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| Photo via Wikimedia Commons |
We've thrown a lot of Fling information at you during the past few months (and years ;-) ), and it can be hard to find all the information you're looking for. So here's a list of important links and information you'll need for making final arrangements for your trip to Madison next week.
#hashtag
Our hashtag for the 2022 Garden Bloggers Fling is #gbFling2022. Please be sure to use that every time you post something about the Fling on your favorite social media site. It's a great way for sponsors, garden owners, and fellow Flingers to follow along on our adventures.
Facebook Group
It's also important to note that all our communication during the busy days of the Fling is done through our Facebook group. If you're coming to the Fling, but you're not a member of that group yet, please click here and request to join. Then turn on the FB notifications, and keep your eyes peeled for important announcements from now all the way through the Fling (and afterward as people start posting pictures and blog links about the Fling!)
Important Links
General overall information
Things to pack and what to wear
What will we do during the Madison Fling?
Hotel
Info about our hotel for the Madison Fling
Transportation
Information about transport around the city, and to and from the airport
Food
Some of your food will be provided, but not all of it. Here's a list so you know what to expect:
Thursday:
*A wealth of appetizers and beverages at our welcome event
Things to pack and what to wear
What will we do during the Madison Fling?
Hotel
Info about our hotel for the Madison Fling
Transportation
Information about transport around the city, and to and from the airport
Food
Some of your food will be provided, but not all of it. Here's a list so you know what to expect:
Thursday:
*A wealth of appetizers and beverages at our welcome event
*If you're still hungry, check out the nearby restaurants for a light snack
Friday:
*You're on your own for breakfast
*Lunch
*Snacks on the bus
*You're on your own for dinner; we won't be back until early evening
*You're on your own for breakfast
*Lunch
*Snacks on the bus
*You're on your own for dinner; we won't be back until early evening
Saturday:
*You're on your own for breakfast, but eat lightly—we'll provide a buffet brunch
*You're on your own for breakfast, but eat lightly—we'll provide a buffet brunch
*Brunch
*Snacks on the bus
*Banquet dinner
*Snacks on the bus
*Banquet dinner
Sunday:
*You're on your own for breakfast
*Lunch
*Snacks on the bus
*You're on your own for dinner
Your hosts for the Madison Garden Bloggers Fling:
Please remember that each Fling is planned, coordinated, and run by volunteers. This is not our full-time job. So please, please be patient if you experience any glitches during the Fling. We'll do our best to make sure everything goes as planned, but with every BIG event, there's always something. So, patience and understanding are always appreciated!
Beth Stetenfeld of PlantPostings.com
*You're on your own for breakfast
*Lunch
*Snacks on the bus
*You're on your own for dinner
Your hosts for the Madison Garden Bloggers Fling:
Please remember that each Fling is planned, coordinated, and run by volunteers. This is not our full-time job. So please, please be patient if you experience any glitches during the Fling. We'll do our best to make sure everything goes as planned, but with every BIG event, there's always something. So, patience and understanding are always appreciated!
Beth Stetenfeld of PlantPostings.com
Anneliese Valdes of Cobrahead Blog
Thank you! See you soon!
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Our 2022 Sponsor Directory Is Now Online
Our 2022 sponsor directory is online and viewable as a pdf. You can click here to see it. Please enjoy perusing the gardener-friendly companies whose support is helping us to present our fun-filled event and keep costs low. If you like what you find, please support them in return with likes, links, and shout-outs on your blog and other social media.
Thanks to the Austin Fling Committee for the template, and to Idelle Fisher of PickleWix.com for the graphic design!
Our bloom-level sponsors for the major events, in order of event:
Thanks to all our amazing sponsors! You make the Fling possible!
Opening Reception – Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery
Lunch at UW-Madison Arboretum – CobraHead
Demonstration and Giveaway – DRAMM
Brunch at Goodman Community Center – The Great Grow Along
Banquet and Auction – Bailey Nurseries, Elizabeth Licata/Garden Rant, John & Bob’s Smart Soil Solutions
Lunch at Rotary Botanical Gardens – Monrovia
Ice Cream and Social at Allen Centennial Garden – J. Berry Nursery
The Sponsor Directories – Pickle-Wix Web Design
Thanks to all our amazing sponsors! You make the Fling possible!
Sunday, June 5, 2022
Things to Pack and What to Wear
The Madison Fling is just over two weeks away!
What should you bring, and what should you wear? Here are a few suggestions:
Things to Pack:
- Camera!
- Extra camera batteries and memory card
- COVID masks (we'll include one in your swag bag, and we'll have a few extras)
- Proof of COVID vaccination (you'll be asked at registration)
- Hat
- Phone and camera chargers
- An umbrella to protect your camera in case of rain
- Mosquito/tick repellent
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Your Fling buttons if you've been to the Fling before (don't worry newbies, we've got you covered!)
