Four years and counting...

Four years ago today I published my introductory post on this blog.  It's fun to read that first post again and see how my early goals for this blog have held up.

"In addition to sharing progress in my own yard, I will also highlight gardens, gardeners, and garden events in and around this beautiful city of San Antonio.  I'll post interesting things I see along the way as well."

Looking back, I note I have covered all those things and more.  We've walked the River Walk, attended lots of garden tours and events, and have seen many of the sights our city has to offer.  I thought I'd better include my city and its gardeners not only because San Antonio is a beautiful place to live, but at the time my garden was in pretty rough shape!   Focusing on my own garden progress would make a very boring blog.  This blog also provided a challenge for me to get more done in the garden.  Much of that progress has been and will continue to be shared here in my "Before and After" posts like our driveway project which have turned out to be popular with readers.

There have also been a few surprises along the way.  In that first post I mentioned deer as the main wildlife in our garden.  It turns out there are so many more creatures out there like this Barred Owl which I've been sharing on Wildlife Wednesday the first Wednesday of each month.  Wildlife Wednesday is the meme I've been most consistent with.

Another big surprise, and this has just been in the last year or so, is being recognized by readers.  One of you actually used the word "celebrity".  Not quite, but I do enjoy meeting you when I am working various garden events.

I like to use these anniversary posts to take a look at popular posts and see what you've been reading.  Did you know I can generally see what people have been reading most often and even through what link they arrived at my blog?  A gardening friend mentioned that she was reading through my old posts and was surprised when I said I noticed someone had been doing that.  No, I can't see your URL, at least not from Blogger.  Basic stats on Blogger help me see what types of posts are popular with readers.  If I want to get into more detail I can use Google Analytics which I've only checked a couple of times over the years.

A few of the fun highlights from the things you liked this past year:

From my own garden, the Stock Tank Garden was a big hit last spring.

Readers also wanted to know what it's like to shop at the Round Top Antiques Weekend.  The popularity of this post will likely settle down now that the show is over until next spring.

My posts on garden tours remain popular, especially those featuring xeric plantings like this striking modern garden I recently previewed for this year's Watersaver Landscape Tour..

In other interesting statistics Digging still tops the list for blogs referring readers, but the Outlaw Gardener is gaining ground.

Thank you all for reading and commenting over these four years.  I enjoy the opportunity to share my gardening adventures and interact with all of you throughout the year and look forward to more years of blogging.