Toronto Fling: Who's going?

Four of the smiling faces you'll meet in Toronto: Carolina gals Janet, Daricia, Lisa and Julie at the San Francisco Fling

I'm pastin' a link, I'm checkin' it twice. You're gonna find out who's naughty or nice (and often both). Toronto Flingers are comin' to town – and some, marked with an (N) are also goin' to Niagara. Discover who's who and who'll be here, or at least those confirmed to-date. We'll update as things change. Get to know the nice, the naughty, and the bit of both by visiting their blogs. And comment!

See anything wrong or anyone missing – or anyone who really should be coming but hasn't committed yet? Nudge me or them, as the case may be.

And, if you're coming to Toronto, you can download the Fling badge to the right and add it to your blog, with a link back to this site. Spread the good word!

From Canada:

Toronto Fling Committee:
Helen Battersby (N)                Toronto Gardens
Sarah Battersby (N)                Toronto Gardens and Fiesta Gardens
Lorraine Flanigan (N)              CityGardening
Veronica Sliva (N)                   A Gardener's World

Ontario:
Tony Spencer                         The New Perennialist
Jennifer Connell                     Three Dogs in a Garden
Janet Davis (N)                      The Paintbox Garden
Tara Nolan (N only)                Savvy Gardening
Susan Poizner (N)                  The Orchard People
Cristina da Silva (N)               The Real Gardener
Barbara Phillips-Conroy (N)   Barbara's Garden Chronicles
Joanne Shaw                            Down2Earth
Amanda Hill                            Cooking in Someone Else's Kitchen
Margaret Mishra (N)               Homegrown – Adventures in my Garden
Marilyn Cornwell                    Open Gardens Niagara
Margaret Bennet-Alder           Toronto Gardener's Journal

Quebec:
Patterson Webster (N)            Site and Insight

From the United Kingdom:

Gloucestershire:
Victoria Summerley (N)         Tales from Awkward Hill

Wiltshire:
Michelle Chapman (N)           Veg Plotting

From the United States:

Alabama:
Su Reid-St. John                     Bonnie's Plants

California:
Maya Bartolf                          Today's Bouquet
Jim Peterson                            Garden Design

Colorado:
Judy Seaborn                          In the Garden, Botanical Interests
Brandon Coppin                     In the Garden, Botanical Interests

Georgia:
Karin Hicks (N)                     Southern Meadows

Illinois:
Jason Kay                             Garden in a City
Judy Hertz                             Garden in a City

Louisiana:
Jean McWeeney (N)              Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog

Maryland:
Claire Jones (N)                     The Gardening Diaries

Michigan:
Stefanie Gilmour                   See Jane Dig
Nancy Patterson                   Garden 337

Minnesota:
Mary Shier                            My Northern Garden
Amy Andrychowicz (N)        Get Busy Gardening and Savvy Gardening

Missouri:
Mimi Ricketts                       Arch City Gardener

North Carolina:
Helen Yoest                          Gardening With Confidence
Daricia McKnight (N)           A Charlotte Garden

New Jersey:
Susan Cohan (N)                  Miss Rumphius' Rules

New York:
Elizabeth Licata                   Garden Rant and Gardening While Intoxicated 
Jim Charlier                          Art of Gardening
Donna Brok                          Garden Walk Garden Talk
Kathy Purdy (N)                   Cold Climate Gardening
Barbara Landree                   Travels with Barb

Ohio:
Kylee Baumle (N)                 Our Little Acre
Louise Hartwig (N)              Two Girls with a Purpose
Susan Heppeard (N)              Two Girls with a Purpose

Oregon:
Loree Bohl                           Danger Garden
Jane Finch-Howell               Mulch Maid

South Carolina:
Lisa Wagner                         Natural Gardening
Julie Thompson-Adolf (N)  Garden Delights
Janet Ledebuhr (N)              The Queen of Seaford
Julie Hill (N)                        Into the Southern Wild
Marian St. Clair                     Hortitopia

Tennessee:
Gail Eichelberger (N)          Clay and Limestone
Barbara Wise (N)                 BWise Gardening

Texas:
Pam Penick                          Digging
Chris Giaraffa                      Running Gardener
Diana Kirby                         Sharing Nature's Garden
Andrea Fox (N)                   Grow Where You're Planted
Vicki Blachman (N)            Playin' Outside
Cindy Tournier (N)              My Corner of Katy
Sheryl Williams (N)            Yard Fanatic
Rebecca Schroeder (N)        Rebecca's Retreat
Laurin Lindsey (N)              Ravenscourt Gardens
Shawn Schachter (N)           Ravenscourt Gardens
Susan Tomlinson (N)          The Bike Garden
Linda Lehmusvirta              Central Texas Gardener
Jennifer Trandell                 The Botanical Journey

Virginia:
Tammy Schmitt                   Casa Mariposa

Washington D.C.:
Susan Harris                       Garden Rant and  Greenbelt Live and DC Gardens

Wisconsin:
Beth Stetenfeld                   Plant Postings 

(BTW, Blogger's inability to create a flush-left double column sets my typographic whiskers all aquiver. We'll have to live with content over style. Now go visit those blogs and say Hi!)