- Business cards
What to Wear:
Wear comfy clothes during the day for the garden tours. If you feel like dressing up for dinner, then bring a change of clothes for each night. (Our banquet dinner on Saturday night will be at the hotel.)
Wisconsin's weather can be unpredictable, even in summer. While "normal" late June highs are in the low 80s F, and "normal" lows are in the 60s, daytime temps can range anywhere from dry 70s all the way on up to very humid and low 100s (unlikely based on our forecast this summer, but be prepared).
We'll share the forecast on our Facebook page a few days before the Fling to help you decide what to pack, although the weather can change, and a full range of things can happen quickly (strong winds, thunderstorms, perfect days, rainbows). Fortunately, most June storms hit in the evening, so our days (fingers crossed) are more likely to be "calm and partly cloudy."
The A/C tends to be cranked up pretty high at most indoor places in the Midwest. While we'll be mostly outside, our brunch on Saturday and our banquet dinner on Saturday night will be indoors. So, be sure to bring a sweater or a light jacket for these events or for dinners at indoor restaurants.
As Fling veterans know, we walk, walk, and then walk some more during the Fling. Bring comfy shoes! We'll be walking through gardens, over lawns, up and down hills, through the streets of Madison, and more. Plan accordingly.
Meals:
You’ll be on your own for breakfast each day. Lunch will be included with your registration. We’ll also provide daily snacks to fuel your energy for garden tours. We’ll have a banquet on Saturday, but you’ll also have a chance to dine out on other nights.
Our previous post covered the planned itinerary in case you missed it: Madison Fling Itinerary Preview.
Safe travels! See you soon!
Our previous post covered the planned itinerary in case you missed it: Madison Fling Itinerary Preview.
Safe travels! See you soon!
Friday, May 27, 2022
Full Itinerary for the 2022 Fling
Only four weeks until the Fling!
There's still room for a few more, and it’s going to be great!
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| Photo courtesy The Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club |
Here are the highlights:
Thursday, June 23
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.: Stop by our table in the Concourse Hotel lobby to pick up your ID badge and get your swag bag. Wear your badge every day; it’s your ticket to board the bus. If you miss the pick-up time, contact Beth or Anneliese at the reception, and we'll find a time after the reception to get your things.
6 to 8:30 p.m.: Welcome reception at the Madison Children’s Museum, just a couple of blocks from the hotel. You won’t want to miss the yummy goodies and happy conversations with your fellow plant people. We’ll meet rain or shine, but if the weather is fair, we’ll eat and visit outdoors on the rooftop garden area.
Friday, June 24
8 a.m.: Time to load buses, bright and early, at the Concourse Hotel. This will be a busy day, so we need to stick to the schedule as much as possible.
First, we’ll head to Middleton, west of Madison, to tour Betsy True and Danny Aerts’ mostly edible garden. They've been owners since 1999, and their house was remodeled to include a passive solar sun room, solar hot water, solar photovoltaic and geothermal heat/air conditioning. Betsy and Danny have put in significant work in the last decade, including garden fencing, raised beds, and cold frames. They also have sizeable woodland and prairie environments with lots of native plants, and they keep chickens and bees.
Next, we visit another Middleton garden at the home of Linda and Phil Grosz. They built the house 25 years ago, and at that time the only vegetation on the lot was weeds and a row of old box elders. An acre of native prairie was installed by Prairie Nursery in 1998 and a pond was built soon after. Since that time, Linda has created plantings around the pond, a huge berm with a tapestry of hostas and other shade-loving plants, a rock garden, a decorative vegetable garden, a miniature garden, and a new sculpture garden.
Next, we head to Fitchburg, south of Madison, to visit the garden of Rita Thomas, who started gardening at her current location 35 years ago, when she “knew nothing about plants or garden design.” A plant collector, Rita seeks out the unusual, the best of the species, or the latest introductions. A couple of years ago, she added 20 new trees and 15 herbaceous peonies to her garden. She also tends orchids, native woodland plants, daylilies, and irises.
The former Flower Factory nursery, now the private garden of Nancy and David Nedveck, is our next destination. Near Oregon and Stoughton, the Nedveck’s property is expansive. Once home to more than 4,000 perennial varieties, the nursery was one of the premiere garden centers of the Upper Midwest. Begun by the Nedvecks in 1984, the nursery was enlarged in 1988, and was a common stop for bus tours. Nancy and David closed the business in 2020, and have been scaling back, although they still garden and sell plants at the Dane County Farmers’ Market.
(Note: We won’t be back to the hotel until after 7 p.m. We won’t be serving an evening meal, so be sure to stock up on snacks and plan to stop at a restaurant near the hotel when we get back.)
Saturday, June 25
6 to 9:30 a.m.: Sleep in, if you wish. This will be a slightly more relaxed day. You’re on your own to tour the Dane County Farmers’ Market, just a block from our hotel, from 6 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., when we’ll load the buses for our day’s events.
