Year 2

It’s the anniversary of the second year of Hedgerow Rose and I can’t believe I haven’t run out of things to say yet! {EDIT: Madison reminded me that I blogged for years before H.R. but for some reason I keep forgetting about that!} Since last year the blog has been introduced to one or two new readers, (i.e. it isn’t always my mom that is the only one leaving comments on my posts, although, thank you Mom for always being so supportive!), and since I purchased the new camera the pictures have improved a wee bit, thank heavens. I love milestones because it’s like a fresh sheet of notebook paper waiting for a new list to be written. So, along with some rose photos b-sides, here’s a list of where we’re at, what I’ve learned, and where I’d like Hedgerow Rose to go from here:

Where we’re at…

◆Earlier this year, Hedgerow Rose became my business name/integrated into my jewelry brand and I opened my main shop, Shop Hedgerow Rose, making the important financial and emotional break from Etsy. (And along with that, I dropped the usage of the name laralewis as a business title and reclaimed my given name.) Now, everything is under the Hedgerow Rose umbrella which really simplifies things. And you know I love to simplify!

◆To date, I’ve published over 300 posts, about 80 of those about specific roses. Golly! But, most importantly, I’ve made some wonderful new friends through this blog.

What I’ve learned…

◆Like I said last year, writing this blog has made me a better gardener. In fact, I encourage anyone who has an interest/passion in something to blog about it because you will learn so much more!

◆And not to get super heavy on you, but I wanted to share this in case any other blogger out there is struggling with the same thing: Over the past year I’ve learned that your blog is your space, sort of like your home, and you don’t need to accept any unkind behavior/comments from Internet trolls. While thankfully it has been extremely rare, I’ve received the few “you’re dumb I’m smarter than you” kind of comments from “experts” that made me feel terrible and wonder why I was even bothering. But after reading this from Deb at Smitten, it was like a revelation, and now when those trolls occasionally visit I promptly show them to the door.

Where I’d like this to go…

◆Well, for starters I want to start opening up more. Hedgerow Rose isn’t just our garden and my business, it’s our home and our lives and I want to overcome my sometimes debilitating shyness and share more of that with you. When I think of the blogs I read faithfully, they are not all strictly informative posts (which I think I most often write because it’s a safe place for me) but open a beautiful little window into a person’s life and even though we may never meet I feel as though they are my friend and we share common ground. So, expect to see more home-related shares and I hope I don’t lose any readers who come here strictly for serious plant-talk!

◆I’d also like to post with more regularity, not worry so much about things being “perfect” (ha! like I’ll ever stop worrying…), and share photos of the garden while it’s happening and current. I’ve got a backlog of photos like you wouldn’t believe. I suppose that will help carry me through winter but it’s overwhelming and I’d rather post it, file it, and forget it!

◆Last, I’d like to do more giveaways because those are just dingdangin’ fun. 🙂

And since I guess it’s become a tradition to mark the anniversary of this blog with a photo of our Christmas tree here is this year’s…yes it’s a faux tree. A fake! Ack! I drove Jesse completely bananas over the Christmas tree conundrum. Seriously, talks began last August–he’s a saint for putting up with me sometimes–because our house is so tiny and we simply do not have room for a big, fresh tree. Since I’d always wanted a flocked tree we ended up purchasing one from Treetime when they were having their Thanksgiving sale. It’s teeny but it fits in our home without us having to do the shimmy dance to squeeze past it. I call it our “Polar Express tree” because it reminds me of my favorite scene: the montage of the ticket with the wolves, the snow and the eagle soaring over the frosty trees and waterfall. Hmmm, now I need to watch that movie again….

Thank you for a wonderful three TWO years and see you soon with a before/after of our bathroom wallpaper re-do!

EDIT: Apparently, I can’t count. It’s the 2nd anniversary, not the 3rd, as previously stated. Heavens to Betsy.