Agapostemon sp., Metallic Green Bee, Jade Bee, illustrated my guest rant on Garden Rant in 2009.

Here’s my review and recap of 2009.

Highlights

• January 27: I attend my first – maybe my only – Plant-O-Rama at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
• March 4: Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, dies.
• May 2009: I attend the Chicago Spring Fling meetup of garden bloggers.
• July 29: The City Council approves the Flatbush Rezoning Plan, a story I’ve been tracking for years on this blog.

There were several personal milestones and achievements, my pleasure in sharing them tempered by the absence of my father this past year, who would have been proud.

• February 2: I presented on Community Blogging at Historic District Council’s monthly Coffee Talk series.
• March 12: I was a Neighborhood Association honoree at the Flatbush Development Corporation’s 34th Anniversary Celebration Dinner.
• May 2009: This blog reaches 100,000 visitors.
• June 25: I’m among the community leader honorees at Brooklyn Community Board 14’s Annual New Member Reception & Awards Ceremony, the first time bloggers were recognized.
• Fall 2009: Completed my Certificate in Horticulture from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Twitter

I was new to Twitter this year, which has enabled me to share far more links, and be more conversational, than I can with just the blog.

Number of tweets posted: 2,025 tweets, 5.8 tweets per day. 

Overall stats

Number of posts published: 120, averaging 1 post every 3 days, half the number I posted in 2008.

31,252 people visited this blog during 2009, 73% were new visitors. There were 38,278 visits, a slight increase over 2008’s 32,073.

Most Viewed

According to Google Analytics, from which I’ve collected these stats, “unique page views” are the number of visits during which a page was viewed. Page views are higher, since the same page may be viewed multiple times during a single visit. Unique pageviews, however, doesn’t distinguish multiple visits from the same person or IP address.

1. Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, 1958-2009, 2009-03-05, 1,990 visits
2. Sphecius speciosus: Eastern Cicada Killer, 2009-08-18, 375 visits
3. First Cherry in bloom at BBG, 2009-03-18, 367 visits
4. Flatbush Rezoning Proposal certified, enters public review process, 2009-03-02, 331 visits
5. And too close to call:
   • Prospect Park South Halloween Parade 2009, 250 visits
   • Woodland Garden Design Plant List, 2009-02-18, 249 visits

Most commented

1. Native Plant Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2009-06-09, 12 comments
2. Robert Guskind, founder of Gowanus Lounge, 1958-2009, 2009-03-05, 11 comments
3. Blessing of the Animals, Chelsea Community Church, 2009-10-11, 8 comments
4. Multi-way tie with 7 comments each:
   • Study Guide for BBG Plant ID Class, 2009-08-24
   • Sphecius speciosus: Eastern Cicada Killer, 2009-08-18
   • March of the Magnolias, 2009-03-25

Guest Rant

Special notice goes to my guest rant on Garden Rant: Who cares about honeybees, anyway?, 2009-11-04. It received 37 comments, and sparked rebuttal posts on other gardening and farming blogs.

In case you missed it

Here are some other 2009 posts that remain relevant, interesting, or which I’m otherwise proud of.

• Albemarle Road, Local Landscape was one of my projects for the Urban Garden Design class at BBG. 
• Bats, Bat Houses, and White-Nose Syndrome 2009
• Cellophane Bees Return
• Bees, a Mockingbird, and Marriage Equality
• “The Mystery of the Maple Syrup Mist”