A hearty brunch at the Goodman Community Center, on the near East side of Madison, will be the fare mid-morning. The Goodman Center is a private, nonprofit that serves the entire community through programs such as early childhood education, its TEENworks high school program, older adult activities, and many others. We’ll be served through the center’s Working Class Catering participants—a “classroom” of young people who work and learn alongside food service professionals.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a nationally recognized botanical garden. It was voted one of the top 10 most inspiring gardens in North America by Horticulture magazine, and it has received the American Public Gardens Association’s Garden of Excellence Award. Among other highlights is Olbrich’s Thai pavilion, a gift to UW-Madison from the Thai government and the Thai chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
After our Olbrich visit, we’re off to tour three Madison private gardens, not necessarily in this order:
Linda Brazill and Mark Golbach moved to their half-acre lot 28 years ago, as it was a perfect canvas on which to create a garden: a sloping site with trees and shrubs mostly at its edges. Their goal was to walk out their back door and be in a tranquil retreat, marrying the contemplative qualities of Eastern gardens with the pines and perennials of Wisconsin. They’ve planted some 200 trees and shrubs, and used more than 200 tons of stone in walls, paths, and boulder groupings. The garden has real and symbolic water features, unusual trees and conifers, a birch glade, woodland peonies, and a Japanese teahouse.
Cindy Fillingame added her first raised bed in 2004, out of a desire to improve the garden’s drainage. She chose concrete retaining wall blocks, which allowed her to create fluid lines and to adjust the height and enrich the soil. As her gardening knowledge has grown, she’s created diverse garden beds that have something to offer in each season of the year. Visitors will see many newly planted trees and shrubs, as well as older established trees and shrubs. Lilies, including Martagon, Asiatic, and Orienpets, join garden sculptures to provide vertical accents among a wide variety of perennials.
Tom and Cheryl Kuster have been gardening at their current property for 22 years. The yard had been professionally landscaped in 1968 when the house was built, including a small pond and waterfall. In 2004, the Kusters asked Steve Lesch, of Landscape Designs Nursery, to help them create a new plan. Tom describes himself as a “collector of plants,” with more than 600 different varieties. The garden is divided into 20 sections—each with its own genera of species. Areas include miniature and dwarf conifers; a Tufa rock garden with various alpines, hens and chicks, and woodies; and a Japanese garden.
We’ll end the day at the Concourse Hotel for our banquet and auction. Be prepared for some fancy fixings, socializing, and fun with gardening giveaways.
Sunday, June 26
8 a.m.: Time to load buses, bright and early again, for another day full of amazing garden tours. We start on Madison’s east side for tours of two unique gardens.
Ann Munson, who’ll be joining us for her first Fling, has been gardening at her current Monona property for 43 years. She started with a small vegetable garden, and gradually expanded to include all of her ¾-acre suburban lot—it now has no lawn, and paths wander throughout a collection of sun and shade gardens. More than 250 trees and shrubs—all but six of the trees on the lot—were planted by Ann and her husband. Wood chip paths connect the gardens of sun and shade. Two ponds and a connecting stream provide water for wildlife and stimulation of the senses. Ann recycles as much from the land as possible, and incorporates interesting items as she finds them.
Jane and Duane Miller have an urban garden within Madison’s isthmus that showcases very creative use of a small lot. During the growing season, they repurpose their driveway as a pathway and patio into the garden. Plants in rolling pots—along with garden furniture, portable fences, planters, and umbrellas—come out to form a wonderful dining and entertaining space. Since many things are on wheels, they can rearrange spaces or create a parking spot, if needed. A wood pergola on one side and a secret garden nestled between two garages in back form the other garden rooms. A colorful bowling ball collection lines the front garden. Arbors and fencing divide the property into gardening “rooms” filled with colorful annuals, dramatic foliage plants, and decorative surprises around every corner.
Before lunch, we’ll make a quick stop at Kopke’s Greenhouse, in Oregon. The business, which started in the 1980s, now has 28 buildings; plentiful garden decorations, tools, and supplies; and more than 1,000 plant varieties of perennials, annuals, and edibles.
On the way back to Madison, we’ll stop in Stoughton for our two final private garden visits—also very unique!
The garden of Jim Ottney and Jay Hatheway started as an untended field of weeds, an oil change sand pit, piles of old tires, clotheslines, volunteer trees at random locations, and various invasive plants. When they purchased the home and property in the mid-1990s, they turned over the entire lot by hand, and transformed it into a lush garden laced with pathways and seating areas, incorporating a newer central pergola over the original patio, a metal gazebo in the back, a deck overlooking the entire garden, garden art distributed throughout, and a flagstone open space in one section. Jim describes it as a “private escape and a space where we can entertain small groups of friends.”
