Friday, September 4, 2009

I meme, therefore I am

It's been years since I played tag, but Carol at May Dreams Garden got me for this meme detailing seven things about oneself. So here it is!

1. I have been a garden writer for about 3 years (although I have been a professional writer for longer and have done/still do other writing besides garden writing). Most of my work has been published in Chicagoland Gardening and Northwest Quarterly, another regional magazine.

2. On a related note, I love Midwestern native plants because I think I identify with them, being Midwestern and all. I have lived elsewhere and I admit my home isn't perfect, but I can't deny who I am or where I'm from, so why deny my garden the plants it evolved to host? They may not be super-showy, highly cultivated, hothouse flowers, but like everything else in this region they're resilient and resourceful, can take a joke, and are beautiful in their own way.

3. I am an unrepentant grammar nerd. The world needs us, trust me.

4. I speak/read/write Italian proficiently (not fluently, I admit).

5. Despite my name, I do not currently grow roses. But I have in the past and I will again in the future; in fact I'm plotting it right now. I truly believe my name heightened my awareness of plants and gardening, so I sort of feel that I owe the classic flowers of my namesake something. I realize they're not Midwestern natives, but as you can see in my profile I do NOT discriminate against non-natives.

6. I have an obsession with the state of Vermont. I spent three weeks there when I was 11 and it was like a dreamworld of lush greenery. It was a very formative experience between me and the natural world. I have been back since, and if I ever run away and become a hermit, it will likely be there. As I mentioned above, my home isn't perfect, but I'm pretty sure Vermont is.

7. When I like things I adore them and have difficulties choosing favorites. So I rarely have one "favorite" type of thing but most likely 3 or 4. Examples include books, songs, and, of course, plants. But I won't reveal all my favorites of all sorts of things here--that can be another post!

As a good sport I'm now tagging Mr. McGregor's Daughter, Cindy at My Corner of Katy, Diane at the Garden of Live Flowers, Diana at Sharing Nature's Garden, and Frances at Fairegarden. OK, that's not the specified 7, but it's Friday afternoon; it's the best I can do. If any of you would like to play along, just post 7 things about yourself and tag (up to) 7 others if you like! Have a wonderful weekend!

(Gratuitous shot of great blue lobelia [L. siphilitica]. I can't get enough of this plant. Its color is gorgeous, its habit spiky yet elegant, and it survives flooding from the gutter overhead like a champ.)

9 comments:

Carol Michel said...

I love the Midwest, too, but admit I've never been to Vermont. I just know it from the 2nd Bob Newhart show so imagine it is a place of fall color year around and quirky characters like Larry, Darrell, Darrell.

Thanks for playing along and I'm looking forward to the posts of those you've tagged!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Frances said...

Thanks Rose. I did a post sharing a few things about myself last year. It's all I got! :-)

http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/tagged/

Frances

Frances said...

http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/tagged/

Some of it got cut off, maybe this will work.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Vermont is not perfect - it's Zone 4 (except for the garden of North Hill, which is actually the Garden of Eden). What's wrong with being a grammar nerd? You say it like it's a bad thing. I think I did this meme a couple of years ago. I'll have to think hard for 7 new things.

Rose said...

The world needs more grammar nerds! It drives me crazy when I see blatant errors in print--our local hometown newspaper carried a column by the editor yesterday in which she talked about "Parent's (sic) can see their..." I want to write a letter to them suggesting they proofread first!

Carol tagged me, too, and I'm still trying to think of 7 interesting things about me--maybe procrastination or indecisiveness should be one of my traits:)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I refuse to play by all the rules, but I'll play by this one and put my link here:
It's The Incredible Shrinking MeMe

Cindy, MCOK said...

I'll do my best to get to the meme today ... it's not that I can't think of 7 things, it's just that life keeps interfering with writing them down!

I was in Vermont in August 2001 for a wedding and it's the best time I've ever had in August, bar none! The gardens there are just incredibly lush then. We visited a nursery, Equinox Valley, that was positively idyllic. I'd love to go back!

Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said...

Just jumped here from your Kreative Blogger award post. I really like what you said about Midwest plants. I can completely understand and I love those plants. I'm not a midwesterner though. What I miss is the rough and tumble plants of central Texas and I've been considering doing a post on plants that speak to your heart. Maybe I will now...

Maid Service Euclid said...

Thankss for writing

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