Two photos of my computer screen showing the dashboard of my WordPress website.(click on photos to enlarge)
Today, after 5 years of writing articles about gardening and interior decorating, my blog reached the point of having over 2 million page views/articles read. Looking at the above photos you will see that 1,133,893 visitors, over the past five years, looked at one or more of the 173 posts that I wrote, which when all added up by WordPress (I counted nothing) got me over the 2 million point.
Reaching the 2 million point for articles read was an interesting climb.
A photo showing a graph of the page views/ articles read for the last 5 years
I started the blog on November 1, 2010, and from that day, until December 31 of 2010 I had 299 page views/articles read. 2011 saw an increase with 17,624 views, and in 2012 it jumped to 148,064 views.
In 2013 articles read almost doubled to 297,252 page views, the following year, 2014 saw a large increase again to 516,036 articles read.
2015 reached a real high-point with 784,501 page views/articles read, and so far for 2016 236,617 articles have been read, which I hope have been inspiring.
Now let’s look at some more screens from my WordPress dashboard…
Starting with Days..
The above photos show the amount of daily visitors that looked at my site from April 8, 2016 through May 6, 2016. The gray box is opened to May 5, 2016 when 968 visitors looked at 1.65 articles each, which turned into 1594 page views/articles read for that day. For today, May 6, 2016 as of about 4PM (eastern time) 541 visitors did 868 views.
Weeks…
The above photo shows the amount of viewers that came weekly to my site from Feb 8, 2016 through May 2, 2016. The gray box is open to the week from 4-25-2015 through 5-1-2016. 7,749 visitors (the dark blue bar) looked at 1.50 articles each that week, which turned into 11,599 page views (the light blue bar). You can see that, on average, 10,000 or more articles are read per week.
Months…
These final two screens show a breakdown of articles read per month from June 2015 through May 2016. The open gray box shows the month of April 2016 with 34,637 visitors (dark blue bar), reading 1.54 articles, which turned into 53,378 views (light blue bar) for that month. On average 50,000 plus articles are looked at per month, with the exception of November and December, where articles read double with readers’ interest in Christmas themed topics along with the interior decorating and gardening articles. To date my blog has 95 WordPress.com followers and 377 Email followers (combined they make up 472 readers who have joined +Follow).
So there you have it, a look at the back side of my website. I want to thank all the Pinterest pinners, Facebook people, eHow, the San Francisco Chronicle and RedBookMag.com for sending tens of thousands (maybe probably hundreds of thousands) of visitors to my site. Without you all, having this many page views/articles read, would have taken a lot longer. WordPress in their 2015 in Review (for this blog) said that people from 199 countries in 2015 looked at this site. If you want to see where they all came from, slowly mover your pointer over the world map, and you will see how many from each country read one of my articles.
Companion Posts on Fred Gonsowski Garden Home.com
Interior Decorating Posts…
The Right way to Hang Curtains and Drapes 5-3-2011,
The Right height of Table Lamp for your End Table 5-19-2011,
The answer to.. “Can you put a Floor Lamp next to a Sofa?” 10-4-2012,
Arranging Living Room furniture, so Sofas talk to Chairs, like the Prod do 9-7-2012,
Arranging furniture TWELVE different ways in the Same room 9-15-2012,
Arranging furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long Living Room 2-5-2014,
Arranging furniture in a 15 foot wide by 25 foot long Bedroom 1-24-2016,
When buying Living Room furniture, FORGET the Loveseat, buy two Wing, Club or Occasional Chairs instead 10-13-2012,
Arranging Furniture around a Fireplace in the Corner of a Room 9-29-2012,
Interior Decorating is ALL about Equal Balance 2-27-2011,
Pick (Us) four Colors when Decorating a Room 3-7-2011,
When Decorating a Beige Room think Tones, Texture and Sculptural Interest 3-16-2011,
Paint a room a Dark Color, then add Light Accents 3-27-2011,
It’s Easy to Decorate a Room with Tall/High Ceilings 2-3-2013,
Color Theory..When Interior Decorating a room, Remember WOOD is a color too 3-9-2013,
Looking at Pattern used in Interior Decorating on Fabric, Drapes, Wallpaper and Carpeting 3-10-2012,
Arranging your Decorative Accessories (Knickknacks and Collectables) 6-7-2011,
Picking and Hanging the Right size Picture or Mirror over your Fireplace 6-23-2011,
Hanging Pictures over a Sofa 9-12-2011,
It’s Easy to make a Grouping of Pictures 6-29-2011,
Making an Interesting Arrangement of Pictures 7-8-2011,
It’s Easy to Hang Pictures up on the Wall 7-17-2011,
Hanging Pictures Around a Room 8-3-2011,
Choosing the Right color ROOF for your Home 10-7-2011,
Picking the Right Paint or Siding color(s) for you Home 10-19-2011,
