Monday, December 5, 2011

The Story Behind the Name

The other day I was chatting with Bren and realized I didn't know what the BG in her BGgarden blog name stands for. We got to chatting about social media names and how it would be interesting to learn how everyone came up with their online identities.

Bren shares her story here. As for me, I came up with the name Garden Faerie in 2002 when I began gardening for clients. While they were busy at their job, I was busy in their garden taking care of things and making everything look nice, so when they came home it was like the Garden Faerie had been there! I picked that spelling of faerie because I've always liked how it looks. When I started blogging, it seemed the perfect name to use. I didn't realize until much later that the name might make people think I do fairy gardens or am petite, neither of which happen to be the case.

What about you? How did you pick your blog or social media name? Blog about your own Story Behind the Name and link to your post below! (If you've written about it already, just share the link!)
Thanks to Bren for making the logo!

49 comments:

  1. Mine's kind of boring... I'd rather be a faerie. :) When you live in a ski town, a mountain town, elevation is a big deal. I thought the term 'high altitude' might click with other ski bums turned gardeners.. :D

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  2. My story isn't so exciting either. I think it is interesting to hear other stories.

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  3. My blog name, Art of Gardening, refers to my granddad, named Art -- the gardener that sparked my interest i gardening. Also, I'm in the creative field (graphic/advertising design) and that played a part. I also strongly believe that gardening IS an art!

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  4. I love reading where everyone's blog names came from. I hope to stop by all the blogs who share so I can see their photos and leave a comment.

    Thank you Monica for coming up with this idea. It is a great topic to get everyone writing!

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  5. Great idea for a posting. I cheated a little...wrote a post about my blog name a couple years ago. Did put it in the Mr. Linky. I will enjoy reading others' postings. I like Garden Faerie :-)

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  6. The Garden of Live Flowers is a scene in Through the Looking Glass, the Alice sequel. It always amused me that the flowers were described as "live" just because they could talk. Incidentally, one of the most frequent Google searches that lands on my blog is for "live flowers." "I'd love to look at some flowers, but none of those dead kind, thanks!"

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  7. I wanted a name that reflected that it was filled with current gardening news, advice and thoughts, hence the buzz. But I also wanted to pay homage to my buzzing little pollinator and beneficial insect friends in the garden.

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  8. This has been fun. Nice to read everyones stories!

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  9. Ink and Penstemon was easy to remember and referenced an important native flower. I actually began the blog because the name was too good to pass up.

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  10. What a fun topic! I love hearing how others come up with their names. Believe me, I struggled to come up with a name for mine! I am never good at coming up with names for stuff like this. I think I had 10 posts written before I finally settled on a name.

    My name came from a few things, everyone calls me a busy bee all the time because I'm always doing something (I can't sit still). I wanted to use the word "Busy" in my name and had several options written down. One was "Get Busy Gardening!" because I've always liked the quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption... "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying". Then I added the exclamation point at the end of my name because I wanted it to be a statement.... now get out there and Get Busy Gardening! :-)

    Amy

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  11. When I originally created my twitter account (MyRubberBoots), I had no idea what I was doing. I simply loved rubber boots and couldn't think of anything else.

    It worked out well for my blog name as well since I live in Seattle and it rains here a lot - believe it or not.

    Confession: I garden in my slippers, flip flops and garden clogs but very rarely in my rubber boots. ;)

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  12. I've always wanted a garden fairy to pull weeds while I was away:) Very interesting, Monica; I don't know that my story is nearly that interesting. I was trying to come up with a screen name that preserved some anonymity but had a nice ring to it. When my ancestors came over from Germany, they purchased ground that had never been farmed before--land that is still in my family. So I guess I have strong ties to the prairie.

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  13. Excellent idea Monica ~ I often wonder about all the stories behind the names. I always thought that your name was reminiscent of a good faerie sprinkling her magic around in the garden. Will try a do a 'reveal'
    soon :)

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  14. Great idea, Monica. If I find time, I will share mine. This is fun!

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  15. Amateur Bot-ann-ist comes from both my first and last names. Obviously Ann is planted right in the middle of the word Botanist but Amateur is actually one of the meanings of my maiden name: Amato. It is a form of Amore in Italian but it mean Beloved, as in a Beloved Lover. The Amateur aspect has to do you being a young amateur lover. I thought it was kind of pretty so of course I wanted to use it. Besides, I am an amateur botanist too. So why not?

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  16. Great idea! I remember that Twitter convo between you and Bren. Bren's was easy for me, since I knew she was from Ohio and not far from me. I kind of had a lucky guess that it was Bowling Green.

    I have my story posted, although my blog name is rather simple and obvious. ;-)

    It's been fun reading everyone's stories!

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  17. Me again, :))

    I decided to tell my silly story after all...

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  18. Mine plays with the English name of the Olifantskop which is our garden view. But there are other elephant's eyes out there, even a North American city!

