Ink & Penstemon

I began this blog because I was turning into a professional lurker. The comments I left on other people’s blogs were becoming so long it looked as though I was staging a coup. Since I entered the blogosphere, I’ve observed that most bloggers start blogging because they seek community and approval. Fortunately, the internet is profuse enough to slake most people’s thirst for recognition, yet, finding someone with a blog that is genuinely unique from all other blogs is like spotting a unicorn. This blog is not exceptional. Given what little traffic I get, I realize that only a few find this blog interesting. Though I do crave community and approval, I’m happy with carving out my own little garden niche on the web. 

I am trying to improve my writing and it’s coming, slowly. Many of my posts have an opinionated or congratulatory air verging on pretension, but I like to think that my self-depricating sense of humor offsets any nerviness on my part. My style does tend be prolix, but, fortunately for you, I abhor the gushy & florid transcendental-naturalist style that plagues many a garden blog. There will be no “soft, sparkling beams of morning light dancing on unfurling blooms” here. If you want double-rainbows, go to YouTube. You will not find me attempting to augment my posts by peppering them with emoticons and exclamation points, or through the indiscriminate use of multiple typefaces of varying size. In my professional life, I’m a printer and typographer, so that grates especially. Here, word craft is trump, as it should be.

As for the gardening side, My garden is less than five years old. It’s a garden in its gawky adolescence. I’ve got bare dirt, failing plants, and weedy ground playing out in realtime. I welcome all novices and dilettante gardeners. This blog is for all of us.