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:

Follow and search for #gbfling2022

  

Madison Fling blog posts:

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

Digging: Kicking Off Madison Fling: People, Badgers, Barns, and a Bountiful Rooftop Garden

PlantPostings: First Days of the 2022 Fling: Prairies, Ponds, Edibles, and Ornamentals

Digging: East Meets Midwest in the Garden of Linda Brazill and Mark Golbach, Part 1

Nuts for Natives: Native Garden Design Ideas: Paths

Digging: Japanese-Inspired Garden of Linda Brazill and Mark Golbach, Part 2

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

Digging: Foliage-Rich Pond Garden: Kuster Garden at Madison Fling

PlantPostings: Saturday at the 2022 Fling: Artful Displays and Fabulous Foliage

Nuts for Natives: Native Plants: The 2022 Garden Bloggers Fling

Digging: Native Prairie Garden Replaces Half the Lawn in the Grosz Garden

Digging: Nearly extinct American chestnut – a vision from America’s past – at UW Arboretum

PlantPostings: Sunday at the 2022 Fling: Perfect Weather and More Great Gardens

Digging: Allen Centennial Garden on UW–Madison campus

Digging: Constellations of clematis at Janet Aaberg Garden 

Digging: Shady oasis with folk art and inviting central patio: Jim Ottney and Jay Hatheway's garden

Digging: In the moment at Rotary Botanical Gardens

Digging: A sun-to-shade retreat in the garden of Rita Thomas

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

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.

Visit this link for a reminder of the full itinerary.

Time to Fling!

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!

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!

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

Note: These are just a few suggestions and recommendations; there are many other things you, personally, will want to bring. Be sure to leave lots of extra space in your suitcase for your swag! You'll get lots of freebies, so consider bringing an extra carry-on bag for the trip home.

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!