Picking a Color for your Front Door 1-17-2012,
Christmas Posts…
Cutting/Making Paper Snowflakes 10-27-2011,
Christmas Tree Decorating..Step-by-step- Like a Pro 11-13-2011,
Putting Lights on a Christmas Tree..The EASY Way 11-3-2011,
Making an Easy NO TIE bow for your Christmas Wreath 12-8-2011,
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Tulle 10-20-2012,
How to make a Pine Cone Christmas Wreath 10-29-2015
Gardening…
Some ideas about Planting Trees by your House for Curb Appeal 4-26-2012,
Distance Foundation Pants from your House when planting 5-3-2012,
Foundation Planting..Laying out Foundation Plants in Front of your Home 9-28-2013,
Putting Foundation Plants across the Front of your House 10-21-2013,
My Hydrangea Don’t/Won’t Bloom is a Lament uttered by Many 6-21-2012,
Plant Tomatoes DEEP in Full Sun! 5-23-2011,
Applying Fertilizer/Weed Control on the Lawn 4-27-2011,
It’s Easy to Grow PUSSYWILLOWS 2-15-2012,
Container planted or in the ground Elephant Ear Plants are a Focal Point 4-21-2012,
Got Grass growing out onto your Sidewalk or Driveway? Edge it! 8-26-2012
Fred Gonsowski Garden Home 
Congratulations to you Fred! That’s quite an accomplishment!
But what I really want to see is how your garden is coming along! I myself, am currently working on a new bed near our gazebo, and I am enjoying the process!
Hi there P.W. I too am really busy with my garden. Last Fall, the big garden out back got a total makeover. I eliminated three feet from the back, and about 6 feet on each end. I’ve had problems with woodchucks for a few years now, and put vinyl coated chicken wire from the bottom of the wood fence down into the ground about a foot and a half to make it hard for them to get into my back garden. I had to dig a trench, over time, on three sides of my land that runs 100 feet up one side, by 125 across the back, and 100 feet down the other side. I did not do it all at once but over a few years. By eliminating the garden across the back and sides I can easily look daily to see if anything got in, and then quickly close up the opening. I’m also having work done by my house, an old deck has been eliminated and a new patio will be poured and a new porch will be built. I’m going to build two parterre gardens on each side of the patio area when the work is finally complete. Everything this year is in flux, so it will be interesting to see how it looks. I will this year, probably in the Fall, redo the garden out front. It is time for a big overhaul here. Thanks for your comment
Well that sounds exciting! I hope you will show some before and after photos if you can!
P.S. The problem in our yards is deer! And, the ocassional bear. But the dear deer do far more harm and really get on my nerves!
P.W, all i can say is Deer and Bear, OH MY!
The before was started last Fall, and now I have to be careful not to dig things out, thinking they are weeds. Also, last Fall when I did the replanting, I did not have a million daffodils popping up. Now I have then in the way of things emerging. Because the soil was turned over, when replanting, a lot of weeds that I don’t remember having have also sprouted. Many bags of them have been pulled.
Also this year, here in the Capital Region of upstate NY, the Winter was terrible. Not much snow, but a lot of things got wind burned and did not get much water. Not one forsythia bush in my area bloomed this year. Also after the only two snow storms, that happened all winter, at the beginning of April, one day apart, there was a real cold snap, which burned the foliage of the daffodils and then the show knocked over the daffodils and snapped off their heads which were about to bloom. The only daffodils that bloomed here were the late blooming variety. Magnolia trees and azaleas had their blooms frozen off, evergreen yews and boxwood bushes were wind burnt, and there is talk of the apple crop being just nothing in some areas.
This year I will work on the beds, but until the work is done on the patio area, I’m not in the mood to put out any kinds of pots, that I have to think about workmen ruining in some way. You know a few week project, can turn into a many month event.
I’ve started OH TOO MANY seeds, and hope they will make my garden pretty, filling in areas around all of the plants that were divided. When the beds are looking good I will let all of my readers see what the garden looks like this year. I’m at a point where I like the idea of having less, which will be easier for me to maintain.
Congratulations! Your posts are always filled with beauty, useful information and inspiration!
It’s wonderful that you take the time to share your knowledge. Thank you, Fred!
Hi there Mary, I wish I had more time to write things, but I do my best to do what I can. Thanks for your comment!
Hats off to you!! I’m not surprised to hear of this good news, your website is wonderful. Congrats!
Thank You Margaret!
Congratulations Fred! I love your posts and website. I have been inspired many times and learned so much from you! Thanks for all the time you give!
