Another rainy friday

Another rainy day, with more to come. Now we hear that it may rain right through March, which doesn’t surprise this California native. Not so great for business, but in horticulture you have to roll with what Mother nature provides. Seen it rain right through May, and this would be the year it might happen again. This is now our rainiest winter, ever.

Here is a link to Ian Baldwins, “Reading the 2017 Tea Leaves”, concerning the up-coming year in garden retail. I found this quote most enlightening, “simply put, the biggest, most expensive end of the range of almost everything, sold out first. It didn’t matter whether it was wreaths for the front door, ‘everlasting’ Christmas trees or swag for the mantle, the most expensive selection sold out first. The $2000 everlasting tree sold before the $800 one, the new clever lighting set sold before the cheaper one designed five years ago and the biggest table-runners went first.” This has to be evidence from the most wealthy sections of our country? This is not what’s happening in central California outside the Bay Area, at least in my observations. I do wonder if we sometimes forget the part of the state that really hasn’t seen this kind of business. Do these various garden surveys tend to skew towards the more wealthy enclaves in the country?

Here is a video of a young horticulturist and her business in Britain. I like the enthusiasm and the pride of trade she exhibits. We need more young people to take up horticulture, and work in the garden.

Not much going on here at the garden center as it’s raining, and everyone around here is hunkered down waiting out the next storm, which the weather service named “Lucifer”. Sounds like trouble. I’ll let you know.

Who would want to start gardening after reading this?

There is a “Great British Garden Revival” going on! To help novice gardeners The Telegraph published some timely tips from The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society). It’s titled, “What to do in the garden in December”. Let’s get started looking at it from a novices point of view.

"Feed the birds! Although they benefit from having food put out for them all year round, birds need a high-fat boost to their diet during the winter. Feed regularly so they will not waste vital energy visiting your garden when there is nothing for them.”  It is a new garden so there is not much in it. I don’t want the birds to go hungry and die. Let's pick up some seed later. Next!

“Wage war on aphids. Some species remain active in mild winters or on indoor plants. But most overwinter as eggs, often on dormant deciduous fruit trees and bushes. These can be treated with a plant oil winter wash (Growing Success Winter Tree Wash or Vitax Winter Tree Wash).” Good grief! I don’t want dying birds, and I hate war. What are aphids, and how does washing my trees do any good? They seem clean enough. Next!

“Christmas trees, are now available. Choose from a cut, container-grown or containerised specimen. Those grown on in pots may only live for a few years – they are not naturally suited to permanent pot cultivation.” Specimens? That sounds like an unpleasant trip to the doctor. I wanted to buy a live Christmas tree to plant in my new garden, but if they only live a few years? I’ll just pick up a dying one at the supermarket. This gardening stuff sure is time consuming, and confusing. There’s more?

“If you want to move established deciduous trees and shrubs to another part of the garden, now is a good time. Choose a calm, dull day to help prevent roots from drying out.” I have to wait for a “dull day”? Why can’t I do it on a beautiful day? Deciduous? Next!

“Check recommended times for pruning trees, shrubs and climbers. Prune ornamental and edible grape vines, hornbeam, walnut and mulberry, and if necessary, maple and birch before Christmas to prevent bleeding from pruning cuts.” Before Christmas!?! How do I know if it's necessary to prune maples and birch? That does it. I am not going to spend a dull day, washing the trees, only to watch them bleed. Meanwhile the birds are falling to the ground because I forgot to feed them? Gardening with “specimens”? No thank you.  I wanted to participate, but this garden revival stuff sounds like a bunch of hard, miserable work. War? You know, my husband wants to pave over the front yard and be done with it. I wonder…

I am sure the folks at The RHS mean well, but if this is what is recommended to the public is it any wonder Britain needs a "garden revival”? I am not picking on The British, as we have the same issues here in The States. Perhaps we just need to quit being so helpful, and trying to include every last thing someone could do? Start with changing the horticultural terms like “containerized specimen”, bleeding trees”, “plant oil winter wash”, "deciduous", and “ornamental”. “Waging war” is a term best left at the garden gate. “Permanent pot cultivation”? Maybe people just wanted to grow a little pot during the summer, not permanently?  To encourage people into the garden, we need to look at how we describe what we do in the garden. Step back, and look at gardening from the novices point of view. Let’s not scare them away with war, specimens, and hungry birds.

Great British Garden Revival?

Did you hear about the new BBC series “Great British Garden Revival”?  Those of us in the garden businesses need to keep each other "cheered up" as we await spring, and a chance for the cash flow to start flowing our way again. So it's off to Britain where everyone in the business of gardening is talking about it! We will have to wait to see what the target audience "the public" thinks later.

The Guardian reports that “A new gardening TV show hit our screens last night, but what did Twitter make of it?” To The Internet! The Telegraph's Ed Cumming declared, “The series is hardly revolutionary, but there was plenty of sensible advice and lovely shots”.  Another Twitter user says, “So enjoyed half of #gardenrevival tonight. It was marred by bad practice and ill conceived dumbing down as are most gardening programmes.”  Everyone has an opinion and is willing to share it. If your interested you can follow the chatter on  Twitter at #gardenrevival.

It seems that even in Britain gardening is less popular than it was in the past. That's why the series is called "The Great British Garden Revival".  According to The BBC, "more and more front and back gardens are paved over - for development, for parking spaces, or because families don’t have the time or inclination to manage these spaces." The first show in the series dealt with "Wildflowers" and "Front Gardens". The wildflower segment seems to have helped "Seedball", a company that promotes, "a simple way to create beautiful native wildflower gardens & help wildlife too." Apparently "98 per cent of wild flower meadows in Britain have been lost". The next segment "Front Gardens", tells us that in" the past, our front gardens were highly valued and we used them to show off our gardening prowess, but sadly over time, front gardens have been paved over for parking and turned into a no-man’s land between the street and front door." Good luck!

As one person on Twitter expressed, “Thanks all for horti tweets this eve, had trouble keeping up w/ them all! At least #gardenrevival has got us all fired up again”. That's what I see as the greatest benefit of the series. It keeps those of us in the trades excited and talking during the off season. Really, I don't think a garden revival is in the cards for Britain, or here for that matter. There are just too many other things for people to do with their time and money. However, if those of us in the trades can reach the enthusiastic few through our passion and social media, it can make a difference. It should be enough to keep those of us still in business, in business. Seeing that passion expressed did put a bounce in my step this cold, bleak morning. As for TV shows about gardening? Not so sure, but we can always go to The Internet to find out.