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  19. Hallo Monica
    Also ich kann mir Dich als Gartenfee ganz gut vorstellen :o)... wie Du mit Zauberstab durch die Gärten wuselst und da und dort Dinge verschönerst.
    Mein Gwundergarten Nickname kommt von daher, da ich einfach alles ausprobieren muss. Ich bin sowas von "gwundrig" (=neugierig), wie sich diese und jene Pflanze in meinem Garten machen wĂĽrde. So versuche ich dies und versuche das, manchmal gelingt's manchmal nicht, aber mein Gwunder (meine Neugierde)bleibt erhalten.
    Ich wünsche Dir einen schönen Tag und hoffe bei Euch stürmt es weniger als bei uns. Wir haben Schnee und Regen und heftigen Wind .... bähh.
    En liebe Gruess
    Alex

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  20. My post is up now Monica. I will be back later to visit other participants so that I can find out the stories behind the names :)

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  21. omg- I am having so much fun reading everyone's stories! Thanks for setting thisp Monica! u

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  22. The first time I read this, I missed that we should write our story in a blog post and then link to that in Mr. Linky. :-) Oops. Well, I just posted my story on my blog and added it to Mr. Linky. Sorry for the duplicate linky everyone.

    I have been having so much fun reading everyone's story!

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  23. I've been meaning to write my story for ages, thanks for providing the perfect excuse to do so :)

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  24. Mine is on my blog now, Monica. I love to find out this stuff (I'm very nosy). Look forward to reading everyones.

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  25. Hi Monica, What a great idea. I've just posted about why I'm wellywoman.

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  26. I have often wondered about the more unusual names that I have come across - mine is pretty boring simply the name of my house and me rambling on about the garden. Perhaps I should have given it more thought at the beginning. Oh well, too late now

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  27. Love reading all the stories behind the names...I included by first post which I think tells the story...hope you enjoy it.

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  28. I've enjoyed this. It's fun to read about everyone's names, and also think about where I've been.

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  29. I am enjoying this meme thanks for promoting it. My understanding of a garden fairy was as you say someone who does the garden in your absence but since reading US blogs I have discovered that there is quite a minature garden movement over there which is a fashion here and I assumed that this was what your blog was about - how wrong was I

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  30. Nice post idea, thank you.

    Great blog too, will definitely be back again.

    Jono.

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  31. I know most people do not use their own name for their blog, but let's face it, blogging is putting yourself out there, in the same way an author does! Amusing that a gardener of 30 years such as myself, would buy a home on 2 acres with an address on Weed Street! So I have lent my name and address to my musings from my garden with (yes) some weeds.... but I also try to" weed" through the happenings in my week, to share with the very appreciated readers I have picked up along the way!

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  32. Hi! I found you via Patient Gardener and have been inspired to write the reason behind my blog title. Some great reasons for the names aren't there.

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  33. Hi Monica, I can't write about the name of my blog right now. I've given myself a bit of a "Christmas Challenge" for the moment!! ;-)

    However, if I can remember to do it After Christmas, I'll try. lol

    Happy December!

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  34. Hello Monica, thanks to VP I have found my way to this post and joined you on it. It's been fun. I'll be back later to visit everyone. Great idea :-)

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  35. I just combine two words to get a new word - I was never as lucky as you to come up with a great name and I say faerie is perfect :)

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  36. This is a great topic for sure. We named our blog the 20 Minute Garden because we wanted to show that 20 minutes a day was enough to make a great garden. We started blogging after we completely destroyed our yard with a major construction project; we focused our efforts on reclaiming our garden 20 minutes at a time. The habit continues to give us great pleasure and a great yard.

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  37. Really enjoyed reading all of these - my blog name is a little obvious really - but still thought it fun to write about.

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  38. Hmmmm, I should probably change the name of mine now. :-)

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  39. I asked my email buddies to suggest a name and my D.C. friend came up with All the Dirt on Gardening. Probably had something to do with politics ...

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  40. Esther - because I'm Esther Montgomery. 's - because it's mine. Boring - because I write whatever I like, whether it's interesting or not. Blog - cos it's a blog. Voila! How's that for living up to one's boring reputation?

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  41. Monica
    just found your post...
    My blog names
    'Guildwood Gardens'
    'Guildwood Village on the Lake'
    Guildwood Mushrooms,Lichens...
    originate from Guildwood, a small village east of Toronto, Canada.
    - Cheers Gisela.

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  42. I'll be back! I have my post scheduled for December 28th!

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  43. What a wonderful idea. Tales From My Garden came from how nature inspires me in my writing! I am the author of Iris and the Dragonflies, and the main character discovers that the Earth has given her tremendous powers. I love how all the people who have commented are inspired by nature.

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  44. Came to read the post that's vanished - but I will say 'Happy New Year' here instead and wish you very well for 2012.

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  45. Hi Monica,
    I just came across Shady Gardener's name post. This is a fun idea. I am very late, but may do a post about my name. I actually wish I would have put more thought into it and chosen a different name.

    I enjoyed reading about your name. I read it to Larry, who was sitting next to me, and we both had a chuckle.

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  46. I am later for the party than I usually am. I am trying to get over bronchitis, and had time to go through my photos and do a post that I just got finished. Now, I need to go read the others. Thanks for keeping the link open!

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  47. Hi I'm a faerie artist (faerie is the traditional way of spelling it, not like the Disney 'fairy', bah humbug!) and I'm a enthusiastic gardener as well and have recently been asked to advise on creating a faerie garden so perhaps you could live up to your name and create little faerie paradises. by the way all faeries do not come in sweet little tutus some can be quite alarming!!
    Elizabeth
    www.magicmythlegend.co.uk

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  48. My neighbour once spotted me out gardening when there was still snow on the ground and compared me to an alcoholic - thus Gardeners' Anonymous - "My name is Laurie and I'm a gardener" :)

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  49. It's hard not to exploit a surname like Plante in any and all garden writing. Thus the name of my blog Plante on Plants, planteplants.blogspot.com.

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