Janet Aaberg has owned her home for 30 years. The first eight, she had a few basic plantings, but it was after the death of her spouse in 1999 that she started digging gardens, which she’s continued for 22 years. She created one garden at a time, planted one plant at a time, made many mistakes, and has had many successes. She’s taken master gardener training, worked at Kopke’s Greenhouse for a few years, and has belonged to several botanical societies. She now tends 18 large perennial beds, and has a diverse selection of perennials, including 32 varieties of Clematis, some of which should be blooming when we visit.
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| Photo courtesy Allen Centennial Garden |
** And there’s a small secret surprise at the end…shhh…you won’t know what it is until the end. See you soon in Madison! **
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Great Grow Along: Supporting Sponsor of the Madison Fling
Let’s hear it for another 2022 Fling bloom-level sponsor: The Great Grow Along!
Great Grow Along is a media channel for cutting-edge content of today’s gardening world. Designed by gardeners, for gardeners, the goal is to unite a nation of gardeners who know no state or country lines, but share the goodness gardening can bring to all.
A team of industry pros, nonprofit leaders, technologists, and educators—who also happen to be gardeners of all varieties—join together to provide great gardening content. The next Great Grow Along Virtual Garden Festival is scheduled for March 10-19, 2023. On-demand content is available year-round.
Find them online:
Website: greatgrowalong.com
Facebook: @greatgrowalong
Twitter: @greatgrowalong
*** The Garden Bloggers Fling is a non-profit organization; we’d be nowhere without our generous sponsors! Please let them know how much they mean to us—big "thank-yous" to each and every one! ***
*** The Garden Bloggers Fling is a non-profit organization; we’d be nowhere without our generous sponsors! Please let them know how much they mean to us—big "thank-yous" to each and every one! ***
Monday, May 16, 2022
Who's Who at the Madison Fling
Whatever drives you to blog or communicate on social media about gardening, there's a place for you at the Garden Bloggers Fling, as evidenced by the diverse group of people planning to attend the Madison Fling in June.
Below are short profiles of participants and what they're all about. Note: If you haven't submitted your photo and information yet, please do so when you're ready; we'll add your profile right on up to the start of the Fling. (Click here for the full list of attendees, organized by location.)
We're sure you'll find kindred spirits here, as well as reasons to reach out to people with interesting and unique projects and activities. And if you need a little extra help putting names to faces, you may also find this a helpful reference once you arrive in Madison, so bookmark this page!
Blog and/or handle: Small Boots Gardening
Location: Buffalo Grove, Illinois
I design and install gardens for Chicagoland families, so they can enjoy their outdoor spaces. It's called Garden Snippets: How 10 minutes in the garden can transform your outdoor space. I also love to sketch and take visual notes to help people see the possibilities for their space. I offer gardening workshops, ad hoc. I offer online and in-person garden consultations. I also purchase and install plants for people who are local. This includes non-gardeners and people who once were avid gardeners but now need a helping hand.
Blog and/or handle: Flowers & Grapes
Instagram: @flowers_n_grapes; Twitter: @flowers_grapes; Facebook: @flowersandgrapes
Location: Northern California Wine Country
Flowers and Grapes is my ad-free online indie magazine for gardeners, flower fanatics, wine country enthusiasts, and nature lovers in Northern California. It's an independent magazine that celebrates the seasons and the region, and encourages you to get out and explore the wine country. Published quarterly in spring, summer, fall, and winter, each issue is packed with natural beauty and regional focus to inspire gardening, sustainability, entertaining, cooking, travel, and living a rich life in Northern California. You can read current and past issues of Flowers and Grapes for free at flowersandgrapes.com. It can grow only with your support! In one year, it has grown its audience to more than 5,000 readers worldwide, and our fans have generously crowdfunded the publishing of this unique ad-free quarterly magazine with their generous contributions on Patreon.
Blog and/or handle: Playin' Outside
and PollinATX
Location: Austin, Texas
Playin' Outside is a collection of photos and observations in my own pollinator-centered garden.
PollinATX is what's happening around Austin related to our becoming a Xerces-certified Bee City USA and ongoing projects to retain that coveted certification. My biggest project for two years has been getting Austin certified a Bee City USA. Now I'm working with Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) to encourage KTB affiliates to become Bee Cities. I'm also working with Xerces and Monarch Watch to establish a pollinator corridor through Texas, and with AgriLife Extension to establish an official Pollinator Garden certification.
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| Photo: Adriana Robinson |
Blog and/or handle: Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Plant of the Week
Location: Grand Haven, Michigan – along the lovely shores of Lake Michigan!
