Saturday, December 29, 2012

Blogging Memories of 2012

At the beginning of 2012 this blog was just three months old and I mused about the future of my garden and where blogging would take me.  Now I have an entire year to review with 155 posts to choose from and it's time to look back on 2012 and share a few of my favorites.

My first garden blogger meet-up in Austin was fun as I met four fellow bloggers in early November and toured six great gardens on the Garden Conservancy's Open Days tour.  Pam Penick of  Digging corralled us for a group photo to mark the occasion. Our group included (L-R) Jean of Dig, Grow, Compost, me, Diana of Sharing Nature's Garden, Pam Penick of  Digging, and Catherine of The Whimsical Gardener.  I had so much fun meeting them for the first time and spending the day touring six special gardens in Austin.



I also had a chance to meet David Cristiani of The Desert Edge blog along the way.  Thanks to Pam at Digging for sharing the above photo.

In May I took advantage of a trip to visit family in Plano to meet another garden blogger, Michael of Plano Prairie Garden fame.

My friend Ragna's inspirational Texas cottage garden generated such a big response that I recommended it for a feature on Central Texas Gardener (CTG), a local PBS show produced in Austin.


Linda Lehmusvirta, the producer, loved it too and a tour was taped in November to air in the spring of 2013.  Shortly after the CTG crew finished, Ragna began the process of reworking her garden for easier maintenance.  The new garden will focus on natives and succulents like agave and yucca.  I was there a few weeks ago to take before pictures and will revisit to share her progress.

In May I shared the gorgeous art glass works of the Chihuly Nights exhibit from the Dallas Arboretum.  The view over the lake at sunset was just beautiful.


On the downside, The Antique Rose Emporium closed its beautiful San Antonio gardens in the summer.


It was one of my favorite places to visit and photograph for the blog and a great resource for native plants.  After two years of difficult weather, the gardens looked great in the spring of 2012 and I visited several times just to take it all in.  I plan to make the trip to visit their gardens in Brenham in spring of 2013.

While it was sad to lose one of my favorite local nurseries, Pam's Support Your Independent Nursery Month at Digging was good motivation for me to get out and explore new nurseries in October.  My favorite nursery visit this year was Medina Garden Nursery about an hour west of San Antonio.  It's off the beaten path and you have to know where it is to find it, but if you love Texas native plants it's worth the trip.


In January I checked out a new place in town, Yeya's Antiques and Oddities, to find fun stuff for my garden.


It turned out to be such a great find that I try to stop in often and dig around for garden stuff.  This armillary in the new wheel garden is just one of the pieces I found there.  It was missing a base so I used a pedestal from Yeya's and fashioned a piece of concrete to hold it in place for a total of less than ten dollars.  I enjoy it more than if it had been brand new.


The new wheel garden pictured above matured beautifully in just one season.

The new driveway landscaping exceeded expectations as well.


In my "Walking the Walk" series I'm exploring the 15 mile length of the San Antonio River Walk from north to south.  It was 13 miles when I started, but they added about two more miles on the southern end this year!  In December I shared this year's lights over the Paseo del Rio section downtown. It was a beautiful evening.


I'll keep on heading down the trail in 2013 with a new River Walk segment to be posted soon.

My "ABCs of Plants" in my garden series will continue with the goal of an inventory and record of what works (or not) in my garden.

When I began this blog just over a year ago I made of list of ideas for blog posts and have hardly used any of them so I still have a lot of ideas left on the list for 2013.

Thank you all for stopping by this year, I enjoy your comments and reading your blogs in return.

Happy 2013!

23 comments:

  1. Congratulations for blogging for over a year! This look back was wonderful. I remember visiting those places and many more through your posts. Has your blogging experience met your expectations or taken surprising turns into new territory? What do you find are the best/worst parts of garden blogging for you?

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    1. Good questions Peter, your teaching skills are showing! Since I'm relatively new at this I can easily take a fresh look, yet being new also means I focus more on blogging and less on reflecting about blogging.

      I will write a more in-depth post soon which would be easier than coming up with ten (or five or seven?) things you may or may not already know about me.

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  2. What a lovely look back, you somehow made this "review" topic that many bloggers are doing this time of year a little more exciting. Maybe because it wasn't just a list? Anyway, Happy New Year to you! I look forward to you responses to Peters questions.

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    1. So nice to hear you liked this Loree. The first version of the post was scrapped because I found myself bored while putting it together. If I get bored talking about myself it's a sure bet readers will be bored.

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  3. Well done Shirley, I always enjoy going back to San Antonio with your blog posts. San Antonio has such a unique culture.

    I remember my first day of work there in 1991 on March 1st it was 100 degrees. whew! It cooled off but I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into. He he.

    Have a great new year.

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    1. That is so nice to hear Gregg, it means I'm accomplishing my goal of showing just how special this city is.

      Totally understand the heat thing, we hit 100 in February of 1996 shortly after we moved here and I wondered the same. Fortunately we can be outside most of the year which makes it nice.

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  4. What a fun year you have had blogging! And some wonderful accomplishments, too. Here's to many more!

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    1. Thank Holley, I try to make it fun.

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  5. It really has been fun, seeing the area through your lens. Good job.

    Looking forward to another great year.

    Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you Linda, Happy New Year!

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  6. Great aspects you bring up, and it was nice to run into you all and meet as well! I also can't wait until you expand on Peter's questions, even if indirectly as time goes by.

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    1. Thanks David, I have posted the answers now I hope you enjoy them.

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  7. Wonderful review! I didn't know about the nursery in Medina. I'll put that one on my top 10 list of "must visit in the future".
    Happy Blogging for the upcoming year. I look forward to what's happening in San Antonio and beyond!
    Your blogging friend,
    David/:0)

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    1. You will enjoy Medina and nearby Bandera when you get out that way.

      I look forward to more great blogging from you David as well.

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  8. As we march into 'Lucky 2013' I'll be looking forward to learning more about you and your environs. I agree: talking about oneself gets tedious, but we reveal so much of ourselves in more subtle ways.

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    1. I'm much more comfortable revealing myself through gardening.

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  9. I have enjoyed your blog and posts so much - Happy 2013 to y'all Shirley! Cheers!

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  10. Hello Shirley! I just found your blog (via link from Outlawgardener) and this overview is great! I'll definitely be following you in the new year! Happy new year!

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    1. Thank you Renee and Happy New Year!

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  11. How nice to read your retrospective and to be reminded of our recent garden tour together -- so much fun! I hope this is the year I get to visit YOUR garden, Shirley. San Antonio is a great city to visit, and I always enjoy your posts about it. I was just there last Friday for a high school robotics competition at Sunset Plaza, an event my son was involved with, but it was not a good day for touring gardens -- cold and wet!

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    1. When I saw the competition on the news I thought your son might be there. You're welcome anytime of course.

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    2. Nice site. Always brings a smile and turns on a light bulb. Don GVST

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