To Blotanists new and not new

One day, approximately 20 weeks (10 new blogs coming to Blotanical each week) after you joined, you will find yourself bounced from “Posts from 200 newest blogs” to amongst 1,700 and counting blogs, divided into A-K or L-Z.

In the Hantam Karoo near Calvinia

We have graduated to High School now. No longer promoted as new, we have to fight to be seen, heard and noticed. You, my reader, are either a faver, or a follower, or a bookmarker – Thank You, or new here – Welcome to Elephant’s Eye. A warning would be nice. Then we would have a chance to warn Blotanists who are relying on “New Blog Posts” if they want to go on reading us in future. Only now do I realise, that’s why I have lost some of the blogs I used to follow with interest and enjoyment.

Because there will be 1,700 blogs at Blotanical, in another week, it is a gargantuan problem to keep up! One good solution I use – is Posts from my Faved Blogs. This is a wonderful service from Blotanical, but you have to fave your choice of blogs. Gives you a steady trickle to read on a daily basis. Keeps up with new posts as they are published. Weed and deadhead periodically. And, if your quota is full, either bump someone you no longer read. Or, get picking. The more you pick, the more faves you earn.

OK. But I still have a problem. I used to follow the new blogs, because I could also check that my posts were feeding thru. And I could sort of skim 200 blogs. Now how on earth do I skim 1,700?

For Silence who would like a heated bathroom floor

Whaddaya think? If when we ping our posts, we would say please list this post under (and these would be my categories)

• Wildlife
• Indigenous/native plants
• Away, travelling, garden visits
• Africa

With an option to just list all my posts

· under Africa, Galloping gardener would be all away

· And we would need Eclectic for http://esthersboringgardenblog.blogspot.com/ and http://ourfriendben.wordpress.com/. Only and all garden gets (bor-ing).

If you don’t choose a category – you get lumped in with common or garden A-Z.

As a reward to master/guru status we could have personalised picks list. As in Posts from my Faved blogs. ‘Please offer me posts about wildlife and indigenous plants – because I know although they are not in my corner, geographically, they are in my corner out of interest and/or conviction. Please offer me any new posts in or about Africa. And the Eclectic posts to leaven a lump which could get doughy.’

Then I could skim the A-Z when I needed something fresh. I would like to know where yesterday’s posts start. Some dates in those long lists would be helpful. I know there are cookies, but … I canNOT read them all.

Pink tuberous Begonia and Mona Lavender blue Plectranthus

So – 25^th June this year when I joined blotanical you joined with me.

• Midwest native plants, gardens and wildlife http://midwestplants.blogspot.com/– who is on my faved list, see, native plants and wildlife!
• Central Texas gardener http://klru.org/ctg/blog/
• http://feedseedbarn.blogspot.com/
• http://gisforgarden.blogspot.com/
• http://patchworkgarden.blogspot.com/
• www.laptopgardener.com

Tropical Sunset and Pearl of Bedfordview

And now I see we were not only drawn together, but flung together by the fact that we were all new together.

• 21 June brought us Autumnbelle in tropical Malaysia http://mynicegarden.blogspot.com/
• And Kaija in southern Finland http://crowcottage.blogspot.com/
• 4 June, Habitat Steward Meredith www.greatstems.com
• And lyrical http://susanjtweit.typepad.com/walkingnaturehome/
• 31 May, the great http://thegallopinggardener.blogspot.com/

So fellow Blotanists, do share with us. How do you keep up with 1,700 garden blogs???????