The purpose of my blog is to provide gardeners and garden communicators with information and inspiration for their next gardening-related project. Just as Alice found a whole new world when she stepped Through the Looking-Glass, the hope is that my blog introduces gardeners and garden communicators to the fantastical world of flowering shrubs, whether viewing them Through the Greenhouse Glass, or in their own backyards. I’m also an actor! During the shutdown, my husband and I performed a one-act play called "A Betrothal" that was filmed where we played breeders at an iris show. I've also recently filmed an “unconventional garden tour” of the display gardens for Spring Meadow Nursery. Ask me for the link! I've been having a great time travelling the region this spring, speaking to groups about Proven Winners® ColorChoice® shrubs and how to use them in their landscape plans.
Location: Athens, Georgia (soon Northwest Arkansas)
I'm a travel writer who loves public
gardens and pedestrian spaces. I'm also a destination expert at
travelthesouthbloggers.com, and a garden writer, blogger, and speaker. In
Summer 2022, this Southern girl is moving from Athens, Georgia, to her roots—Northwest Arkansas. Follow GardenTravel Experiences gardening and garden travels blog and sign up for "Love
Notes from the Garden"—short, weekly gardening emails interwoven with history
and humor.
Location: Janesville, Wisconsin
I'm the garden manager for the Edgerton, Wis., Hospital Healing Garden, which I designed in 2011. Previously I was director of horticulture at Rotary Botanical Gardens (Janesville, Wis.) for 21 years, where I did a very regular horticulture blog (3,000 posts) for more than 12 years. I also operate my own landscape design company, Landscape Prescriptions by MD, offer many presentations and garden writing projects, and spend time with my family in Janesville, Wis. Gardening in Wisconsin is an exciting adventure each year. I try not to worry about what I can't control from Mother Nature (deer, inclement weather, Japanese beetle damage, etc.). I like to focus on the rewards of immersing myself in the garden, and the excitement of observing seasonal transitions, pollinator activity, vegetables ripening, cloying fragrances, and so much more.
Jane Finch-HowellInstagram: MulchMaid; Facebook: Jane Finch-Howell
Location: Portland, Oregon, and Astoria, Oregon
I blog about my mostly evergreen garden in Portland, and occasionally from Astoria, Oregon. I've been blogging for more than 13 years, but these days it's often on the 15th of the month for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I have a special affinity for agaves and aloes, native and drought-tolerant plants, pushing my zonal envelope, and for all-season trees and shrubs, though my modest city gardens can only hold so many of those! I'm currently working on creating a new garden in Astoria, while keeping up on my Portland garden, as well. I recently added two small community garden beds to the mix in Astoria, so I'm getting my vegetable mojo back. I'm just a gardener who happens to blog about it. ;-)
Location: Denver, Colorado
My personal blog is about good news about the environment—I wanted to share only good news for a change! Sandia Seed’s blog is all about growing peppers and vegetables organically. Recent projects I’m proud of: I have my own website design business and I love working with clients making a difference. I redesigned the People and Pollinators website to be visually engaging and packed full of beautiful photos and info on how people can help make Colorado a safer place for all. Lots of my photos are included in the site, as well, including the Bumblebee Goldenrod image on the first slide. I was also super happy to work with Garden Blogger Flinger Shari Wilson on redesigning her amazing blog, Nuts for Natives. Her blog is about native plants for the Chesapeake Bay region, packed with great info and resources, and featuring her beautiful photos!
Amy Free
Location: Wisconsin
My blog focus is, "Your place is their place." I encourage readers to notice the ecology where they live, and to engage in efforts—none too small!—to foster a healthy, diverse ecology. I am an award-winning science-themed Peeps dioramist! I also provide community education as a master composter.
Location: Portland, Oregon
I'm the behind the-scenes muscle as photographer, editor, and invaluable technical supporter at The Fuchsietum. I recently started The Tortoise Project, a journey that will culminate in "Tortoise," a single-topic book on the world’s most popular reptile.
Instagram: @seejanedig
Location: Michigan
My blog and feed focus on urban gardening, gardens for wildlife, and the science behind gardening.
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| Photo: Olivia Flasdick |
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
I focus on club beautification projects, yard of the month, and general garden topics. Our annual garden walk, now in its 7th year, is our huge fundraiser to beautify our neighborhood and fund beautification grants. We started with 23 gardens in 2016 and now have 100 gardens on tour, along with educational booths, garden speakers, art vendors, musicians, and the Backbeat Tours Shuttle. We're the largest garden walk in the South. Our goal is to go citywide with open gardens in Memphis in 2023. I talk in my community about garden tourism, adding curb appeal, ways to beautify the neighborhood, and so on.
Blog and/or handle: Bold_North_Home
New blog coming soon: BoldNorthHome.com
Twitter: @29mingardener
Location: Oakdale, Minnesota
Hello fellow Flingers! My blog and Instagram account focus on gardening and home improvement. I’m a confessed rose and hydrangea fanatic who's lucky enough to cultivate my love of gardening in both my personal and professional lives. My “real” job is in horticulture marketing. I work with Monrovia Nurseries helping their team with public relations and marketing tasks. I also work with Danziger, a global breeding company based in Israel. I’ve written for consumer and horticulture industry trade magazines and spent a few years as a television news journalist. In 2016 I was part of the team that brought the Fling to Minneapolis.
