Hey, lurkers, won’t you knock and come in?
I just received a pleasant surprise at Gardening Tips ‘n’ Ideas. Australia’s best-known blogger, Stuart, has added a new feature to his world-map blog directory: a top-ten most-visited list. And guess what? As of this writing*, Digging was the most-visited blog for the past 24 hours, the past week, and the past month. Wow!
I remarked to Stuart that I must have a lot more lurkers (readers who don’t comment) than I realized. I tend to judge other blogs’ popularity by looking at the number of comments they receive. While I usually get several comments on a post, my average comment number is far short of the 20 or even 30 that some other blogs receive.
Popularity contests aside, my interest in the number of comments and visitors boils down to wanting to know who reads my blog. Who are you, regular reader? Or are you a regular reader? Maybe I get a lot of one-time visits from explorers just taking a look around the blogosphere. Either way, I don’t know unless I hear from you.
So if you’re popping by right now to see what’s going on at Digging, and you haven’t commented before because you’re not sure what to say, why not post a comment just to introduce yourself? I’d love to “meet” some of the readers who are getting counted over at Stuart’s blog directory or who find me some other way.
And if you’re a regular or occasional commenter, I want you to know that you make my day. Thanks for joining the conversation.
*The top-ten most-visited list is continually updated. By the time I’d finished writing this post, the results had already changed, and Digging had dropped several places. Ah well.
Fame is a bee. / It has a song / It has a sting / Ah, too, it has a wing
—Emily Dickinson
Hi!
I’m one of the lurkers.
I’m a Japanese woman,teaching English at home.
Digging is fantastic!
You are fantastic too! Thank you for saying hello. By the way, have you seen fellow Austinite Tom Spencer’s gorgeous photos from his recent trip to your country? —Pam
I’m a new reader – I found you via the Mousies final list (I also listen to Wiggly Wigglers and read Garden Rant). I like reading about gardening in a climate similar to mine – I’m in Northwest Florida, which is getting drier by the day.
Hi, Sarah. Thanks for the formal introduction. I’d checked out your home-design blog when I received an earlier comment from you, and you’re doing some interesting work over there. I just saw your garden photos too. I like your pretty roses and am envious of your fruit trees. I am surprised to hear that NW Florida is getting drier, as I imagined that all of Florida is tropically moist. —Pam
I’m a gardener in Arkansas, zone 7. Curious to see what others are up to in their yards so started hunting on the internet for plant people. Found your site a couple of weeks ago so am a new visitor. I enjoy visiting other gardens inbetween working on mine. I stop in everyday to see what’s new. Thanks
Hi, Debbie! Thanks for saying hello. That’s how it started for me too—looking for other garden blogs, particularly in my area. Next thing you know, you’ll be blogging too. Watch out, it’s addictive. 😉 —Pam
Hi Pam,
As I’ve previously admitted to you in person, I’ve been a lurking fan of yours for awhile now, and made sure I voted my support in the Mouse and Trowel Awards! Though you won’t hear from me much, do know that I appreciate your fabulous blog and ongoing friendship. Cheers!
Hi, Julie! It’s wonderful to know that a “real-world” friend is a regular reader. Thanks for your support in the M&Ts and for taking the time to comment. —Pam
Hi Pam,
We just moved into a new house in southwest Austin and found your blog looking for information on Texas Betony. I have since returned to your site many times to look at the archives and thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and writing. You have a very lovely blog. Keep it up.
Hello, Latha! I’m glad to know you’ve found helpful information on native-Texas plants here. Thanks for visiting and for your comment. —Pam
Hey Pam —
Do you know if that counter on Stewart’s site is just measuring visits that come through his Garden Blog Directory, that is, from people who go to his site first and then click through? From looking at it that’s what I assume but I couldn’t figure it out for sure. Also, do you have a visitor counter for your site so you can see how many visitors you get? I’ve always wondered how many people are actually seeing what I post and I’m sure there’s a way but I’ve never investigated further.
Congratulations, by the way, on being so popular. Your site certainly deserves whatever attention it gets.
— Susan
I’m a regular reader and commenter. Stu’s stats are interesting, but seem to only take into account visits that come from his gardening blog directory, when someone links to your blog from there. So take heart, you are probably visited many more times than his stats show!
Hi, Susan and Carol. You’re two of my most-regular commenters, for which I thank you.
Susan, I’m sure that Stuart’s visitor counter can only measure the hits each blog gets via his world-map directory. As Carol points out, most bloggers are getting additional (or even most of their) visitors through online searches, feed readers for favorite blogs, etc.
