What on earth am I doing here?

Why I’ve started a members-only page

So… why on earth have I decided to create a website with members-only ‘add-on’ page? Good question. Let me explain.

Instagram is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s quick, it’s visual, and it’s where I’ve connected with so many of you. But here’s the problem: on Insta, you get about three seconds to grab someone’s attention before they’ve scrolled on past to a cat video. You end up feeling like you’re preaching into a void, throwing your hard-earned gardening wisdom out there and hoping the algorithm lets someone see it.

That’s where this space comes in. This website, and more so, the members-only page is for the committed Manic Botanicers…the people who actually want to dig a little deeper (pun entirely intended). Rather than wondering if you just happened to ‘like’ my Insta post as you scrolled past it, I know you’ve chosen to be here. That’s far more motivating to me knowing you’ve chosen to join this community.

On the members-only page I can do proper deep dives into projects, tips, and lessons learned….the kind of detail I simply can’t cram into an Insta caption. It’s also where I get to show you the real garden: not the sugar-coated version, not the “everything is flawless” illusion. Because let’s face it, we’ve all got weeds, dead patches, and beds that didn’t quite go to plan. And sometimes seeing that is the best motivation. You realise you’re not the only one dealing with the messy bits.

Spring tulips from last season - things are just getting going for this season, so you can expect plenty more new photos of tulip displays soon!

But why ask you to pay?

About a year ago, my career took a turn I wasn’t thrilled about. I started thinking: how else could I earn an income doing something I love - gardening? My first ideas were very… last century. Open my garden to the public (stressful, always having to make it perfect, and seriously, where would people even park?), or write a magazine column (lovely, but hardly lucrative).

Then I had an epiphany. I came across a local woman making six figures from her backyard garden on Instagram. Six figures! I’ve seen the receipts. And it hit me: I need to stop thinking like a weary 50-something and start thinking like a 20-year-old entrepreneur…optimistic, fearless, and maybe just a bit delusional. So here we are.

Part of the reason I’m doing this, if I’m being totally honest, is retirement. My husband is scarily close to it (how did that happen so fast?!), and while I’m not quite there yet, I can see it looming on the horizon. The idea of having an extra income stream that comes from something I genuinely love - gardening, writing, sharing, laughing about the weeds - feels both practical and hopeful. It’s less about chasing millions and more about building a little cushion that helps us step into that next stage of life without panic, while still letting me pour energy into something that brings joy to others (and keeps me from driving him mad once he’s home full-time - or me, him!).

Tulip ‘Princess Mix’ - three double tulips in purple, red and orange. A great combo if you’re going for a ‘hot’ theme.

Starting small, growing steadily

I began with garden guides (some of you legends have bought them….thank you!). They’ve made me about $2,000 this year plus I’ve made$1000 in free product from a collaboration. Not six figures, but hey, the ball is rolling, and it’s picking up pace. Most of that income has been in the last few months - yep, it was a VERY slow start! Now I’m branching out with a paid members’ page, where I can share premium content. And that’s the part I love sharing most, the in-between bits. The not-so-flashy moments where I’m standing in the middle of the garden, gumboots half-sunk in clay, muttering to myself about why on earth I thought planting that many dahlias was a good idea. Instagram doesn’t give me the space (or the grace!) to unpack those stories properly, but here? Here I can.

So, think of the members-only space as the secret garden gate you get the key to. Behind it, you’ll find my ramblings, my rants, my wins, and my what-was-I-thinking disasters. You’ll see the projects I don’t put on Insta because they take months (sometimes years!) to come together. And you’ll get the backstory behind the “pretty” pictures, because let’s be honest, a lot of what looks effortless is actually me dragging a wheelbarrow around and swearing under my breath.

I want it to feel like the gardening club you always wished you could join: the one where you don’t have to impress anyone, you can ask all the “silly” questions, and you leave feeling a little more inspired and a little less alone in the battle against weeds, pests and powdery mildew.

I know it might feel odd to pay for something garden-y when you can scroll for free elsewhere. But the difference is this: when you put a tiny bit of skin in the game (or the price of a flat white per month), you’re saying yes, I’m actually here for this. And that means I can give you the good stuff, the deep dives, the tips that actually work on clay soil, the experiments that fail spectacularly, and the little nuggets I’ve learned in 25 years that don’t fit into a reel with trending audio slapped over it.

At the end of the day, I’m not promising perfection. What I am promising is honesty, a laugh or two, and hopefully enough encouragement to remind you that your garden…weeds, wobbles, and all…is doing just fine.

Finally, for those of you who are interested in earning an income from your garden, or those of you who may never have thought of it but are now wondering if it’s possible, I intend to share my journey through this process. I’ll tell you honestly how it’s going. I won’t be telling it like the online ads that make you feel like you’re two clicks away from becoming a millionaire, but rather, the real side of learning how to earn, with all its ups and downs along the way. The first tip I’ll give you is this - if it’s what you want to do, step one is overcoming the doubt. I was full of doubt, and yet here I am anyway. If I can do it, so can you.

My final word for this blog is simply thanks for being here. Truly. It means more than you know. Now, let’s get stuck in…dirt under fingernails and all!

Snow dump from August 2024. It’s always a bit of a worry because the weight of the snow breaks tree limbs and squashes everything, but there’s something so magical about it that I still look forward to them. We don’t get them every year….usually every second or third year….it’s quite a beautiful snow scene for a few days.