Gardening in low regard

Last post 08-10-2005 8:37 AM by ken69. 3 replies.

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04/10/2005 07:59 PM
admin Location: Joined on: 20 Nov 2003 Posts: 160	Reply \| Contact Do you think that the state of our public spaces reflects the fact that gardening is no longer core to us as a nation? Has modern garden design and ''make over'' TV with the associated decking, patios and outdoor rooms ripped the plants out of the heart of the garden? Is the [i] green and pleasant land [/i] that used to be our gardens deteriorating as a result of our our ''time poor'' lifestyle? Or do you see a resurgence of gardening as people want to reconnect with the land and grow their own fruit and vegetables or enjoy the creativity that gardening can afford?

04/10/2005 07:59 PM

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Do you think that the state of our public spaces reflects the fact that gardening is no longer core to us as a nation? Has modern garden design and ''make over'' TV with the associated decking, patios and outdoor rooms ripped the plants out of the heart of the garden? Is the [i] green and pleasant land [/i] that used to be our gardens deteriorating as a result of our our ''time poor'' lifestyle? Or do you see a resurgence of gardening as people want to reconnect with the land and grow their own fruit and vegetables or enjoy the creativity that gardening can afford?

04/10/2005 09:36 PM	In reply to
kevin Location: Joined on: 28 May 2004 Posts: 4	Reply \| Contact I think that the British are passionate about gardening and that its core to our national identity. Even though I don't have much of a garden myself at the moment, I do see gardening as one of my interests and something that I want to develop in the future. With a busy job and hectic social life I don't spend a lot of time on my garden at the moment but I am really interested and would like to do more when I have more time. I have been growning chillis and tomatos from seed and its a real buzz when they fruit. I love visiting gardens too. Living in London I love to spend a day in a park and when I get a chance its a real treat to get to a National Trust garden or even a garden like Wisley or going to a Flower Show is great as you get to meet the specialist growers and enthusiasts. The status of the Chelsea Flower Show around the World is also surely indication that we are seen as a gardening nation and inflence gardening across the globe.

04/10/2005 09:36 PM

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kevin
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I think that the British are passionate about gardening and that its core to our national identity. Even though I don't have much of a garden myself at the moment, I do see gardening as one of my interests and something that I want to develop in the future. With a busy job and hectic social life I don't spend a lot of time on my garden at the moment but I am really interested and would like to do more when I have more time. I have been growning chillis and tomatos from seed and its a real buzz when they fruit. I love visiting gardens too. Living in London I love to spend a day in a park and when I get a chance its a real treat to get to a National Trust garden or even a garden like Wisley or going to a Flower Show is great as you get to meet the specialist growers and enthusiasts. The status of the Chelsea Flower Show around the World is also surely indication that we are seen as a gardening nation and inflence gardening across the globe.

04/10/2005 10:42 PM	In reply to
P Stick Location: North Wales Joined on: 24 Nov 2004 Posts: 86	Reply \| Contact By ‘public places’ I take it you mean parks and other type of municipal areas and in those areas there is an awful amount of restrictive pressure put on financial resources for other things unless for specifically attracting visitors on a large scale. The general decline of these is not a reflection on the personal preferences of the public with their own gardens many of which being driven by fashion and style. This caught on when people saw the popular makeover programs on TV extolling how ‘simple’ it was to radically alter a typical back garden from a dreary square of grass, bordered by a few tired old perennials, some large shrubs like lilac or forsythia and separated from next door by a wooden fence or privet hedge, into a vision one only saw in posh magazines. I’m not sure if the resurgence towards more interest in gardening is altogether down to the attraction of putting one’s artistic skills into practice for others to see, and maybe envy. More likely a wish of wanting something different to that of their parents, aided by a good income on which to fund it. However, that slightly cynical view does not hide the fact that I am certain there are now more genuine gardeners out there now than there were a few years back and to some extent, the internet has encouraged a flourishing exchange of ideas, help and advice, thanks to the anonymity of the web and message boards such as this one. There is a definite trend back to growing vegetables, probably given an essential impetus due to the bad press regularly aired over the excessive amounts of pesticides being found in food and the possible adverse long-term ‘cocktail’ effect, a subject on which no-one seems to have undertaken meaningful tests. Thanks to this concern, organic gardening has moved from a cult status to one of common sense, plus the ‘feel-good’ pleasure of eating one’s own produce as a welcome supplement to the bland supermarket fare. P Stick

04/10/2005 10:42 PM

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P Stick
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North Wales
Joined on:
24 Nov 2004
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86

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By ‘public places’ I take it you mean parks and other type of municipal areas and in those areas there is an awful amount of restrictive pressure put on financial resources for other things unless for specifically attracting visitors on a large scale. The general decline of these is not a reflection on the personal preferences of the public with their own gardens many of which being driven by fashion and style. This caught on when people saw the popular makeover programs on TV extolling how ‘simple’ it was to radically alter a typical back garden from a dreary square of grass, bordered by a few tired old perennials, some large shrubs like lilac or forsythia and separated from next door by a wooden fence or privet hedge, into a vision one only saw in posh magazines. I’m not sure if the resurgence towards more interest in gardening is altogether down to the attraction of putting one’s artistic skills into practice for others to see, and maybe envy. More likely a wish of wanting something different to that of their parents, aided by a good income on which to fund it. However, that slightly cynical view does not hide the fact that I am certain there are now more genuine gardeners out there now than there were a few years back and to some extent, the internet has encouraged a flourishing exchange of ideas, help and advice, thanks to the anonymity of the web and message boards such as this one. There is a definite trend back to growing vegetables, probably given an essential impetus due to the bad press regularly aired over the excessive amounts of pesticides being found in food and the possible adverse long-term ‘cocktail’ effect, a subject on which no-one seems to have undertaken meaningful tests. Thanks to this concern, organic gardening has moved from a cult status to one of common sense, plus the ‘feel-good’ pleasure of eating one’s own produce as a welcome supplement to the bland supermarket fare.

P Stick

08/10/2005 08:37 AM	In reply to
ken69 Location: Norfolk UK Joined on: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 405	Reply \| Contact At a recent Tesco Question and Answer session, I was surprised at the interest shown in organic produce, and the 'food miles' issue.So, people ARE aware, but getting them growing again is something else, and I don't expect supermarkets to go out of their way to resolve things.

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