Have you been thinking about starting a gardening blog to share your green-fingered tips? Here is everything you need to know for when you want to start a gardening blog.
Why Start A Gardening Blog?
There are lots of reasons you might want to start a gardening blog. It might be that you already have a well-established gardening themed Instagram or Youtube account and you’d like a blog to go alongside it.
It could just be that you want to share your beautiful garden with the world or have an online journal to look back on in years to come to see how your garden has grown and developed.
You may want to start a gardening blog to go alongside a garden-themed small business such as a landscaping company.
Whatever your reasons for starting a garden blog, there is no time like the present to get going with it.
How To Choose A Name For A Gardening Blog
When it comes to starting a gardening blog, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is what to call your blog. Choosing the right name can be tricky and while you can change it in the future, it’s best to try and come up with a name you love right from the start.
Here are some tips for choosing a name for your gardening blog:
- Try to avoid names that use hyphens or numbers.
- Write the blog name down to ensure it doesn’t create any unwanted words (take a look at this post about unintentionally bad hashtags to see what I mean)
- Try to avoid words that have ambiguous or unusual spellings – you want to be able to say your blog name out loud without someone needing to ask how any of it is spelt. For example, Grannys Garden might seem like a lovely name idea but some people may spell Grannie with an ie at the end.
- Don’t go with a name that’s already taken by adding a ‘the’ or ‘my’ at the beginning. If there’s an already established blog or website with that name it will cause confusion and can make it harder for your blog to rank in Google Searches. The same goes for adding hyphens between words.
- Adding your own name to a blog is fine but it can make it harder to sell the blog further down the line should you wish to do so, so do keep that in mind.
- If the name you want has the .com version taken but .co.uk and .net etc are available I would still avoid using it, again it could cause confusion and make it harder for you to establish your brand.
- Alliterative names are fun and really easy to remember.
Once you’ve decided on a blog name, it’s worth popping it into namecheckr to see if it’s already being used on social media anywhere. If your name is longer than 15 characters it won’t show up on Twitter as that’s their maximum for a name and you’ll need to shorten it in some way.
You’ll also want to make sure the name isn’t trademarked in your home country – for the U.K you can do that here. Even if a domain name is available, the phrase or words contained within could still be trademarked so it’s always worth double-checking this from the start.
You can read more about trademarks in this post: Should You Trademark Your Blog Name?
How To Start A Gardening Blog: Gardening Blog Names Ideas
If you’re struggling to come up with a name for your gardening blog, here are some ideas to get you started.
These gardening blog names were available for the social media handles and .com domains at the time I originally checked them. If you decide to use one of these names for your own blog, please do your own checks first, as availability can change and you’ll also want to make sure the name isn’t already being used elsewhere.
Gardening Blog Name Ideas
- Our Gardening Patch
- Green Fingered Friends
- How Does Your Garden Bloom
- Fabulous Gardening Tips
- Gardening With (Your Name)
- The Happy Gardener
- The Garden Diary
- Life In The Garden
- My Garden Adventures
- Growing At Home
- The Garden Life
- From Seed To Garden
- The Urban Gardener
- The Cottage Garden
- The Kitchen Garden
- The Backyard Gardener
- The Garden Shed
- Digging In The Garden
- Growing My Own
- Life Among The Flowers
- The Daily Gardener
- The Garden Project
- A Year In The Garden
- The Garden Notebook
- The Practical Gardener
- The Beginner Gardener
- The Frugal Gardener
- The Wildlife Gardener
- The Small Space Gardener
- The Family Garden
You could also come up with your own gardening blog name by combining different gardening-related words.
Here are some words to get you started:
| Garden | Yard | Flower | Blossom | Bloom | Bulb | Patch | Patio | Pots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | Lawn | Trees | Rockery | Grass | Veggie | Leaves | Wild | Woods |
| Pergola | Flora | Fauna | Herbs | Plants | Terrace | Shade | Floral | Petals |
| Green | Mow | Seeds | Gardener | Roots | Season | Landscape | Meadow | Grow |
Try combining two or three words from the list, or add your own name, location or something that describes the type of gardening you enjoy.
For example, you could combine Garden + Patch, Green + Roots or Gardening + your name to come up with something that’s personal to you.
