Master Gardeners Learn About Garden Blogging

The week didn't start out very well - I gave Dad a bloody nose on Sunday, Romie accidentally chopped up 18 brand new tulip bulbs on Monday, and at midnight that night our refrigerator stopped working. Nothing that couldn't be remedied, but I was ready for the tide to turn! It did.

Last night, I traveled northeast to rural Defiance to speak to the Defiance County Master Gardeners. One of their members, Nancy DeTray, had asked me to speak at their October meeting, which was being held at her home. I'd never spoken to a group about gardening before, but since it's a subject I love, I agreed to do it.

Their property is in a woods, with some gentle rolling to the landscape (so foreign to me, though we live in the next county!). As I walked down to the fire pit, there was a group of about 25 people talking and laughing and enjoying hot dogs around the glow of the fire. I saw some familiar faces, since I'd met a few of them at the Lilac Festival earlier in the year.

After eating, they conducted their monthly meeting, where I learned that this group had quite a lot going on. In spite of the fire, it was getting pretty chilly, as frost was predicted, so when the meeting was over we took our chairs to their basement and I gave my presentation.

Nancy had said I could speak on any subject I wanted, so I'd decided to talk about garden blogging, since that's the reason she'd contacted me in the first place. Standing in front of a group of Master Gardeners when you've only been gardening seriously for about three years can be mighty intimidating, but they were a friendly sort and I quickly was put at ease.

Talking comes quite naturally for me (no snickers, now!) and before I knew it, I'd taken up about 45 minutes of their time. I explained what a blog was and I'd prepared a handout of the basic things seen on a blog. I told them of all the advantages of both reading and writing blogs and shared some of the wonderful opportunities that have come my way as a result of writing Our Little Acre.

I also encouraged them to start a blog of their own as a group, since one blog can have many writers. I really hope they do, because I would be a regular reader!

Thank you, Nancy, for giving me yet another opportunity to share my love of gardening with others and providing me with an enjoyable evening of meeting your wonderful group.

Luminaries lining the drive