I’ve been writing this blog every week for over ten years; the first post was in October 2010 and today’s post is #539. The reason I started it was to provide more content for search engines to find when people were looking for information on native plants, specifically about using them in their landscapes (hence the name “using” native plants). Since I live in Georgia, my focus is on plants that are native to Georgia.
In the beginning, I wrote about some of my favorites (the
first post was about a favorite shrub: maple-leaf
viburnum) and places like roadsides,
unique
environments and the native plants they harbor. Some posts are
educational (like my
first winter twigs post). Later I wrote about places
that I visited; new plants that I found; and a favorite theme has been the
relationship between plants and insects/birds. Occasionally, a
rant would pop up, and I’ve also done a lot of book
reviews and suggestions
for reading.
I’m not planning to stop blogging, but it is getting harder to find weekly topics (especially since I’m
not going on many outings this past year). I feel that most of the content here
can help people for years to come (plants don’t really change, although their
names do sometimes). One of my guiding principles in choosing topics for
the blog was that they were seasonal. So here is tip #1, reading the archives:
On the right side of the blog (using the desktop/laptop/web view), you can go to the archive arrows (the symbol that lets you expand a list to more detail). If you’re using a mobile device (phone, tablet, iPad), you’ll have to scroll to the bottom (select a post first, then scroll) and find the “View web version” link to get to it.
For example, you can go to any February and read topics that are relevant to February: what’s visible, what’s blooming, good places to go. Sprinkled in there might be a topic that is timeless, like my February 2020 post on cultivated native plants or February 2016’s post on native shrubs for small gardens.
The second tip has to do with the search box provided by
blogspot (the software that I use for this blog). On a desktop/laptop/web view, you can
find the search box in the upper left corner. While this search box is very
useful, it does occasionally vex me when it doesn’t find something that I know
is there. For example, the post “Native
Plants for Butterfly and Pollinator Gardens” from 2014 is one of my
favorite posts, but searching for “butterfly” doesn’t find it!? So, try several
ways to find things.
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| Use the box in the upper left corner |
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| A list of entries will be returned from the search |
The third tip for using this blog going forward is to have new posts sent you in a reader or via email by using the Feedburner service (no charge). Use the hotlink I just provided or you can find this in the upper right section of the desktop/laptop/web view. This is not managed by me but I use it to get a copy sent to me every week and it still works great.
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| Click on the orange box to go to Feedburner site |
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| At the Feedburner site, the choice at the bottom is email |
Thanks for visiting and I hope you learn something. I’ll keep writing as long as I have ideas. Thanks to my husband for his support over the years. Notably, he helps me with graphics; here are some of the posts with his creative contributions:
Native Plant
Pyramid
Brilliant, Ellen! I have just spent the last hour searching your blog for small trees and shrubs for my 300 ft. long sunny roadside strip that is my HOA project. You have made it so easy to search and have given me so many choices! The neighborhood is planting entirely too many Crepe and Japanese maples
ReplyDeleteI've learned so much about the plants, birds and insects in my neck of the woods (Southwest GA) through your blog. I appreciate your commitment to educating others about native and nonnative plants!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen. I found your blog recently so am looking forward to investigating your past posts. It's a helpful resource that I've shared with many friends wanting to increase their knowledge and use of native plants.
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