On 25/03/2014 17:07, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-25 14:48:19 +0000, Spider said:

On 24/03/2014 18:34, Rod wrote:
On Saturday, March 22, 2014 10:28:54 PM UTC, Spider wrote:
Totally brainless, but utterly believable. No wonder gardening is not a

respected profession.

--

Spider.

On high ground in SE London

gardening on heavy clay

No it's because gardening is not a respected profession "Anybody can
do it"
So we'll keep seeing stuff like the heartbreaking example on Bob's
site and gardeners will keep being paid peanuts and little respect.

Glad I've got that off my chest

Rod



I think we've just learned that anybody *can't* do it. What anybody
*can* do is ignorantly snip off a length of plant with secateurs.
Really understanding *why* ones taking out that particular bit of
plant is what makes a good gardener. I'm reasonably good at pruning
but, when faced with a plant I'm not familiar with, I always stop and
ask myself: "Why am I cutting out this branch? Does it flower on this
year's wood or older wood?" It's that thinking and learning process
that makes the difference.

Pay should follow know-how and experience, but it rarely does. For a
country apparently so hungry for the next generation of professional
gardeners, we seem hopelessly blinkered to the solution. A good scale
of pay and some much needed respect would make all the difference, I
agree. Alas, when a householder wants a 'gardener', "how much" is
invariably asked before "how good". It's not hard to see how respect
goes down the drain.

I have a good friend who works as a jobbing gardener. She's very keen
but far from confident. To resolve this, she is going to apply for an
on-line RHS foundation course (or simialr) so that she can learn the
job properly and have a piece of paper to show for it. Hopefully,
then, she'll be able to earn a decent wage.

A few years ago we visited the garden of an old lady I know in Jersey.
She pointed to a beautifully healthy rose she had, clambering all over a
low granite wall and asked Ray why it just wouldn't flower. It was Rosa
Banksia lutea and her gardener had been diligently pruning it back every
autumn, not realising that it flowers on old wood!



Oh, what a shame! That's a lovely rose. Let's hope her gardener
learned his lesson (not all roses are the same) and that she now has the
pleasure of those late spring blooms.

I have seen online a lovely weeping standard version of this rose. I
would love to grow it that way but, as we live on the side of a hill,
the graft would probably be torn adrift by winter winds.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay