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Beeb Chelsea coverage
On Sat, 29 May 2004 22:18:12 +0100, "tuin man"
wrote: "Paul Corfield" wrote in message news can someone tell me what a real gardener is? You for a start! you haven't seen the dreadful lawn and overgrown borders that I am slowly trying to tackle. Well now, had you asked for *who* is a real gardener, then contrary to the awful "Mr Smugmarsh" reference I would say Alan Titchmarsh is a very real gardener. Well I'm glad you said that because it is really Alan Titchmarsh's books and telly programmes that have got me interested. I know his jokey comments are corny but for someone like me who is a bit clueless about plants then his common touch and evident knowledge and enthusiasm are reassuring. I get the very real sense that people on this group - who I assume are real gardeners by their own definition - hate programmes like Ground Force or Garden Rivals or Small Town Gardens etc. From my viewpoint I think they help people like me understand what is possible and also help me work out what I like and don't like about certain design aspects. I've also learnt lots about plants too. Still can't decide quite what I'm going to do to my garden when it's a bit tidier though! I also noted the evident dislike of Rachel de Thames vs Sarah Raven and Chris Beardshaw seems to be on the group hitlist. Why? Aren't they gardeners too? I'm still developing my interest in gardening so don't understand the distinction that seems so apparent to the group regulars. Standing by Diarmuids National Lottery Garden a couple were chatting next to me. She said something like ; oh look how the grass (lawn) sweeps under the concrete. That is soooo new. Must be a new idea and it looks wonderful. Everyone else would just bring it up to the edge.. How interesting! How new! Now, suffice to say, there are a few here who might suggest she is not a "real gardener". The term "Real gardener" probably refers to at least a basic measure of knowledge that would enable an show observer to realise the difference between reality and fantasy. Perhaps another title might be a "reality" gardener Well OK I understand the issue about the grass not growing under the concrete lip. While I don't like everything Diarmuid designs he evidently understands plants - at least from where I sit. Does the fact that he designs outlandish structures really make him not a gardener? Many "garden designers" lack just such realism yet get tend to be vastly more appreciated and recognised then "real gardeners" and so I tend to dream up various different titles for them, none of which are really repeatable on a newsgroup. So you are really saying that people who design gardens on these telly programmes don't understand plants and create designs that are unsustainable as living gardens after the film crew leaves? I've watched a fair few of these programmes and I haven't seen many hopeless designs - maybe some I don't like but that doesn't mean they won't work as gardens. One series I liked was A Garden for all Seasons because that showed gardens belonging to "real" people. While the presenting was a bit wooden (ms dimmock and anne marie powell] I enjoyed seeing the gardens that people had created and watching how they developed over the year. There was evidently both design knowledge and horticultural knowledge being displayed by those real people - are you (the group) saying the design bit is not important? I'm just trying to understand why opinions divide so sharply over things that, to me, are not *that* important. -- Paul C |
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