Caroline Homer Photography on Flickr
Location: Austin, Texas
I focus on gardening (vegetables, citrus, ornamentals, annuals, perennials, bulbs), travel (Fling, urban farm tours, national parks, Europe), and DIY garden projects.
I’ve been a Travis County master gardener since 2012 and a registered dietitian since 1989, currently working in neonatal intensive care.
Blog and/or handle: Washington Gardener Magazine, the award-wining publication for Mid-Atlantic gardeners, and
Cats in Gardens, featuring photos and art of cats in garden settings
Location: Silver Spring, Maryland (Washington DC area)
I'm frugal and I practice small space gardening. I'm working on a new book, but not allowed yet by the publisher to discuss it: Hopefully, I can tell everyone at Fling time! I also started National Seed Swap Day several years ago (the last Saturday of January), trying to spread the word to have seed swaps hosted everywhere that day (or around that date) and to get it converted to a nonprofit. Our new book is just out: "The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City," by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight. I'm also available for speaking on many topics and am happy to do so on Zoom for garden clubs and groups outside my region. My most popular talks are "Winning the War on Weeds," and "Dealing with Gardening Mammals (Deer, Rabbits, etc.)." You can see more about my speaking and reviews at Great Garden Speakers.
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
I write the "Yard of the Month" articles for the Cooper Young Garden Club. One of the projects I’m working on is “Making Memphis Beautiful Again.” I’m the president of the Cooper Young Garden Club and co-chair of the Cooper Young Garden Walk. Beautification of public spaces is my passion.
Blog and/or handle: cat_jones_atx
Location: Austin, Texas
I’m a nature enthusiast and a photographer. These two passions intersect on my Instagram page, where I encourage others to take time to reflect on the beauty of small moments to be found in the ordinary. I garden for wildlife, and while I can’t say I like them all, all are welcome.
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| Photo: Eric Weber |
Location: Greenfield, Wisconsin
I focus on organic vegetable gardening, pollinator-friendly landscaping, and strawbale gardening. Vegetable gardening has been my hobby since I was a young girl growing up on a farm in Wisconsin. In 2010, I transformed a vacant lot into the Historic Montclair Community Garden (in Denver). When I recently moved back to Wisconsin, my wonderful (fellow garden blogger) pal Idelle Fischer took on the responsibility of the Denver community garden. I'm currently a member of the City of Greenfield Pollinator Committee and I enjoy learning about native plants and flowers. Before becoming an interior designer, I was a writer, producer, and director, working in television and advertising.
Blog and/or handle: Diana’s Designs
Location: Austin, Texas
I enjoy communicating about landscape design, plants, gardening, and wildlife. In addition to my design/build landscaping business, I teach design classes in several county master gardener programs in Texas. I do speaking engagements to local groups and nurseries.
Blog and/or handle: The Queen of Seaford
Location: Hodges, South Carolina
I focus on gardening with shade, deer, rabbits, and mature trees on a sloped lot. I'm working on a bird photo book of birds in my neighborhood.
Location: Buffalo, New York
I’ve been a regular writer for Garden Rant since 2007, after contributing a guest rant about the overuse of American flags in front gardens. I live and garden in Buffalo, which, far from the frozen wasteland many assume it to be, is a lush paradise of gardens, historic architecture, galleries, museums, theaters, and fun. As editor of Buffalo Spree magazine, I help keep Western New Yorkers apprised about what’s happening in their region. I’m also a freelance writer and art curator. I’ve been published in Fine Gardening, Horticulture, ArtNews, Art in America, the Village Voice, and many other publications. I also do regular radio segments for the local NPR affiliate, WBFO. And I’m involved with Garden Walk Buffalo—the largest free garden tour in the U.S., and possibly the world. And I’ve written the text for a book about Garden Walk, and written and edited several art-related books.
Blog and/or handle: The Fuchsia+Blog at The Fuchsietum | A Garden in Portland
Location: Portland, Oregon
I blog about fuchsias, the garden, horticulture, plants, nature, history, and travels far and wide. My website was formerly called Fuchsias in the City, while living in Manhattan, but was changed to The Fuchsietum after I was transplanted to Portland, Oregon, a couple of years ago. A whole new garden is in development. I'm currently vice president of the Oregon Fuchsia Society, and I give talks on Zoom about fuchsias, their culture, and their history to fuchsiaphile groups all over. Just ask me and I’ll Zoom in!
