Ego Trips

Hopefully every gardener has a nursery that they love going to, even if it's just to look around.  Mine is Green Acres and it's right down the road from my house.  I consider myself to be a regular there.  I say that with the full understanding that my definition of a regular is probably totally different than their definition would be.  But for the last several years I have gone in there at least three or four times a month throughout the year so at the very least they have to give me "repeat customer", right?  No matter how they classify me, it doesn't change my love for this nursery.  I love the plant selection, I love the layout, I love the staff, I even love the satellite radio station they play on the speakers at just the right volume.  But somehow I manage to get in and out without being recognized much by the staff.  My outgoing friend and neighbor, Brian, is less of a regular but when he goes in there they know him by name!

A lesser man would have his pride wounded by this, but the truth is, I know I'm a bit of a wallflower and I don't go out of my way to make my presence known.  Not unless I've had a few too many cocktails anyway.  So it's good for me to have a friend like Brian who is willing to stop an employee and ask a question or find a manager and negotiate discounts on expensive items like fountains (more on that in the coming weeks, I hope).  Discounts are nice, but the real benefit of having an outgoing friend is that it gets me out of my shell a bit more than I'm comfortable with.  My default setting is to believe that when you put yourself out there you open yourself up to criticism and life is easier without that.  That said, my experience has also taught me that not much good happens when I hide out in life's corners.

So, in the spirit of stepping out of the shadows, I decided to add my blog to Blotanical a few weeks ago and it's been a great way to put my blog - and, by extension, myself - out there.  As a result, my tiny little blog has started to sprout.  (Sorry for the bad pun.)  It's been especially gratifying to have people comment on my blog posts and send me messages.  But it's been even better as a means of discovering some great garden-related blogs and bloggers.  None of that would have happened if I hadn't been willing to take a step out of my comfort zone.

This iris has absolutely nothing to do with the post.  I just like it.

Call me shallow, but the comments, compliments, and page views matter to me.  It's one thing to write a blog for nothing but the sheer enjoyment of writing and chronicling your efforts, but when you have an audience, no matter the size, it makes everything that much more fun and rewarding.  It's good for the ego.

Speaking of which, the other day I decided to make good use of my lunch hour so I drove down to Green Acres and bought a few plants I knew I'd want to get in the ground over the weekend.  While I was paying for them, the cashier asked me if I had a contractor's acount with them.  Hah!  A contractor's account?  Who me?  No, I'm just a quietly obsessed gardener who happens to come in here A LOT.

"No," I said, "I'm just a customer" and I walked out feeling like a true regular.