Attending Garden Bloggers Fling

Want to attend Garden Bloggers Fling? Here's what you need to know

Garden blogging is, by nature, a social activity. It's about sharing your own garden or gardens you visit; your photos and writing, whether you're a beginner or experienced pro; your love of wildlife, nature, and the environment; your humor or quirky style or thoughtful musings or pugnacious debate about all things gardening. Whatever your interest in gardening, once you start blogging about it you join a lively community of fellow bloggers who enjoy commenting on each others' blogs and seeing what other gardeners are doing across town, across the country, and around the world. 

These online relationships are vital and keep many of us blogging. But from its inception in 2008, the mission of the annual Garden Bloggers Fling has been to bring garden bloggers together in real life too -- to meet each other in person, to socialize, to network, and to see gardens together. It's for people who not only love gardens but love writing about them and being part of the garden-blogging community.

Attendance each year is limited to less than 100 bloggers because many of the private gardens on tour are small and unable to accommodate larger groups, and because it makes organizing easier for our local volunteer planning committees. Since limited spots can lead to questions about how to get in on the tour, the Fling advisory committee has clarified its rules regarding attendance. If you meet the following qualifications, we strongly urge you to send in your registration form and payment as soon as registration opens in order to secure a spot, as entry is first-come, first-served. To stay abreast of Fling announcements, subscribe to this blog or follow the Fling Facebook group. Registration will be announced here and on the Facebook page as soon as it opens.

UPDATED August 2020:

1. What is a garden blog? Garden Bloggers Fling is an event for garden bloggers and online self-publishers (vloggers, podcasters, Instagrammers). We understand that some bloggers cover other topics, not just gardening, and that's fine. However, we do expect that attendees publish mainly about gardening. The hosts will look at your site when you register, and they should be able to tell without having to dig too deep that it's about gardening. The URL you provide must be public, including Instagram.

2. New bloggers. Your blog or other platform must be at least 6 months old for you to be qualified to register. While new bloggers are enthusiastically encouraged to attend, starting a blog for the sole purpose of attending defeats the mission of the Fling, which is "bringing garden bloggers together." Therefore, if you're a new blogger, your blog must have been started at least 6 months before registration opens in order to attend. For example, if registration opens on December 1st, your blog must have been started by June 1st. If your blog is too new for you to register this year, please know that we'd love for you to attend next year.

3. All bloggers. Whether your blog or other outlet is brand-new or long-standing, you must have posted at least once in the 6 months before registration opens in order to register. We understand that many bloggers have periods of inactivity. But since this is an event for garden bloggers, attendees must have active sites. This means that you must have posted on your blog at least once in the 6 months before registration opens. If you're a new blogger, as noted in #2, your blog must also have been started at least 6 months before registration opens.

4. Home/amateur versus professional/corporate. Any garden blogger who meets the conditions laid out here is welcome to register, whether you blog primarily for yourself or for a garden-related business, public garden, nonprofit, etc. Many amateur -- i.e., non-paid -- garden bloggers do some self-promotion of classes they teach, design work they offer, articles/books they've written, etc., and many professional bloggers share personal gardening information with their readers. In other words, it's a slippery slope in distinguishing between the two, and we'd rather not try. Part of the appeal of the Fling is that you can meet many different kinds of garden bloggers, with various levels of gardening and blogging experience, focusing on a wide variety of subjects, and hailing from far-flung regions. We encourage this diversity. 

5. Non-blogging spouses/family/friends are not eligible to attend the Fling. Since attendance is very limited, spots must go to garden bloggers. Some attendees do bring their spouse/partner/family along to share the hotel room, and they meet up after Fling events have ended for the day, or they plan a few days of sightseeing before or after the Fling. Sometimes the official Fling hotel will offer extended days at the special Fling rate for those who wish to come early or stay later. Just be aware that all official Fling events, including meals, happy hours, and garden tours, are open only to registered garden-blogging attendees.

Thanks for understanding that Garden Bloggers Fling is a limited-attendance event for active garden bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and IGers. We welcome bloggers of all stripes to "Fling" each year and get to know other bloggers in person. Please remember that the Fling is hosted entirely by volunteers, garden bloggers like yourselves, who for at least a year put in countless hours to organize this incredibly detail-oriented event while juggling the demands of their jobs and family responsibilities, not to mention still trying to maintain their own gardens and blogs! The advisory committee too is made up of volunteer garden bloggers who have attended one or more Flings (many have also hosted) and who work hard to help the event run smoothly from year to year. We appreciate your interest in the Fling and hope to see you there!*

--Garden Bloggers Fling Advisory Committee


*Mobility issues. We endeavor to make the Fling accessible to everyone, but since private gardens make up a lot of the touring we do, accessibility may be an issue for those who have difficulty with stairs, standing for long periods, or walking several blocks. If you have special circumstances related to mobility or other issues, please contact the local host committee when registration opens to determine if the tour will be feasible for you.