That's Not What I Was Looking For...

I went to Family Tree Nursery in Overland Park, Kansas yesterday, on a mission to find a small Rosemary sprig I could turn in to a topiary.  I know it takes patience and a lot of painstaking attention for it not only to live, but to get to the shape I want... a sphere.  LOL!  OK, so maybe not so painstaking.  Right away, as I pulled up in my Jeep, smack dab in the front of the facility are several topiaries. Not your average topiaries either. Different shapes, sizes and definitely not what I was looking for... but oh so much BETTER!

For instance, this cute baby elephant topiary is just about true to size. WOW!

This topiary bush looks like coral from way down deep in the ocean, which is a gazillion miles from good ol' Overland Park. It makes me want this even more!

Who doesn't want a llama?  Now you can have one that won't spit at you.

These stars are in two sizes... I couldn't help but think what fun all of these topiaries would be to have in the garden or on the patio with children around the house and neighborhood.

This isn't a topiary, but I like spheres. I couldn't resist the blue hydrangeas and the water feature.  Clearly from the pom pom shaped flowers and this cobalt blue fountain, I was in Nirvana.

I always love checking out the Koi fish pond at Family Tree, even when my kids aren't with me.  It has been moved to a different spot this year.  It now has a little waterfall feature and floating plants. However the fish are my favorite part.  They are HUGE in koi terms and act a bit like dogs.  Very friendly, want attention and you can even touch the fish.   Better yet, you can feed them!

To top  my visit off... I ran into local celeb and world reknown golf icon, Tom Watson.  "Hello Mr. Watson".  I got that boyish grin and a "What are you getting?" in return.  We talked topiaries for a couple of minutes. He had a lot of plants.  Now that I see he's a gardner, I adore him even more!

Social media note... Family Tree Nursery needs to be blogging daily.  You'll see from their so called current blog, they have a pitiful three entries between March 26th and Dec. 29th.   Really? Really.  They will never lack for content to photograph or blog about. Evah!  Plus, if they had a presence on Twitter, it would have reminded me it's that time of year to get my yard in shape and my garden prepared.  I think I'll have to pay them another visit.   : )

1 Potato 2 Potato...

Today Advertising Age announced it's Top Power 150 Marketing Blogs in the World.  Wow...  that's quite a feat!  Congrats to all who made the list. As I was perusing the AdAge link... I took note of the blogs I am already subscribing to and where they ranked.   I glanced over the names of the other blogs and several titles caught my eye.  Then I scrolled to the bottom of the page I was reading to see it was only the top 50 on this page.  2 More pages of blogs!!!   I think I literally rubbed my temples trying to absorb the idea of checking out these other blogs in a timely fashion.  But how?  I hardly have enough to time to read the blogs I'm currently getting!  How do we find a blog that appeals to us?

The blogs I currently follow, I loooooove. A few interior design one's, a steampunk one, a local foodie, someone who interviews bands, and a boat load of social media and marketing blogs.  How did I find them?  A few ways.  I found some through social media channels and social network sites.  Several blogs started with me following the blogger on Twitter. They tweeted enough good stuff that people were passing around their messages as Re-Tweets to their followers.  Eventually I had some come my way, and that's where I connected with a few.  May I also say, these power bloggers I follow will engage in conversation with me nearly 100% of the time.  I really, and I mean REALLY, appreciate that about them.  "If someone loves what they do, they will reach out to you." (@CoolCatTeacher said that) and I find this is very true in social media.

Ask like minded friends, co-workers, your book club, fantasy football league and family what blogs they read... or join another social network(s) with the intent to meet more like minded folks.  Post on your status update what kind of blog you're looking for and let the suggestions roll in.  Quickly you'll find what the current buzz is about and where the information came from.  Twitter allows you to search key words to see what is being talked about regarding that subject and that's a very handy tool, especially if you're trying to read the sentiment on something particular.  Reputable influencers have their messages repeated like dominoes.

Finally, each blog I subscribe to has a list of other blogs (names and links) on their page that the blogger also likes!  That's a fantastic way to quickly find other like minded blogs from a blogger you appreciate all ready.

In the mean time, I found some interesting blog titles on the AdAge 150 list and I'm going to check them out, right now ...  #14 AdFreak, #73 If It's Hip, It's Here, #97 Damn I Wish I'd Thought of That!, and finally #133 Make the Logo Bigger. 

Carve an hour in to your day to read up on the blogs with subjects you find interesting.  Some bloggers post daily and some post randomly, so an hour may be too much.  Either way, it'll only do you good.  What's your favorite blog?  Let me know.