If you allow yourself to miss even one deadline , it ’ s easy to allow yourself to miss one more . Before you know it , you ’ re posting sporadically , then not at all .
If you allow yourself to miss even one deadline , it ’ s easy to allow yourself to miss one more . Before you know it , you ’ re posting sporadically , then not at all .
KEEP YOUR POSTS SHORT
When you ’ re writing for print , there is a certain amount of space available on the page . Your job as a writer is to fill that space . With a blog , there is no such requirement . A blog post can be as long or as short as you want it to be .
Lean toward short . People reading on a computer , tablet or phone want to quickly get the information . How short can a blog post be ? It can be as short as a picture with a caption . For example , in one of my posts , I showed a heart-shaped trellis created by using two arched trellises and setting them at an angle . I also included a sentence linking back to other posts with tips from the same gardener . The entire post was only 102 words long . Without the extra sentence , it could have been even shorter and still been long enough for my readers . There is definitely a place for long posts , but don ’ t be afraid of writing short .
HAVE TIMELESS POSTS ON HAND
Stuff happens . Maybe you were planning to write a long feature for your next issue , but something came up and you can ’ t finish that post by deadline .
You can publish anyway if you have a draft post on hand , ready to go on a moment ’ s notice . It should be a post that works year-round , such as the tip on the heart-shaped trellis . Make sure you do the basics to have a successful blog . Keep publishing !
In 2016 , Connie Oswald Stofko received the Silver Award for E-Newsletter Overall from GWA and the Business of the Year Award from PLANT WNY , Western New York ’ s association for green businesses . She worked as a reporter for a weekly newspaper , as a writer and editor at the University at Buffalo and as a freelancer .
HOTOFF the press
Jan Coppola Bills Late Bloomer : How to Garden with Comfort , Ease and Simplicity in the Second Half of Life St . Lynn ’ s Press • 160 pages , $ 18.95 Pub . November 17 , 2016
There are times in gardeners ’ lives when what they want to do and what they can do are at odds . Their knees and backs may be complaining and their energy isn ’ t what it was — yet the desire to get their hands in the dirt is as strong as ever . What to do ? Learn how to successfully rethink the approach to gardening as we age . Jan Coppola Bills , a second-half-of-life gardener , says that it ’ s all about maintaining a joyful , healthful connection with the soil — but without the toil . Late Bloomer is part garden philosophy and part on-theground strategies and tips from the author and expert gardeners across the U . S . With color photos on almost every page , this inviting and practical book is organized around the four tenets of the Late Bloomer philosophy : Simplicity . Beauty and Harmony . Comfort and Ease . Relaxation and Letting Go .
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Cheryl Corson Sustainable Landscape Maintenance for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council 85 pages , free • Pub . October 2016
With generous funding from the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment , this free PDF download addresses green infrastructure maintenance best practices . It also details what contractors need to know when approaching any designed landscape for the first time — whether new or historic . This book offers practical advice to contractors , and is part of the curriculum of the new Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional voluntary certification program .
Jill Jonnes Urban Forests : A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape Viking • 416 pages , $ 30 Pub . September 27 , 2016
Four out of five Americans live in or near cities , surrounded by millions of trees that make up urban forests containing hundreds of species . Despite the ubiquity and familiarity of those trees , most of us take them for granted and know little of their specific natural history or civic virtues . Jonnes ’ survey ranges from early sponsors for the Urban Tree Movement , the fascinating stories of particular species , such as Washington , D . C .’ s famed cherry trees as well as the American chestnut and elm ( and the diseases that almost destroyed them ) to the institution of Arbor Day and the most recent generation of tree evangelists who are identifying the best species to populate our cities ’ leafy canopies .
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Judy Nauseef Gardening with Native Plants in the Upper Midwest : Bringing the Tallgrass Prairie Home University of Iowa Press 132 pages , $ 24.95 • Pub . April 15 , 2016
Landscape designer Judy Nauseef shows gardeners in the Upper Midwest how to restore habitat and diversity to their piece of the planet by making native plants part of well-designed , thoughtfully planned gardens . In contrast to most books about gardening with native plants , Nauseef provides specific regional information . Nauseef emphasizes the need for careful planning and design to create comfortable , low-maintenance spaces that bring homeowners outside . Her designs solve problems , such as a lack of privacy , shade , or sun ; plan for water use ; replace troublesome nonnative plants with native plants that attract pollinators and enable homeowners to enjoy living sustainably on their land .
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