Kay Easton wrote:
: In article , Sacha
: writes
:: On 29/5/04 11:00 pm, in article
:: , "Paul Corfield"
:: wrote:
::
:: snip
:::
::: I'm just trying to understand why opinions divide so sharply over
::: things that, to me, are not *that* important.
::
:: I think you may well remain puzzled but I'll take the plunge and say
:: that I think most 'real gardeners' as defined by urg, are more
:: interested in plants FIRST, rather than in decking, stainless steel
:: fins, or coloured balls, patios, drinks trolleys, lights or
:: barbecues, bits of rope, worter feechas, stone paving and so on -
:: and on.
:: For me, at least, 'real gardening' is the planting of plants in
:: appropriate places and some major gambles; blocks of colour or no
:: definition at all, just happy or unhappy accidents etc.
:: Perhaps it's summed up by plants first, hard landscaping second.
:: E.g. "I want to grow x, y and z which like to trail down a wall and
:: have sharply drained ground", so the plants create the need for the
:: wall or others need a bog garden, or fence or trellis or pergola.
:: Plants first. Not the other way round - perhaps?
:
: For me, I think it has something to do with plants being living
: organisms, which *grow*. So a garden makeover which looks good because
: all the plants look just right isn't a real garden unless it is still
: going to look good in a year's time when the plants have spread. And a
: gardener wants to continue to be involved in that garden - not just to
: sit back and look at it, but to continue to add plants and develop it.

And also for me it is not this person who was on GQT last week talking about
the people in the suberbs being prepared to spend enormous amouts of money
on something that someone else has done or grown, and then to 'plop' it in
your garden