I use two visitor counters, though I check them only about once a week and recognize their limited usefulness. At the bottom of my page, you’ll see a ClustrMap icon, which links you to a map with red dots marking the locations of all hits Digging receives each day and also the total count since I installed it. However, it counts not only my own visits but also spamming visitors, of which there are a LOT. It’s still fun to track, and sometimes you can tell when it corresponds to real visitors rather than spammers. For a long time, for example, I had no hits from Alaska. Then, in a Xmas-card letter to an old college friend living in Anchorage, I mentioned that I was blogging, and by the New Year I saw a red dot pop up in southern Alaska. Which was kind of fun.
My more useful visitor counter is Site Meter, linked at the bottom of my sidebar. I use the free version, which is more limited than the pay version, but it still tells me the city locations of my last 100 visitors, what site they visited from or what search term led them to me, how many page views they looked at, how long they stayed on my site, and whether they exited via one of my links. You can set it up so it doesn’t include your own visits, and when you scroll through the list of visitors and how long they stayed on your site, you can usually tell which ones were just trolling spammers because their visit time shows up as 0 or 1 second. When I installed it, I chose a private setting that allows only me to see my visitor data.
All of this would be more useful if I were trying to make money from my site, but it’s just a fun diversion otherwise. I don’t spend a lot of time on it, but I enjoy checking it out every so often. —Pam/Digging
Loved the Emily Dickinson quote!!!
Hi, Mom—another faithful reader! 🙂 Yes, Emily is very quotable, isn’t she? —Pam
I’ve been lurking this month–I just started reading gardening blogs this spring. I garden in NE Ohio in a tiny urban backyard, flowers and vegetables in a comfortable mix.
Hi, Lucette, and thanks for dropping by. I look forward to seeing more of your garden at Tomatoes and Zinnias. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I’m a local reader of your site. Seeing other people’s gardens is my favorite thing to do, after actually gardening. So I love the photos of your pretty garden. Thanks for sharing them.
Julie
Hi, Julie, and thanks for commenting. I’m with you—garden peeping is my favorite pastime. I’m glad you enjoy my blog. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I’m a new lurker in Kyle Tx. Just discovered your blog through the recent Statesman article. I love your site and will be visiting on a regular basis. Thanks.
Jean
Thanks, Jean! I appreciate your visiting Digging after reading my article in the Statesman. Come back anytime. —Pam
all your lurkers are prairie dogging so i’ll pop up too! i am from tx originally; i went to school in austin so i love checking out your blog for the memories. now i’m gardening in the bay area, where finally the temperatures are low enough for tomatoes to set… but i miss the warm nights! i blog a little bit about it if myspace counts 😉
Hello, Bright. “Prairie dogging”—I love it! Thanks for popping up to say hi. Your background (Bay Area via Texas) sounds like garden-writer Amy Stewart’s. Her blog is called Dirt; have you discovered it? I’m showing my age to admit I’m not that familiar with MySpace, but garden-blogging there would be as fun, I’m sure, as anywhere else. —Pam
Ok, I’m guilty! I’ve been lurking for months. I have your site bookmarked and check it every single day after my personal email while on my lunch break. And I’ve never commented. Please don’t judge me.
So, hi, I’m a gardening fanatic who recently bought an old house in Taylor (NE of Austin). Every time I did a google image search to find out the name of yet another “legacy” plant, I’d get a photo from Digging. Now I’m hooked. (Most recently, your daughter tipped me off that all of my sweet little pink roses are “The Fairy” Rose.) I keep thinking I’ll run into you at the Wildflower Center or a Garden Tour and introduce myself. But you coaxed me out of anonymity with the adorable spade knocker. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go cast my M&T vote…time to get off the sidelines, I suppose.