Just remember to check that your chosen name is available as a domain name and on the social media platforms you plan to use before committing to it. You might want to check it’s not trademarked as well.
How Much Does It Cost To Start A Gardening Blog
When it comes to starting a blog, there are several options and I am going to take a look at the main three which all have different costs associated with them.
Whatever you do, do not choose the ‘WordPress Premium’ option at any point as this is not what you’re looking for a free or self-hosted blog.
Free Blog Options For A Gardening Blog
If you wanted to have a go at blogging but don’t want to spend any money, a free blog is the way to go and most people choose either WordPress.com or Blogger for this.
With a free blog you can choose your blog name but it will have .blogger or .Wordpress after it, eg, https://greengardener.wordpress.com/
While this is a great option for new bloggers, it’s worth bearing in mind that you can’t monetize a free blog, there are fewer options for themes and customizations and you don’t own your content like you would with a paid blog.
Useful Reading – Free WordPress.com Vs Self Hosted WordPress.org
Self Hosted WordPress Blog
The next option is a paid wordpress.org blog with your own URL and this is what the majority of bloggers use.
URLs cost between £7 – £125per year and for my blogs, I typically buy both the .com and .co.uk versions.
The cost of blog hosting can vary hugely.
My personal recommendation is Lyrical Host – while they are not the cheapest option out there, their customer service is exceptional, so if you’re nervous about the tech side of things they will help with lots of aspects many cheaper hosts don’t.
However, if you’re new to blogging and want something more affordable both stablepoint and 34sp are good budget-friendly options.
I would avoid very big hosts such as GoDaddy and Siteground – I’ve used both and the customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
Do bear in mind many hosts offer cheap hosting for the first year then double or triple the cost for the second year at which point you may deicde to move your blog to a different host which is a big hassle.
Lyrical Host doesn’t do this which is another reason I recommend them.
Free Blog With Vanity URL
The final option is to use the free blogger platform with your own URL which gives a happy medium between the two options above as you only pay for your domain name.
This would allow you to monetize your content but it’s worth noting that Blogger is quite limited for customisations whereas with a self-hosted WordPress blog it’s pretty much the skies the limit when it comes to design.
Useful Reading – How To Set Up A Custom URL In Blogger
How To Start A Gardening Blog – What Next?
So, you’ve chosen the name for your gardening blog, checked it’s not being used already and isn’t trademarked and have chosen between or free or self-hosted blog.
What happens next?
Well, if you’ve decided to go for a free blog, then follow the instructions at wordpress.com or Blogger.com for setting up your blog and you should be good to go.
If you’ve decided to go self-hosted then you’ll need to purchase your domain name and hosting.
You can purchase these from the same place (I usually find this is easier to keep track of!) or from separate places if you’d prefer.
Once this is done, it’s time to get your blog set up. If you’ve chosen Lyrical Host this is something that they can do for you.
With other hosting companies, the level of help they provide may vary, but all will have detailed instructions and usually videos on what you need to do. You can also reach out via online chat if you need any help.
When you first start setting up your blog it can seem a little bit overwhelming but it will get easier as you go along.
The next thing to do is choose a theme and start customising your blog. There are 100s of free WordPress themes that can be customised to look exactly how you want.
You’ll also want to install some essential plugins such as Wordfence and Akismet both of which help with security.
Then all you need to do is get writing! Publishing your first blog post is an amazing feeling and as you publish more posts your blog will start to look better – I always find with a new blog it takes 7-8 posts on the homepage before it really starts to take shape.
Canva.com is great for creating logos and graphics for your blog.
Once your blog is set up, you may also want to get set up on the main social media platforms. Even if you don’t intend to use them, it’s worth bagging the same name as your blog while you can.
Can I Make Money From A Gardening Blog?
I’m a firm believer that anyone can make money from any type of blog – gardening blogs included!
However, building an audience and monetizing your blog can take time, although this may be easier if you already have an established audience from social media.
There are lots of different ways you could make money from a gardening blog, and you don’t necessarily have to rely on just one income stream.
In fact, many successful bloggers make money from a combination of several different sources.
Here are some ways you could look to monetize your gardening blog in the future:
Affiliate Links
Affiliate links are links which earn you a commission whenever a reader clicks the link and makes a purchase or signs up for a service.
Gardening blogs can be particularly well suited to affiliate marketing because there are so many products gardeners buy.
