I’ve been feeling a little bit down in the dumps this week. I blame the headache-inducing, humid weather and lack of time to get out in the garden; not to mention the army of lily beetles, slugs and snails marching mercilessly on my precious lettuce, lilies and hostas.
And then, whilst sitting in a scintillating meeting about something no-one would be remotely interested in, I get an e-mail from a lovely lady called Mital telling me that The Frustrated Gardener had made it onto a list of the UK’s top 10 gardening blogs. Needless to say my concentration waned as soon as I realised I was in the company of wonderful bloggers like Helen Johnstone, aka The Patient Gardener (we ought to be a good for one another!), Jono Stevens at Real Men Sow and Alexandra Campbell at The Middle-Sized Garden. What’s wonderful is that all the blogs featured in the top 10 are completely different visually and content-wise, proving there’s room for all of us (and more) in the blogosphere.
My mood instantly altered, I was reminded that time spent feeling sorry for one’s self is time wasted. It’s nice to be appreciated by others but also to feel inwardly good about one’s self. And now I do.
Congratulations…I always enjoy your blogs!
Thank you Ann! I always appreciate your comments too 😀
Brilliant ✨🌺✨congratulations ! I’m always looking forward to your blogs, which lift my moods…
I am glad Elisabeth. Thanks for commenting 🙂
Congratulations!!! Well deserved I would say.
My mother and I thoroughly enjoyed our 2 weeks in England! It was the best vacation both of us have ever had. 20 gardens in 13 days. We didn’t make it Broadstairs, but we did make it to the Salutation in Sandwich. An excellent garden and a very nice head gardener that gave us some hard to obtain seeds.
Seriously impressed by your stamina Lisa! That’s great going. I am so pleased you your vacation lived up to expectations. I expect you met Steven Edney (tall chap) who is very charming and knowledgeable and comes from the local area. Any other top finds? You’ve probably visited many gardens I haven’t!
Very well deserved!
I knew it! Your blog is so enthusiastic and so well-written ( I won’t mention the photographs which are just stunning!) that no wonder it made it onto the list of the UK’s top 10 gardening blogs. You absolutely deserved it, Dan. If I could, I would definitely vote for you to be on the top 3 gardening blogs ( hoping for you to be no 1 soon ). Congrats, Dan !!!
Thank you Paul. Your comments on my photography are much appreciated coming from someone so accomplished in this art! Having delved a little further into how the top 10 is compiled it appears the blogs are ranked in order, which puts mine in the top 3. I don’t understand all of the science but find it interesting given I don’t advertise or pay for my blog to be promoted. I wish you a good weekend and hope life is starting to return to a happier state after your sad loss. Dan
Congratulations and very well deserved.
Well done, and well deserved!
Thank you Candy 😀
Love your blog (in Portland, OR) and share it with other gardeners I think would appreciate it, especially it’s British voice. Have you considered Instagram?
Hi Elizabeth. Greetings from sunny London! I am on Instagram as The Frustrated Gardener (https://www.instagram.com/thefrustratedgardener/?hl=en). Do give me a follow!
So proud for and of you!!!!!! So well deserved. I so enjoy opening the email each morning to check what the latest post is. Congratulations Dan and also to the wonderful support you get from him indoors, even if it is adorning every garden seat he can locate at your wonderful outdoor excursions!!!!! Looking forward the Chelsea posts. H from Oz 💐👏🍾😘
I am looking forward to Chelsea enormously Helen. This spring has been so busy at work that I’ve barely had a moment to research this year’s show gardens. Means it will all be a lovely surprise! Speak soon I hope. D
Fantastic news, well done! I love your blog and it lifts my spirits every time a new post plops into my inbox. Even when it’s way too wet to get out in my own garden, (like today) I can enjoy the joy of plants via your blog. Bravo!
Happily the weather has been much nicer in London today and I am heading home to get one or two things in the ground before it gets dark. I hope you continue to enjoy the posts I write. It’s lovely to know you enjoy them.
Congratulations… and not at all surprised!
Thank you Joanna!
What an exciting piece of news for for you. Congratulations. I do enjoy reading your weekly missives, following what is going on on the other side of the world, discovering new plants, realising some of my aberrant gardening obsessions and addictions (according to my husband) are really quite ‘normal’. Thank you Dan for a very enjoyable read.