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| Photo: Laura Robles, Robles Photography |
Blog and/or handle: Gardener Sue’s News
Facebook: @gardenersuesnews;
Garden Crossings retail garden center blog
Proven Winners and Instagram: @provenwinners
Stonehouse Nursery wholesale perennial grower
Plantskydd animal repellent
Location: Holland, Michigan
A few gardening topics I’m passionate about: plant breeding and new introductions, shade gardening, container gardening, and general gardening how-to topics. I'm a full-time freelance garden communicator, content producer, consultant, and marketing specialist servicing a select group of clients in the horticulture industry, including Proven Winners; as well as wholesale and retail growers, plant breeders, and manufacturers of gardening-related products. This year marks my 22nd anniversary of working in the business of horticulture.
Blog and/or handle: @jean_mcweeney
Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog (blog now archived)
Location: Houston, Texas
I focus mostly on pollinator plants, and I'm currently growing in containers. I also post about traveling (pre-pandemic), especially if I’m visiting gardens; and birds and other wildlife. And food. :-) I'm on the board of directors for the nonprofit Plant It Forward (PIF), which empowers refugees to develop sustainable urban farming businesses that produce fresh, healthy food for our community. Our organization secures land, trains and mentors farmers, and facilitates sales to local markets. Located throughout Houston, our farms are cultivated with sustainable practices that enrich the land and support the surrounding community. I give the occasional talk to garden clubs about growing gardens sustainably, planting for wildlife, and inspirations from garden travel. I also have a garden coaching business.
Blog and/or handle: The Gardening Me
Instagram: @thegardeningme
Location: Southern Ontario
My blog focuses on edibles, with an ever-increasing interest in ornamentals. I also LOVE growing from seed. I’m in the middle of renovating the raised bed vegetable garden, and expanding a number of perennial/mixed borders.
Blog and/or handle: @moorgardens
Location: Monona, Wisconsin
My focus is perennial gardens, garden design, recycling organic matter back into the gardens, and creating habitats for birds and other critters. I also collect vintage garden artifacts. My current project is getting gardens ready for the tour by 2022 Madison Garden Flingers!
Blog and/or handle: We Sow We Grow: Growing Gardeners Globally & Getting Dirty by Nature
Location: Chicago, IL
We focus on helping people with self-proclaimed "black thumbs" grow into accomplished gardeners through community efforts and support. We’re hosting our third annual “We Sow We Grow Summit,” October 7-9, and we're actively looking for speakers. I'm also available to speak virtually and in person. We have a private gardening community and are offering a three-month trial to community members. We love connecting with gardeners and growers from ALL zones and would love to help foster our community through grassroots efforts like this garden Fling!
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| Photo: Jeanne Everts |
Camille Paulsen
Blog and/or handle: @tahomaflora
Location: Puyallup, Washington
I enjoy sharing photos, plant knowledge, and inspiration from my own garden, and from other gardens in the Pacific Northwest and farther afield. I’m actively involved in several educational gardening organizations, including the Northwest Perennial Alliance, the Lakewold Gardens Horticulture Committee, and the Tacoma Garden Club. As a member of the Puget Sound Garden Bloggers Fling committee, I’m excited about bringing the Fling to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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| Photo: David Penick |
Blog and/or handle: Digging: Cool Gardens in a Hot Climate
Instagram: @pamdigging; Facebook: Pam Penick - Digging
Location: Austin, Texas
I enjoy writing about all the gardening goodness I can dig up! My emphasis is on great garden design, tours of gardens I visit, waterwise gardening, agave love, Texas native plants, and lawn alternatives. I'm a freelance writer and the author of two books, "Lawn Gone!" and "The Water-Saving Garden." For five years I've organized the Garden Spark speaker series of talks about garden design. I was a planner for both the 2008 and 2018 Austin Flings. But blogging is my first love and where I began this second career as a garden writer and occasional designer (my first career, pre-kids, was in publishing). Find me at Digging, where I've been writing about Texas gardening and beyond for 16 years, and on Instagram and Facebook.
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| Photo: Aiko Purdy |
Blog and/or handle: Cold Climate Gardening: Hardy plants for hardy souls.
Location: Oxford, New York
I provide information for people gardening in USDA Zones 5 and colder: plant profiles, garden design, book reviews, native plants, coping strategies, and anything that strikes my fancy. My 20th blogiversary is coming up in August. I have one of the longest-running garden blogs published on the Internet.
I write for Northern Gardener magazine, and have written for Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Garden Gate, The American Gardener, Upstate Gardeners' Journal, and The Rock Garden Quarterly.
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
My passion is helping gardeners learn the joy of gardening, starting with a seed. Our blog provides readers with organic seed gardening tips and tricks, delicious garden-to-table recipes using homegrown herbs and vegetables, and DIY projects for craft-lovers.