Hi, Rebecca, and thanks for your comment. I’m definitely not judging anyone; I’m just thrilled to know who reads Digging on a regular basis. I’m flattered to know that you check daily for updates. (Man, the pressure to post now! 😉 ) I’m glad to know that my photos have helped you identify your legacy plants. I’ll bet you inherited quite a garden when you bought your old house. Happy digging! —Pam
I found your blog last week and have been checking in regularly since then. I currently live in Washington, DC but am moving to Austin in early 2008 and will have a yard for the first time ever. I really want to learn about gardening with native plants, and found your blog either through searching on Google or via a link from another blog (can’t remember which, now). Your blog and garden are so inspiring! I can’t wait to get to Austin and get started! As a side note, I’d love to see some photos that show more of the layouts of your beds and plantings in addition to the close-ups – though my house isn’t even built yet I’m already sketching out the many ways I could lay out the gardens… 🙂
Welcome, in advance, to the River City, Jessica. Since you want to learn about gardening in Austin with native plants, I strongly recommend a trip to the Wildflower Center in SW Austin at different times of the year so you can see what plants you love. Take a notebook and digital camera and record combinations of plants that look good together, making note of the conditions they grow in (sunny, shady, etc.) Then visit one of our excellent native-plant nurseries, like Barton Springs Nursery and Natural Gardener, and start digging!
Regarding long shots of my garden, I post those occasionally. If you scroll through the archives, you should find a few. A practical design book that might assist you is The Complete Garden Planner by Peter McHoy. Good luck with your future Austin garden! —Pam
Congrats Pam!
I’m sure you have even more hits than what Stuart’s Directory is counting. You draw folks in with your beautiful photographs and writing. Well done!
🙂
Dawn, a loyal fan
Thanks, Dawn. I saw that your new blog was right up there on the top ten too. Congratulations! —Pam
Pam, I also check your blog daily. Yours was my first garden blog to read and I was quickly hooked into garden blogging. Your blog has brought me much pleasure and enjoyment. Thank You!
Right back at you, Robin. I’ve enjoyed visiting your blog about your new garden too. Thanks for commenting. —Pam
Beautiful blog – photography, writing, everything. I am new here, but your blog has promptly been bookmarked!! Looking forward to visiting, often . . .
Welcome, Tracey. Your beautiful blog bumped Digging from the top of the most-visited list, but it was worth it to discover your site. Come back anytime. —Pam
Okay, okay, I’m a lurker. I love your photographs and particularly appreciate the fact that you try to work with Austin’s climate and soil. Your conditions are completely different from mine in Maryland but I also try to use natives and plants that don’t require constant watering, fertilizing and spraying.
Hi, Andie, and thanks for commenting. I enjoyed visiting your blog too. What a cool house portrait you have on your sidebar, and I appreciate the boldness of its being painted under a blanket of snow. Most of the house portraits I’ve seen show the home surrounded by flowers, but yours is just as pretty and more unique. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I am a regular reader (most every day) but have only commented once. Your recent post about your bottle tree has inspired me to work on collecting for one of my own. Like Julie, I enjoy seeing others gardens almost as much as working in my own. I also read Tom’s Soul of the Garden as I know him from working at the Austin Museum of Art.
Tim in Leander
Hi, Tim. Thanks for popping by again, and good luck with your bottle tree. —Pam
Hi Pam,
Another lurker, a recent addition to your lurker community. I’m a regular reader of “Soul of the Garden” and found your site from there. I live in Austin, TX walking distance from the Shoal Creek Nursery. I enjoy learning from someone who gardens in the identical soil as my own.
Michael in Austin
Michael, thanks for your comment. It sounds like you share the same general neighborhood as both Tom Spencer and myself. It’s pretty handy to be able to walk to the nursery, isn’t it, unless you purchase too much and forgot your wagon. —Pam
Hi Pam,
Initially I heard of your website through the Soul of the Garden. Then you resurfaced again when I saw the article of local garden blogs in the Austin American Statemen. Taking this as a message from the garden devas, I decided it just may be worth checking out. Glad I followed my instincts! You have done a wonderful job sharing your passion. You are an inspiration. I guess you could say “I am hooked!”
Thanks for taking the time,
Sharon Maynard
Sharon, thanks for the compliments! I appreciate your taking the time to introduce yourself too. —Pam
Howdy Neighbor!
Keep those inspirations coming! You accounts and images are an absolute pleasure.
Out of curiosity, do you have deer in your neck of the woods? I think I’m on the other side of you of the long and winding farm to market road where the fauna don’t even blink when they are on your lawn.
You have also given me the courage to consider incorporating a trampoline for my 2 & 3 year olds.
Thanks!
Hello, Lindsay. Thanks for your kind words. No, we don’t have deer on our street yet, but they’ve been spotted very, very close by. I feel it’s just a matter of time, alas. I think deer are cute but not in my roses.
And, yeah, trampolines. Great exercise for the kiddos but ugly in the garden. I’m still figuring out the solution to that but feeling better about it since my trellis-screen went up. —Pam
Hello again.
Thank you for the information.