Cheers Suzanne. I think certain gardening afflictions – buying too many plants, collecting things, never having enough time to get outside, obsessing about the weather – are global phenomena. I am quite sure you are completely normal and that it’s your husband that has the problem 😉
Congratulations, and you are right about the four of you all having a little different spin on blogging approaches. So, keep up the good work so the rest of us can continue to learn from you. 🙂
I am learning myself, all the time. A gardener’s learning never ends does it? And you are a Master Gardener!
Congratulations! 🙂
Congratulations and well deserved Dan…your articles continue to inspire, inform and entertain your avid readers!
Thank you Anne! It was a lovely surprise 😊
Congrats! As a new fan from across the pond, I applaud you for your entertaining, informative, and inspiring blog, as well as myself for “discovering” you and joining your family of faithful readers.
Well hello! Thank you for taking the time and trouble to comment, it’s much appreciated. And I hope you continue to find lots of interest in the coming days, weeks and months, especially with the Chelsea Flower Show only 10 days away!
Absolutely well deserved, loooove your blog, from down under.
Thank you Barbara. It is lovely to have followers on the other side of the world that speak the language of flowers 🌸
Congratulations! Always a welcome sight in my inbox. A promise of good words and lovely pictures, with a personal touch. Add Bermuda to the list of countries where you are followed!
One of the nicest things about blogging is being able to reach readers all over the world, but Bermuda is a little bit special 😉
So many congratulations and so well deserved. I doubt many people appreciate how much thought and energy and determination it takes to maintain a great blog. Making something difficult look effortless takes enormous effort. Well done!
Thanks Anne. Some days I find writing my blog effortless, other times not. I always hope my readers can’t tell the difference. Overall it’s a joy and a continuous learning experience, which is why I keep going 😀
Hearty congrats Dan : ) Very well deserved. Always enjoy your posts, your wry perspective, fab photos and general delightful plantasticosity…
Ooo! I like plantasticosity as a word (my spell checker does not, but can’t come up with a better suggestion 🤓). Thanks for your lovely comments Jo.
My, look at all your comments! You see you can believe it, that you are in the top 10! I love reading your blog because your love for plants and gardening is so clear…
I do hope so, because my love of plants and gardening is very genuine. I was only thinking this morning how lucky I am to be passionate and excited by something that’s all around me. To feel nothing for for the natural world, as some people apparently do, is incomprehensible to me.
How very well deserved!
Thank you Kate. I feel I really need to keep my standards up now!
I’m really glad you’ve received the official recognition you deserve. Wholehearted congratulations! Knowing now how much effort and time is involved in running a blog, I admire and appreciate yours all the more – especially since you manage to keep it informative yet light-hearted as well as surprising, not to mention a visual treat. I’m sure your meeting partners must have felt a turn of mood :-).
I think I probably zoned-out Stefanie!
I think I probably zoned-out a bit Stephanie! Thoroughly enjoyed your post about Michelias and for once I have to agree with the Chinese. I am not sure the re-classification and general messing with names is helpful, but I am sure it makes the botanists feel more important. Whatever the name it’s a lovely shrub or small tree.
Fabulous and very well deserved. Congratulations!
Thank you so much 😀
Huge congratulations, so well deserved.
I’m sure nobody is remotely surprised at how highly your blog is rated. It’s the first thing I look for in my emails! Always wonderful to read and love the photos. As you mentioned lily beetles, I spotted two on a fritillary flower and can I add the beautiful rosemary beetle, seen last week on my infant prostrate rosemary plant. Looking forward to many more happy reads!
Thank you Mary Ann. I’ve squished every lily beetle that’s been silly enough to let me spot it, but there will be more, I can guarantee. They love a fritillary even more unfortunately. I have never seen a rosemary beetle and am hoping it stays that way! Have a lovely weekend.
I am with Mary Ann. TFG is the first email I open everyday, as it doesn’t matter what emails I open after that, I already have a smile on my face. Dan, it is my morning vitamin pill! 😄😄😄
That’s lovely to hear, thank you both!
Well done, well deserved x
Thanks Gill x