Blog Birthday Brings New Partnerships

My blog celebrated its third birthday last week; nearly 600 posts, and 547,332 lifetime views as of this morning. More than 25,000 readers check out Plant Talk every month (thank you!) - which are good numbers for a gardening blog, if not so much for a cooking blog. As my editor at Pacific Northwest memorably told me when I was vying for space with the food coumn..."Everyone eats, you know Val, but not everyone gardens"....really?? I guess she's probably right.

So as Plant Talk moves forward into its fourth year, with increasingly confusing and rapid changes in the publishing world, I've decided to take on some partners. I guess you could call them advertisers, but since they're hand-picked people who are friends, I think of it more as their stepping up to support my work here on the blog. Sounds better than monetizing, doesn't it? But that's what I need to do, and thank goodness some really fine horticultural businesses are partnering with Plant Talk - I think you'll love seeing their ads, I hope you'll click on them and patronize them (if I didn't totally believe in what these companies are doing they wouldn't be on my blog).

I absolutely promise no pop-ups. Ever.

My debut partner is:.....Renee's Garden Seeds, a California company owned by Renee Shepherd, with a mission of education as much as selling quality seed. How can you not love a company whose tag line is "Set the Table From Your Garden"?

Renee is a fine cook and horticulturist...she exudes enthusiasm and expertise. I've long bought my sweet pea, lettuce and nasturtium...oh, and sunflower....seeds from Renee. When I recently asked her about what she's most excited about this spring she answered "As far as new varieties worth mention, I really love all the new things we introduced for 2012, so asking me to pick favorites is almost impossible. That said, I love the Edible Landscaping lettuce, Rhapsody butterhead lettuce, the Baby Napa Cabbage, the Wasabi Arugula and the Cup of Sun Nasturtium and the Raspberry Sorbet Zinnia."

'Cup of Sun' nasturtium! Who can resist?

Even though Renee lives in sunny Felton, California, her sister and webmaster Sue Sheckett lives here in Seattle, so Renee is very familiar with our climate...which never hurts when you need info on vegetable varieties. Whether you're looking for recipes, advice, heirlooms or just beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables, Renee's is a reliable source...and I hope you'll thank her for supporting Plant Talk by checking out the website....can you imagine a more beautiful ad to launch this partnership thing?

Comments

[Susan Sellen]

Happy Birthday Valerie,
I have loved your books for years and just now stumbled upon your delightful blog.
May you have many, many more years of blogging ahead of you.
-Susan Sellen

[Michelle]

I'm glad to hear you've chosen such targeted ads- I agree that when blog ads are done in a thoughtful way, they make sense for everyone. It's also nice that you've taken time to explain to your readers why there's suddenly something new on the blog.

Also, even though I was in charge of the cookbooks at a book store, your blog was one of the first ones I ever read, and only after I stuffed my blog reader with garden blogs did I begin to discover cooking blogs.

[Karen]

I love your flower arrangement with the hellebores and really like your begonias. They do look like fauna!

I am looking forward to your new partners and being able to have a ready source of products with just a click. I am going to try my hand at some salad veggies this year, so Renee's seeds will come in handy!

I love your blog and read all your posts. xx

[Tracy]

Happy Blog Birthday!

I don't mind the ad for Renee's one bit. I buy their seeds almost every year.
Just try to avoid the "Seattle mom has 3 secret rules for a flat stomach!" and such nonsense.

[valerie Easton]

Only gardening ads, I promise - no erectile disfunction or miracle wrinkle vanishing creams along with the 3 days to a flat-stomach....
Val

[garage equipment]

The cake shows your love in nature. Because it look like a garden with that decorations.