I have just visited ‘Soul of the Garden’by Mr.Spencer.
I’m glad he appreciated Japanese taste.
By the way I myself love the natural gardens in Texas!
Hi Pam
I love reading your lovely blog. I also live locally and am a wanna be gardener with a brown thumb. I will visit often for inspiration !
Hi, Diana. Thanks for commenting. Don’t fool yourself—all gardeners kill plants, even those with supposedly green thumbs. Just keep digging, and one day your garden will take off. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I found your wonderful blog via Garden Rant. I live in Alabama and I am new to gardening so I really appreciate all the info and inspiration offered on these blogs. I’ll try not to be a lurker!
Best,
Cheryl
Hi, Cheryl. Thank you for saying hi. Happy digging! —Pam
Ha! Lurker – I didn’t know there was a term for it – and that I was one. I discovered your blog about a month ago, check it regularly and linked it to my own. I’ve been meaning to comment, so thanks for the prompt. Since I’m originally from the Dallas area, I really enjoy seeing what’s going on in my home state – despite a little zone envy. Your photos and native gardening inspiration are not to be missed.
Thanks so much, Carolyn. I appreciate your kind words.
The term “lurker” has sinister connotations in real life, but not in the blogosphere, I think. But it is a funny and reasonably accurate name for non-commenters. Hey, I’m happy to have readers whether they comment or not! —Pam
Nice quote. Emily was a gardener!
I’m not so much a lurker, I’m sure I’ve commented here multiple times.
Just moved to Phoenix, so your landscape is closer to mine now than it was when I was in Michigan. I’m taking notes, ma’am. Indeed I am.
Yes, you’ve commented before, Jenn. So you’ve moved to Phoenix? I’m glad that you’re continuing your blog in your new locale. I can’t think of any other Arizona garden-bloggers at the moment, so you’ll be showing us new and interesting things. Good luck with your new garden. —Pam
Like you, I am a transplant. I’ve moved from Toronto, Canada to San Angelo, TX.
Like others above, I kept stumbling across Digging in my desperate searches for things that will work here. Thank you for showing me that it doesn’t have to be all gravel & cacti.
Hi, Carrie. That’s a big change in garden zones. Happy digging in your new Texas garden! —Pam
I am a “lurker” (LOVE that label!) on nights when I am too tired to blog myself, too tired to get any serious work done (sadly, it is too true that “an entrepreneur is someone who is willing to work 16 hours a day for himself/herself, to avoid working 8 hours a day for someone else”!), and not sensible enough to just go to sleep. Tonight I found myself following a link from the Mouse and Trowel awards, and yes, the photography is gorgeous. I will bookmark this site, intend to return another night, but as is my habit, will not likely follow my bookmark again. However, I am likely to remember the Mouse and Trowel awards, and follow a few more links from there on another night. I garden in the Vancouver, BC area, in a 3 year old garden on a 1/3 acre, with 9 fruit trees, a number of berry bushes and edibles, and perennials. I don’t have much interest in annuals or indoor plants. I have a 3’x4′ garden painting project I am working on in my “spare time”, I expect it will take a year or maybe two overall to complete.
Thanks for stopping by, Garden Lily. Vancouver must be a gardener’s nirvana. No wonder you don’t have time to comment very often on other people’s blogs. I appreciate your saying hello. —Pam
I have lurked for almost 2 years (though I have not commented), looking for inspiration for my own yard here in Southern California. I have converted some places in my yard to xeriscape thanks to your site and look to continue. Our backyard has been barren for about 10 years, thanks to a construction project that took out the sprinklers and trees that had to be removed due to toppling from winds (both ultimately killed the entire yard). I am still putting that plan together in my head and am looking forward to “Digging” in. Thank you for your great photos and keep the inspiration coming.
Hi, Teresa. Thank you for saying hi and for letting me know about your xeriscape projects. I’m happy to have been able to provide a little inspiration for you. Happy digging! —Pam
Well, hello! I think I have left a comment before…or maybe I meant to! Anyway, I, too, wanted to say congratulations on your awards! It’s wonderful to see your garden and to learn about the conditions where you garden. I would guess we’ve probably crossed paths on other blogs as well. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi from Virginia!
Hi, GG, and thanks for dropping by again. I just visited your lovely blog and especially enjoyed the tour of the Hahn Horticulture Garden. I wanted to leave a comment to tell you so, but your blog doesn’t allow anonymous comments and I don’t have a Blogger account. Anyway, I’ll look forward to visiting again soon. —Pam