Saturday, October 18, 2008

Site-related: Blogiversary

This is, in fact, a single pot. We got two like this where the mound of flowers was on the order of four feet across. Why? I do not know, but they make for a hell of a picture.

PATSP is officially a year old today. In that time, we've met sixty-eight plants:

There were the groups (Horde, Fraternity), the professionals (Actor, Landlord, Community Organizer, Lawyer, Teacher, Supermodel, Secret Agent Man, Avant-Garde Artist, Athlete, Dancer, Infomercial Pitchman) the not-so professionals (Employee, Dilettante, Also-Ran), a couple real people (Greta Garbo, Amy Winehouse), a few fictional people (Auntie Entity, Goody Two-Shoes, Romance Novel Heroine, The Wandering Jew, John Q. Public), royalty (Princess, King & Queen, Celebrity), mental patients (Psychopath, Neurotic, Basket Case, Sadist, Melancholic, Paranoiac), romantic interests (Exotic Stranger, Ex-Girlfriend / Ex-Boyfriend, Hooker With a Heart of Gold, Blind Date, Femme Fatale, Mister Right), losers (Schlub, Stoner, Dork, Brain), winners (Lucky Bastard), some bad boys (Criminal, Bad Influence, Con Artist, Evil Genius, Cult Leader), some friends (Friend of a Friend, College Roommate, Pal), tragic figures (Sacrificial Virgin, Feral Orphan, Unsung Hero, Ghost) and a wide and motley assortment of others that fit into no particular category (Teenager, Kamaaina, Practical Joker, Messenger of God, Identical Cousins [1] [2], Urban Cowboy, Single Mother, Damsel in Distress, Schoolgirl of the Underworld, Samurai in a Dress, Twenty-something, Caveman).

I do occasionally wonder what happens when I run out of plants to profile, but I can think of a half-dozen uncovered plants in the Bromeliaceae alone, off the top of my head, so I think we're probably safe for another year, at least. And there's no shortage of characters to go with the plants, either.

A festive NOID Anthurium photo, because I've recently realized that I can't rely on Gazania to do all the celebratory heavy lifting around here. I mean, until next spring, I've only got just the five Gazania pictures.

What's next for PATSP? Well, there'll be some more of the same: work-related posts, profiles, pretty pictures, random plant events, all that good stuff. I would also really like to bring back the LOLplants, who I've missed, and finish the pest profile series (still to come: scale, fungus gnats, thrips, aphids).

And besides more of the same? Well, I have some ideas. I've been wanting for some time to introduce a regular weekend round-up feature where I could put up links to other blogs with noteworthy posts, sort of a just-in-case-you-missed-it post. The main obstacle to doing this so far has been that I don't always have enough time to read as many posts on other blogs as I would like, so collecting the links in the first place is kind of an obstacle. But I'm working on it. I also have a similar idea involving interviews -- but I've said too much already. There's at least one item of plant-related fiction on the way, which I have to say is not really working out that well at the moment but I'm still hopeful, and I expect to see more imaginary plants in the fictional botany series. Also, I know I've been promising to write one forever, but I really will get to a review of Amy Stewart's Flower Confidential at some point, and then at some point after that I'll start on a review of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief.

The other monster mum. There was also a maroon one, that I didn't get a picture of before it sold.

So I'll try to make it worth your time to show up. Thanks for reading.


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary Mr. Subjunctive!

Lance said...

I would sing, but the moose get upset. But happy birthday.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! I'm looking forward to whatever you decide to write about in the future; PATSP is always entertaining and informative.

I would be particularly interested in your opinion of The Orchid Thief. It came up once during another discussion on the GW Houseplants Forum a few years ago; I was surprised by how much other people's opinions differed from mine.

Benjamin Vogt said...

I will eat cake, cookies, candy and anythign else I can get my hands on today in order to celebrate. Of course, it being fall break for me, I was going to gorge myself anyway.

Anonymous said...

Congrats Mr. S.!!! I say you're way too modest---you should be screaming and shrieking about having over 113,00 views so far (God knows, we would be!!!). What a tribute to what you're attempting on your blog! You're an inspiration to us all. As Benjamin says, at least go for a few treats to celebrate! We'll definitely make some baked brie with brown sugar and crushed pecans and hoist a glass of spiced wine with a brie-covered slice of baguette in your honor!

mr_subjunctive said...

lancetx:

The moose? Does this involve Sarah Palin in some way?

Aiyana said...

Happy Blogiversary! I too have wondered what to write about now that I've almost finished up all the cacti and other plants in my garden. I'm not as ambitios as you, though. Some of your thoughts on your blog's direction are quite interesting. I'll continue to enjoy visiting, I'm sure!
Aiyana

garden girl said...

Happy Blogiversary!

GardenBloggers.Com said...

Happy Blogiversary!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous Gazanias to you on your first Blogiversary.

And a mythical bottle of Mealy Bugicide for the Fabled Plants.

;-)

themanicgardener said...

My bet is that Palin would shoot the moose, or cause it to be shot, as she did on SNL tonight. (Indirectly.)

I'm looking forward to the pest posts, which i find quite helpful.

Happy anniversary!
--Kate

Lance said...

Well, if she's the moose, I'd happily upset her. But I agree she would probably just shoot the moose.

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Wow, how time flies when you're having fun. And it really is a lot of fun here at PATSP. I'm definitely looking forward to many more posts on your wonderful blog.

Happy Blogiversary!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr. Sub and here's to many more years ahead! Burnout? How are feeling about it now? I wonder about that myself. I eagerly await your review of the Orchid Thief because I actually have the ghost orchid that is the subject of the thievery. It is tiny but seems to be growing just now with a bit of extra liquid feed sprayed on it weakly weekly. What are the chances of getting that elusive flower in a greenhouse?

Frances
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/