Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Our site has moved!

 

 


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, June 28, 2022

Madison Fling 2022: Blog Posts and Other Coverage


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:


  


Madison Fling blog posts:

Natural Gardening: Allen Centennial Garden



Good Environmental News: Native Plants in Wisconsin

My Garden Zone: #GBFling2022 WOW!!!







Through the Greenhouse Glass: Plant of the Week: LOLLIPOP® Crabapple







Digging: Allen Centennial Garden on UW–Madison campus




Digging: Epic Systems Campus: A Fantasyland of Gardens and Architecture, Part I
 
Digging: Green-roof prairie and fantasy gardens at Epic Systems, Part 2

Digging: A garden on wheels and colorful decor convert driveway into patio garden: Jane and Duane Miller Garden

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.

Rachel Balk (IL)  Small Boots Gardening
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
Ann Munson (WI)  Moorgardens
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
Noel Valdes (WI) – Cobrahead Blog
Danniel Ward-Packard (WI) – Botanica and Obsessed Midwest Danniel
Andy Young (WI) – Cobrahead Blog

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.

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:


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


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.

Communication
#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
*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

Saturday:
*You're on your own for breakfast, but eat lightly
—we'll provide a buffet brunch
*Brunch
*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
Anneliese Valdes of Cobrahead Blog

Thank you! See you soon!

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Our 2022 Sponsor Directory Is Now Online


We can't thank our 2022 sponsors enough for their support of the Madison Fling! For their financial support and in-kind donations, sponsors received (in addition to other benefits) a listing and/or ad space in our sponsor directory. Each blogger who attends the Madison Fling will receive a printed copy.

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:

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!