Sharing Through ‘Chatting’ & ‘Walking’ Leads To Community

Guest Post By  Jo W. aka @BloominChick

Image by @bloomchick

After a serious infection, two surgeries and an extended recovery that began last July, I recently started participating in #gardenchat again and in doing so, reconnected with old friends like @GreenSoil & met new ones, including @BG_Garden, @agardendiary and @RedneckRosarian.

Like @BG_Garden & @agardendiary, in May I was inspired by @RedneckRosarian’s daily #gardenchat posts in which he shared photos of his blooms taken each morning during walks through his garden and started sharing my own as well.  I generally begin (and end) most days in my garden, quietly observing and thought it was a great idea to share with the #gardenchat folks some of what I was seeing during that special time of day.  From that inspiration and camaraderie, one thing led to another and I unwittingly created the “#gardenwalk” hashtag and now #gardenwalk, like #gardenchat, is becoming a daily ritual for many, which just makes me smile inside and out!

You see, it is such a joy for me to share my love of gardening and taking photos of my blooms with like-hearted folks!  Gardening has truly been a life saving & life changing experience for me that has helped me over the years to heal in some ways, move forward in others and feel connections where I hadn’t before. But, I don’t have anyone close to me offline who shares my same enthusiasm for gardening. Unfortunately my husband gets saddled with the heavy lifting & moving because of my limitations, and while he’s happy it brings me joy, he’s not as enthusiastic about my gardening as I am!  And being a stay-at-home wife for health reasons tends to be isolating, so things like my personal blogs, #gardenchat & #gardenwalk on Twitter and other online ventures bring me a connection to the world outside of my own I wouldn’t otherwise have and for that, I am grateful beyond words.

Do you have something in your garden you would like to share?  Post your comments, questions and photos to your Twitter and make sure to use the #gardenchat and/or #gardenwalk hashtag in your tweet, then watch your virtual garden grow.  Also, be sure to join us on Twitter on Monday nights at 9pm EST for a weekly #gardenchat.  Check the official #gardenchat site for topic & giveaway details at #gardenchat Website.

I look forward to chatting and walking with you!