The Story Behind the Name

I'm often asked how Veg Plotting and VP came about and Garden Faerie's recent meme, the Story Behind the Name is the perfect excuse to blog about it :)

We need to go back to just over four years ago... to a dark, rainy early November day with the wind wailing around the house like a banshee...

NAH was away and I was bored. Crucially I'd decided my then career break from work was going to have to be a permanent move (it was the deadline day for letting them know if I was going to return) and had just written my formal resignation letter.

I'd also decided I wanted to do something new to celebrate my now unemployed status, and so I was trawling the internet to find a nice weekend away. Instead I found The Bath Crafting Cranny. I liked her style and humour, the fact she was local to me and I loved the blogs she linked to, especially My Tiny Plot.

I wonder what it takes to start a blog? I pondered. A quick Google and 5 minutes later Veg Plotting was born. Bits and Bobs and Veg Plot were already taken as blog names, and thinking I'd be solely writing about my allotment, I plumped for Veg Plotting instead.

However, within days of starting it quickly became clear I couldn't stay on topic for toffee. Seeing most of my ideas for posts are born whilst I'm up at the plot, luckily the play on the word Plotting means the blog's title still fits. And judging by the number of keyword searches I see for it in my stats, it's a memorable title too :)

So why VP? Well, when I was faced with the fill-in box for who I was going to be on the interweb, I panicked about internet security and identity theft and so decided an alter ego would be the best way forward. I also thought people would get fed up of typing Veg Plotting the whole time and so wanted something a bit snappier. I remembered a wonderful cartoon Bill Tidy used to do for CAMRA called Keg Buster. The Keg Buster character was always called KB in the pictures, so VP is an affectionate homage to one of our finest cartoonists.

Since then it's all gone rather muddy and complicated. It started with a change to Blotanical a few years ago where I wasn't allowed to be VP any more. EmmaT sometimes calls me Veep, so that's who I became on there.

Then I started getting some guest blog posts and the possibility of freelance work beckoned, so I 'came out' as the real me at the Garden Media Guild Awards 2 years ago. I had an awful lot of explaining to do that day!

My presence on Twitter has complicated things further: @Malvernmeet was created specifically for publicising our bloggers' get together at Malvern last year, but has stuck around as my personal tweet handle even though I vowed my Twitter presence would be temporary!

@VegPlotting is on there too, but I hardly ever use that at all. At the moment I'm toying with the idea of letting @Malvernmeet go and using @VegPlotting more because I know people who've got to know me over the past year or so are most confused by @Malvernmeet. However, I'm rather daunted by more or less having to start to build up a Twitter following all over again.

If I'd known how things were going to turn out I'd be here as the real me and with a really clever blog title which reflects what it's all about instead of feeling sometimes like I'm suffering from a multiple personality disorder :o

But then I wouldn't have written this blog post as there wouldn't be a Story Behind the Name ;)

Thanks to Garden Faerie's friend Bren for providing the logo at the top of this post.

Comments

  1. Anonymous8 December 2011 at 09:07

    I've come across some wonderful blog names, and it's always fascinating to read how they came about.
    I started out as Flightbuff which fellow bloggers soon abbreviated to Flighty. Where the latter is already in use, such as Twitter, I use Sofaflyer. I've always kept the same gravatar which identifies me regardless of name. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. petoskystone8 December 2011 at 13:23

    It's only been 4 years? You've certainly done a lot in a few.

    ReplyDelete
  3. janicebotterill8 December 2011 at 17:40

    I'm glad I'm not the only one with multiple online identification/ personality issues. Interesting to hear about your title and how long you've been blogging. Good to look back sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anna8 December 2011 at 21:42

    Mmmmmm - you are a definite candidate for an identity crisis VP. Visiting 'Bits and Bobs' would not be quite the same. Thanks for your brilliant suggestion of using my former header as a background - now that had simply not occured to me. Will have to have a dabble in the new year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Diana Studer8 December 2011 at 22:08

    You could, change your blog title. People do. But Veg Plotting means something to your readers. VP has a well-earned reputation to uphold. Easy to remember counts for a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amy Andrychowicz9 December 2011 at 03:58

    That's a great story. When I first started out, I had a few identities too. I changed them all to one early on, and I'm very glad I did. Good luck deciding on your name change. It's a hard decision for sure!

    Amy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rose9 December 2011 at 14:38

    This was a fun read, VP--I'm always intrigued how people came up with their blog names. Like you, I was worried about internet security and all that when I started, so I tried not to use my real name anywhere. I can see where it's caused you to have multiple personalities, though!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elizabeth Musgrave9 December 2011 at 19:08

    Interesting! I do know what you mean aobut the confusion of identities. I am gwenoldy on twitter and might have blogged under that name too but now I have been going so long it seems like a daft idea to change from Welsh hills. And that is where I am I suppose! Enjoyed reading more about the history of yours!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The bike shed9 December 2011 at 20:17

    You have also, I recall, been cited as the Blog Fairy by another Chippenham blogger, whoever that might be.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Diana Studer10 December 2011 at 10:29

    This is the flash mob you sang in?

    https://plus.google.com/u/1/103257835426970935841/posts/L9PNvJE2wZZ

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11 December 2011 at 14:17

    Now I know who @malvernmeet is! Like me you have many personna, well done for keeping track of them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. VP12 December 2011 at 08:37

    Flighty - like you I decided to keep my Avatar the same so I'm consistent across the interweb. I decided I'd keep my blog header the same too because when I made my first major change to my blog's design, it confused some readers.

    Petoskystone - yes it's 4 years!

    Projectforty - it's very good to look back :)

    Anna - I think Bits and Bobs would have been quite boring, I'm happy with the way things have turned out

    EE - I considered changing the title a while ago, but decided that would be even more confusing for both me and readers! It's also good practice to keep blog title and web address as close together as possible, so people can find you. No that wasn't the flash mob I sang in - ours was Hey Big Spender, though I was also involved in a scratch choir singing the Halleluja chorus on our local TV.

    Amy - welcome! The only name change will be if I drop @malvernmeet and pick up @vegplotting instead. Blog name etc is staying as it is

    Rose - it's reassuring that I'm not the only one with those concerns

    Elizabeth - it took me a while to twig that @gwenoldy was you! Luckily you had the answer on your blog ;)

    Mark - tee hee it was you! I'd forgotten that one :)

    Hi Ronnie - hope you don't mind me replying to one of your other personas, it's a lot simpler than the blog name you've used for your comment ;) That @malvernmeet's very confusing isn't she?

    ReplyDelete
  13. elaine 12 December 2011 at 15:53

    When I first came across VP on UK Veg Gardeners I thought they were your initials and always imagined you as Violet or Veronica or even Verushka - Veg Plotting doesn't have quite the same ring - but you could hardly call your blog Verushka's Plot - oh I don't know though!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous12 December 2011 at 18:18

    Hi again! Thank you for your comments, both on The Story behind the Name and my Tyntesfield piece. My grandson was disappointed the house was closed when we got there because I think he wanted to give us a guided tour!

    ReplyDelete
  15. VP13 December 2011 at 22:22

    Elaine - *chuckle* I think Verushka's been suggested before, perhaps I need to adopt that name ;)

    Ronnie - you're welcome :) Re Tyntesfield - that's a shame. It's well worth going round the next time you're there.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more