GardenComm, the professional association for garden communicators, made my day last week when they announced three winners of their blog-writing award and I was one of them for my rants! (All the award winners are listed here.)
Which rants in particular? I wrote 39 posts for GardenRant during 2020, but these are the ones I pointed out to the judges for consideration – classic rants:
- Who says Native Plants have Longer Roots?
- Even Garden Writers who Hate Trump are Defending the Rose Garden Upgrade
- Advice on When to Prune Shrubs – Mostly Wrong?
My other 36 posts covered things like gardens in the news or my own garden, but it’s the provocative, sometimes contrarian posts that GardenRant is known for. After all, the original point of this blog was to be a safe place for opinions, including unpopular ones.
But the announcing of awards isn’t over yet. The gold winner in my category will be announced during GardenComm’s national conference next month, which unfortunately will again be virtual.
Scott and Michele Beuerlein at the 2019 awards banquet. He won two golds that night!
Marianne’s fabulous report from the Cultivate conference made me sadder than ever that we can’t meet – and party! – in person. When I wrote that in a comment, Carol Michel, co-chair of the whole awards shebang (thank you for your service!), saw it and replied “I think you’ll have a great experience. We even have a virtual trade show, complete with meet-up spaces! See you there!”
Okay, Carol, you’ll see me there. I’ll put on a party hat just for the occasion. I’ll even applaud the winner in my category, no matter who it is – because I know they’re all good writers.
Congratulations!! I am particularly pleased that one of the articles you submitted for consideration focused on bogus claims about the superiority of native plants. At a time when we are awash in misinformation about more consequential, life-and-death matters, all the more reason to call out misinformation when necessary. Thanks for your defense of our diverse, harmless gardens.
Congratulations! I love your writing, so it does not surprise me that it is award-winning. But in your shoes … well, I’d be positively giddy!
Congrats on your award, Susan! Well-deserved.
I look forward to seeing you online at the conference!
Congratulation and good luck winning that gold. I too enjoy your pieces especially the rose garden and native plant ones.
Congrats, Susan. You deserve it!
Well deserved. I do think you’re an excellent writer. Pulling for you!
Congratulations Susan! So happy to hear of your award. Here’s hoping for the gold. Thank you for all of your great garden communication.
Congrats!!! Well-deserved.
Delighted to hear this news! Your writing always has zing!
Congratulations, Susan! You put up some pretty stiff competition for the Gold. Glad I’m not competing against you! Oh, wait a minute. I am. Dang.
Now how am I going to compete with someone who can write FUNNY like you can?
Congrats to you, too, and may the best blogger win?? Nah, we’re already winners, in the “honor to be nominated” vein, right? See you “there” at the awards event!
Well deserved. I always enjoy reading your pieces.
Thank you all SO MUCH! I can’t tell you how much your supportive comments mean to me. I was quite a late starter in writing – not til my 50s! Encouragement goes a LONG way.
This is wonderful! Congratulations, Susan. Well deserved.