Thanks for your comment Denise! Getting people inspired and thinking about possibilities is what this blog is all about ;-}
Hi Fred! What a pleasure it was to happen upon your blog today. Searching for some color inspiration today I ended up here and then realized that I recognized the author of the blog! This is Roy’s daughter. I’m so glad to see that you are writing, gardening, and decorating your way through life. And by the way, you look terrific 🙂
Hi there Betty, What a great surprise! I sometimes think about your wonderful mother and father. I hope they are both OK; they called me about two or three years ago and we had a nice conversation. Your father was a major factor in my art selling days. Times changed, people change and things change, so this is my creative process of the moment. If you have a minute read my post “Fred Gonsowski Artwork before the blog. You will see some of the paintings that your father made the frames for. Thank you soo much for commenting, I hope your are doing fine and all is well. Hearing from you was a wonderful way for starting a new day!
Hello Fred,
I just found your website for the first time today and it is an absolute goldmine! Thank you for all your posts and congratulations on your readership milestone! I do have a particular decorating challenge that remains unsolved….and hope that you might have some input.
My husband and I recently purchased a civil war era farmhouse on five acres in the Western Finger Lakes. The house has fabulous bones, and we will, over time, be able restore it to its former glory, including the original wavy glass windows that go to the floor. My problem room is in a wing facing north that had to be not-quite-gutted and rebuilt, due to mold from a leaky roof and dry-rotted floor joists. The aforementioned room will be a combined office/sitting room for my husband and me. It is 13’2″ wide by 19″ long. It has an east/west orientation, with two enormous north-facing picture windows to the floor (7′ x 7′), with a five-foot section of wall between them with a wood stove which juts out about three feet. There is a 13′ cathedral ceiling (high point above the woodstove), and there are triangular windows above the picture windows that follow the ceiling line. As you might guess, this addition was put on in the 1970’s on the old foundation and it has a bit of a “70’s ski-lodge” feel. However, we decided to keep the windows, since our view is fabulous, and didn’t want to lose it. We’ve done a lot with moulding and painted V-groove paneling to remove a lot of the 70’s look. My challenge: decorating around the jutting wood stove, which was a concession to the sometimes vicious winters in these parts. I want to be able to use wool rugs, which are important in keeping the floor warm, but I am not sure how a patchwork of rugs would look in that room given that it’s chopped up by the stove. Similarly, I would think a large area rug with a cutout for the wood stove would look really odd. I think I have a reasonably decent floor plan for two desks, a small sofa, additional lounge chair, and some cabinetry for storage. But I am totally stumped about what to put on the floor! I should say that the room is tiled with a wood-look tile (not my first choice) to obviate an risk of water damage or mold growth. Hence the need for wool carpet as an insulator. The other odd thing that struck me is that typically the fireplace or woodstove becomes the focal point in the room; however, in this one, the windows on either side of it completely dominate – in a good way.
Any thoughts you can give me would be greatly appreciated, but I totally understand if this is more than you’d care to comment on. Best of luck to you in this wonderful pursuit.
Hi there Dale, sorry to have taken so long to respond. For your room, not really seeing your space, I would suggest the two area rugs. I’m thinking you have two possibilities options for what you purchase. (1) you could buy two matched rugs, that way you would have continuity of pattern and design in the space. (2) you could buy two different rugs, but one of them should be bolder in pattern than the other, and the bolder one would be used as the “focal point” in the space, and the other one as a subordinate patterned rug. When picking two different patterned rugs, they should share a commonality of colors so they look good together. If you went the two different rug way, take samples of all the fabrics that you have for drapes and furniture for you room, and bring them to the rug store. Go through the rugs and place your fabrics up against things that interest you. When you find the first rug, then have the rug dealer put other similar colored rugs next to the first one, and your fabrics to see if it all looks good together. I want you to read some of my posts on fabrics and patterns….They might help you understand the topic a bit more. Good luck with your project.
Looking at Patterns used in interior Decorating used on Fabric, Drapes, Wallpaper and Carpeting 3-10-2012,
Interior Decorating..Looking at the Different Sizes of Patterns used on Wallpaper and Fabric 3-20-2012,
Mixing and Matching Fabric and Wallpaper Patterns 4-13-2012,
Pick (Use) four colors when Decorating a Room 3-7-2011.
Where have you been my whole life, Fred?! (FYI I found your blog via a google search for “foundation plant* yew”).
You’re a friendly and knowledgeable resource on two of my favorite loves: gardening and interiors. Thank you, thank you for so lovingly curating such a helpful blog.
Hi there Byna, thank you soo much for your comment, glad to be an inspiration ;-}