You could recommend everything from gardening tools and seeds to greenhouses, composters, garden furniture and books.
You might also use affiliate links in posts such as gardening product reviews, gift guides and gardening equipment round-ups.
The amount you earn will depend on the affiliate programme and the product being purchased, and it can range from a few pence to much more for higher-value purchases.
Here are some of the most popular Affiliate marketing companies and promgrames:
- Amazon Affiliate Programme
- Awin (previously Affiliate Window)
- CJ Affiliates
- TradeDoubler
Display Advertising
Ad networks typically use code or a plugin to place adverts on your blog.
Once you’ve set everything up, display advertising can become a relatively passive income stream, although you’ll generally need a reasonable amount of traffic before it becomes particularly worthwhile.
Different ad networks have different requirements, so it’s worth checking the current eligibility criteria before deciding which network to apply to.
Examples of ad networks include Google AdSense and Mediavine. Typically, to make a reasonable amount of money from display advertising, you’ll need a decent amount of traffic.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are another way to make money from a gardening blog.
This is where a brand pays you to create content that features or promotes their product or service.
For a gardening blogger, this could be anything from gardening tools and equipment to plants, seeds, garden furniture or other outdoor products.
You may be provided with a product to test or use, but you should also charge for the time involved in creating the content, photography, writing and promotion.
Product Reviews
You could also work with brands to review gardening products.
This might involve reviewing a new lawnmower, gardening tool, greenhouse, plant food or even a subscription service.
Some companies may offer products for free in exchange for a review, while others may also pay a fee.
Just remember that receiving a free product is not necessarily the same as being paid for your time, and you should always be clear about what you’re agreeing to before accepting a collaboration.
Gifted items are also taxable, so it’s worth considering this too.
Selling Your Own Products
Once you’ve built an audience, you could also consider creating your own products.
This could be a gardening ebook, printable garden planner, planting calendar, vegetable growing guide or another digital product.
The advantage of creating your own product is that you aren’t relying on a third-party affiliate programme and can potentially earn more from each sale.
Gardening Courses And Guides
If you have specialist knowledge, you could potentially create a gardening course or more in-depth paid guide.
For example, you might create a course about growing vegetables, planning a small garden, growing from seed or creating a wildlife-friendly garden.
This isn’t something you need to do when you first start your gardening blog. It could be something to consider once you’ve built an audience and know what your readers are interested in.
Freelance Writing
Your gardening blog can also act as a portfolio if you enjoy writing.
You could potentially find freelance writing work for gardening websites, magazines, newspapers, garden centres or other businesses in the gardening industry.
Having your own gardening blog gives potential clients somewhere to see examples of your writing and demonstrates that you already understand the subject.
Photography And Content Creation
If you’re particularly good at gardening photography, there may also be opportunities to make money from your images or create photography and other content for brands.
You could work with gardening companies to create photographs, videos or other content for their own websites and social media channels.
Your blog can be a useful portfolio for this type of work.
Social Media And UGC
You don’t have to make all of your money directly from your blog either.
A gardening blog can work alongside social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube.
You could potentially make money through sponsored social media posts, product collaborations or UGC (user-generated content), where you create photographs or videos for a brand to use on its own marketing channels.
Building an audience on social media can take time, so I wouldn’t rely on this as your only strategy. However, it can be a useful additional income stream alongside your blog.
Brand Ambassadorships
Some gardening brands work with bloggers and content creators on longer-term campaigns rather than paying for one individual post.
A brand ambassadorship could involve creating regular blog content, social media posts, photography, videos or attending events.
For a blogger, one advantage of this type of work is that it can provide a more regular source of income than occasional one-off collaborations.
How Much Money Can You Make From A Gardening Blog?
There isn’t really a simple answer to this.
Some gardening blogs make very little money, particularly when they’re new, while established blogs with a large audience can potentially become a significant source of income.
Your earnings could depend on your traffic, where your readers are located, the type of gardening content you publish and which monetisation methods you use.
You also don’t need millions of page views to make money. A smaller, highly targeted niche audience can be really valuable if you’re recommending products through affiliate links, working with relevant brands.
The important thing is to give your gardening blog time to grow and experiment with different income streams to see what works for you.
Related Posts
8 Ways Food Bloggers Make Money