Blog and/or handle: Cottage in the Court
Location: Prince Georges County, Maryland
I write about musings from the garden, book reviews, garden travel, and gardens I visit. I've written my first book, "Black Flora," and co-authored a second book, "The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City," with Kathy Jentz. I also have published featured articles as a freelance writer. I'm co-chair of the Fiesta Place Community Garden, and have served as Urban Garden Chairperson for National Garden Clubs since 2020. I'm also founder of Jabali Amani Collective—a garden club focused on building communities by connecting with the earth in the African American community.
I'm a Great Garden Speaker, and I feature talks on small space gardening, perennials, gardens imitating life, children’s gardening, and more. I also give talks about my book, "Black Flora," and "African Americans in Horticulture." I'm also working on a fiction book about the garden and having faith in the earth.
Blog and/or handle: PlantPostings
Instagram: @plantposter; Facebook: PlantPostings
Location: McFarland, Wisconsin
I'm a writer, editor, and master naturalist volunteer and instructor. I started my botanical/nature/gardening blog, PlantPostings.com, in 2010. I write and edit for numerous clients, including Northern Gardener, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, independent book writers, and many more. Through my Wisconsin Master Naturalist program involvement, I participate in continuing education, wildlife surveys, and promotional projects. Gardening in Southern Wisconsin is mostly pure joy. The soil, the warm summers, the plants that thrive here—they all contribute to experiences that induce deep peace and contentment. Most days during May through October, I can’t imagine anything more enjoyable than gardening, hiking, and spending time outdoors in this part of the world. And from November through April, there’s a little break for enjoying other hobbies, caring for indoor and overwintered plants, and planning for the next growing season.
Blog and/or handle: Rock Rose
Instagram: @jennyrockrose
Location: Tucson, Arizona
We are just down-to-earth, do-it-yourself gardeners, who for 21 years worked on creating the garden areas surrounding our Austin house, situated on a rocky hillside seven miles outside the city. It was truly a labor of love, and David never shied away from helping fulfill the dream. After meeting Pam Penick at a garden tour and learning about the rewards of blogging, we joined the garden blogging community. That, and the Austin gardening community, enriched our garden experience while living in Austin.
Blog and/or handle: Bookish Gardener and
Instagram:@bookishgardener
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
I love to garden and read, avocationally.
Blog and/or handle: The CobraHead Blog
Location: Cambridge, Wisconsin
I'm part of the Cobrahead LLC family team, serving in sales marketing, and shipping, among other areas. Our company was formed to develop and market the Cobrahead Weeder and Cultivator—a multi-purpose hand tool for use in gardening, horticulture, and agriculture. I'm also a part-time musician, and a member of the indie/pop band, Gentle Brontosaurus. Wisconsin's winters are long and often harsh, but we still manage to have great gardens each year. The summer days are long and warm, and water is abundant. Growing up with my dad's vegetable garden right outside spoiled me for food variety, and I think folks would be surprised at just how many crops we can grow in such a short season. I just wish I could grow citrus here!
Blog and/or handle: The CobraHead Blog
Location: Cambridge, Wisconsin
I blog on recipes, always featuring the fruits and vegetables produced from our garden. We publish a newsletter once a month which reaches 10,000 subscribers for Cobrahead Garden Tools.
Blog and/or handle: The CobraHead Blog
Location: Cambridge, Wisconsin
I blog on sustainable, small-scale vegetable growing, with an emphasis on the use of open raised beds and maximizing food production in small areas. I speak at garden shows, garden clubs, and master gardener events. All of my writing and speaking efforts are part of publicity for CobraHead Tools, which I started in 2002.
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| Photo: Tim Spira |
Blog and/or handle: Natural Gardening and
Location: Asheville, North Carolina and Le Bic, Quebec
I write in my blogs about gardening with natives, vegetable gardening, nature observations, and sense of place. My current project is a book about the improbable acquisition of our cottage in Quebec four years ago—by two Americans who didn’t speak any French at the time, but loved the magical, natural landscape nearby and the historic place that we acquired. I often do presentations about gardening for nature, pollinator-friendly gardening, and four-season vegetable gardening, as well as other topics.
Donna Waters
Blog and/or handle: Sun and Snow
Location: Boulder County, Colorado
I focus on edible gardening and preserving in the Rockies, and I host an annual plant swap in May. When I’m not gardening, I design optics at Proof of Concept Optical Engineering.
Blog and/or handle: Nuts For Natives: Gardening for the Chesapeake!
Location: Washington, D.C.
I have fun with native plants, and I share tips, design, how-tos, and plants, and more plants! It's not for any profit; just promoting native plants. I do lots of talks. The most popular page on my website is "Where to Buy Natives"—an always up-to-date link to places selling native plants available now! My website was designed by fellow Flinger Idelle Fisher of PickleWix Web Design!
Blog and/or handle: B Wise Gardening and
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
I focus on container gardening, life lessons from the garden, and teaching gardening skills to a new generation of young gardeners.
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