Garden Bloggers cultivate community in some ways similar to a colony of wild honeybees. We do not think much about having 'a bee in our bonnet' but we are obsessed and delight in having honeybees within our daylilies.
Each blogger gathers ideas, images and words for their own expression, while also contributing to the larger intricately constructed honeycomb of garden tapestries. Our gardens are 'the bee's knees' and it gives us joy to share them.
Each brings their thoughtfully captured and assembled collections to plots united in Blotanical land . . . much like a hive . . . it thrives with hard working gardeners busy scrolling through blogs picking and honoring . . . with lots of fanning going on! Of course their is a Stuart wizard behind the curtain! All aspire towards being queens (or gurus) and continue working and supporting other members long after being crowned with their red star and green banner!
Then return to their gardens to harvest more thoughts . . . flowers and inspiration.
A variety of sweet offerings or posts abound . . . a unique craft in colors . . . just as different flowers offer a different hue in anthers and pollen so too . . . garden bloggers offer a diversity of design and ways of seeing, exploring, and bee-ing . . . bee-longing to and longing for their gardens and land. It is interesting how some red flowers give yellow/orange pollen and often yellow flowers yield red/orange pollen. . . while some white flower pollen is rather muted . . . of course this all has to do with the design of the flowers and how they cleverly use color to attract visitors. Are we so different? Honeybees carry their saddle bags of pollen . . . like garden bloggers their cameras . . . going to every flower's depth in hopes of discovering it's beauty and nourishment . . . for body and soul. Let us not forget the beauty of flowering vegetables and herbs, as well as the fruit . . . that feeds our physical presence. Could we survive without beauty and wonder?
All bring light and integrity to the whole community. . . A bit of pluck and wit.
Garden bloggers have the option of expanding into other modes of expression . . . memes such as Blooming Friday, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Wordless Wednesday or Rebecca's Rainbow Invitation become like beautiful swarms across the continents. Creative energy carries the promise of new ways of observing . . . there are always scouts out and about . . . finding and initiating a different kind of connection . . . then as a group creating and recreating new forms together.
Garden bloggers existence or creativity do not depend on one meme queen (Can you believe there is one hidden inside this ball of bees . . . if she dies the whole colony may perish!) . . . they are independent and join many swarms of bloggers bee-longing and supporting several memes, always going back to cultivating their own plot of earth and blog space in an unique fashion. Some memes grow to very large numbers and perhaps branch off to form new and smaller ones.
Joining these groups provides new means to discovering blogs from around the world. Sometimes there are actual 'Meet Ups' where garden bloggers swarm to a particular city or town, and buzz around showcased gardens together . . . collecting then reporting back to the main hive of bloggers, who anticipate bee-utiful images and heartfelt stories of actual eye contact meetings.
We garden bloggers work well together, for after the fall we are all creating our own gardens of Eden. . . trying to reclaim paradise. By clicking together to share successes and failures . . . sharing experiences of growing joys and pains . . . we enhance each other's individual plans . . . and lives.
There are times when some may get stuck . . . lost or feel muddled under, and wonder 'why bother blogging?' . . . but there are many in the community to encourage them on and to help them out of difficult situations. Sadly for this little honeybee, I cannot help remove the Milkweed pollen that sticks to it's feet (though I did try and it seem to not mind.) Hopefully his fellow bees will come up with a way to free him of the burden. Some bees simply continue working towards their purpose adjusting to their added cargo. (I wonder at the purpose of milkweed to have some of it's pollen constructed in such a way??) One of those glitches in nature perhaps not so unlike our blogging mishaps . . . on second thought most likely the purpose of the attached pollen is not simply to aggravate or harm the bee. . . as computer and blogging glitches can do to bloggers! . . . no there must be a survival goal in this.
Sometimes it seems like there are more important things to tend to . . . but garden bloggers are always there . . . holding their own . . . content in purpose even if somewhat hidden. In the beginnings they are mostly alone and I can relate to this, for when I launched my first post ONE YEAR AGO TODAY . . . I had but a few who honored me with comments . . . faithful Eva and Brian and cousin Sandy. Soon I was contacted by 'blogger' saying I had a 'follower' . . . my very first was Sweetbay. I recall feeling so delighted and wrote to Sweetbay asking "Just what is a follower?" LOL! Now on my first blog birthday I am so honored to have one hundred who follow these postings. I am so appreciative of your support . . . if my posts in any way inspire . . . it gives so much more meaning to my work. I truly cannot remember now, but most likely it was Sweetbay's blogroll that led me to Katarina's meme Blooming Friday, where I met wonderful Swedish bloggers, who I have grown very fond of. Anja's and Lillebeth's blogs are two of my favorites! I happened on Frances's Fairegarden and Helen's Patient Gardener . . . two blogs that inspired me early on . . . with their beautiful simple designs. I found their blogrolls to be a ticket to other bloggers as well, and then found the main hive of busy beelievers of gardening and connecting at Blotanical. It was not to be in May, when I first joined that I would discover the diversity of bloggers, but later in October when my garden was less demanding, that I truly engaged with the community and found many kindred spirits gathered here.
Blogging is enriching my life . . . a discipline in editing images and writing. It is a creative process that in the end results in a post that did not exist before. I am so thankful to all who visit, if you invest the time to share your thoughts please know your words are like gifts to me. They do certainly inspire me for we all see things so differently. I also enjoy visiting your blogs and for that reason and wanting to comment, I only post two or three times a week nowadays. I have learned so much from all of you!
This post is to honor all of my readers and also the Honeybees . . . wild and kept . . . for it is these little creatures that our flowers and food depend on . . . but also just for their own well being . . . for they deserve a life free of pesticides and questionable manipulated plants. If you would like to see the original post of the wild honeybee swarm here at Flower Hill Farm you can click here . . . just scroll down. Honeybees, like so much of the wildlife that we share this planet with, are highly evolved and our respect and care should reach towards their heights. Bloggers Let Us Bee True to Ourselves and cultivate and care for our microcosms, while remaining vigilant . . . demanding the macrocosm stays on the right track. Our own little paradises are greatly affected by what is happening to the larger planet paradise. May you always have (unless you are vegan . . . my gosh . . . do you know the bee effort it takes to make a bit of honey. . . makes me all the more appreciative!) a pot of golden amber honey to sweeten your days. In metaphor or the real sticky thing. You can see my very first post here! Thank you for being part of my first year of blogging!