Finding Mr. Flowerdew?

Just finished reading a post by alamedagarden about a man named Bob Flowerdew. Mr. Flowerdew is a popular garden celebrity on the BBC in Great Britain. He is "the garden guy", as the Washington post say's. "'Gardeners' Question Time' has an audience of 2 million in a country of 60 million. To translate that kind of audience to the U.S. (with a population of 299 million), a gardening guru would have to have an audience of 10 million. According to USA Today, that would be equal to the audience of last week's #2 top-rated broadcast TV show, 'So You Think You Can Dance'".

The article is a fun read as Mr. Flowerdew is a very interesting man. Claire's post laments the fact that we here in the U.S.A. don't have a Mr. Flowerdew and that if there was an American Flowerdew--someone knowledgeable, funny, charismatic, and (it goes without saying) organic--that he could be the pied piper to seduce more of us into taking up the shovel and rake? That he (or she, of course) could actually grow the audience"?

However, further in the article by The Post comes the reason why I don't think one person in The United States will be able to have the influence Mr. Flowerdew does in Britain. The Post says "The notion that Britain is gardening mad is absolutely true, of course." It continues, "In the uncertainty of postmodern, multicultural and rather godless Britain, gardening is not just a shared hobby. 'Gardening is one of the few things holding British society together,' said Sir Roy Strong, historian and former longtime director of the Victoria and Albert Museum".

We just do not have the gardening heritage that a place like Great Britain has. The United States, being a place made up of so many different types of people and cultures just wouldn't get behind one person that way. Not to say that we too are facing our own challenging times, and could use the common connection that gardening has on the psyche of The British.

I believe the reason we are hearing about a decline in gardening is that mass gardening media, and the larger horticultural concerns, have a vested interest in keeping  "gardeners" in their market share. When people refuse to call themselves gardeners, this is of great concern to them. They have spent millions to get the audience they have, and to hear it may be declining is cause for worry. I believe it's more a case of semantics. People may not call themselves gardeners, but will work feverishly to complete that "outdoor room", as the magazines now call gardens. Most people like many recreational activities, and while gardening may be one of them, they may not think of themselves as "gardeners". Lot's of folks just don't want to be labeled, or seem one-dimensional.

Here is my premise. We already have our own Mr. Flowerdew. It's us! People like Claire and other garden bloggers, and readers, are our version of Mr. Flowerdew. Instead of learning from one man on the television screen, we are learning from hundreds and soon to be thousands of people blogging. Why watch another boring garden show on HGTV with a paid celebrity when we can share with so many others, ideas that are so far ahead of anything we are seeing in mass garden media.

I believe we are witnessing what will be a renaissance in gardening, or what ever it's called. With the power of The Internet you have the potential to reach hundreds, if not thousands of like minded gardeners with your passion. As more and more people find out about garden bloggers writing and sharing their gardens, and garden ideas, they will want to take part. When you live off the beaten path where no one can see your garden you often wish you could share it with people. Now you can. Sometimes you get a following of people who are really interested in how that tomato is doing, or your experiences at the garden center. When you do you will become even more enthused about your garden and gardening because you don't want to let your "fans" down. Talk about your beautiful plant, but don't show pictures and they will let you know.

We are only at the beginning of this renaissance and it may not be noticeable to many. Just like bloggers who are a big part of why the big news networks are loosing market share, I feel the same thing will happen in gardening. I could be wrong, but for me it has become more important to check out whats going on in the blogosphere than read a garden magazine, or watch the television. I still read the magazines and sometimes watch the television shows, but the internet is where I get the real "dirt".

Going Native?

Native Redbud (Cercis occidentalis)

Two posts at Gardening 4 Dummies and
Gardening While Intoxicated got me to thinking about the use of natives.

While it might be fun to go native, you have to ask, how native? Here, a purist would only use natives to El Dorado County, on the west slope of The Sierra Nevada Mountains. Wait; are they on an outcrop of serpentine, or granite, or red clay? Very different species grow in these three soil types, all in El Dorado County.

Going completely native might be a fun horticultural pursuit, but I feel that you have to broaden your horizons to create a "garden." People here seem to use the word "native" to describe any plant from California. Considering our state has some of the most diverse climatic regions of any area, I don't see how a native plant from southern California, on the coast, fits our region, as a native.

Non-Native Grevillea "Penola".

So, it's really a case of semantics. What does native mean? Lets leave that to the purists. I think if you are trying to save water, or maintenance time, you are better off planting a xeriscape garden. There is a wealth of plants from other Mediterranean climates that use low water and require minimal maintenance. Many plants from Australia, South Africa, The Mediterranean region, or Chile meet these requirements.

A true "native" "garden' is difficult to come by, but by mixing natives and other xeriscape plants together, you can create a more satifiying effect, while still conserving time and water.

Confusing Nursery Jargon

In my last post "Plant Trafficker" we discussed Genie's Extreme-Plant-Bitterness at her local garden center. I received a comment from Old Roses where she said "My girlfriend planted some containers this year. These were here first forays into gardening. She thought "annuals" was the name of the flowers (petunias) that she had bought because that's how they were labeled at the nursery!"

I had mentioned in my post how in the horticultural trade we call can sizes by gallons. Such as "a one gallon lantana" or "5 gallon size birch". If you had actually measured how much these cans hold in volume it doesn't "measure up". Why do we call them by "gallons"? A typical "5 gallon" pot does not hold 5 gallons of fluid. I am going to do some research about that.

What got me thinking is how we have terms in the horticulture field that could confuse someone just starting out in gardening. Actually some of the terms confuse people who have been gardening for years.

I am interested in this as it relates directly to Genie's "bitter experience" at her local garden center. She relates this conversation with the "Plant trafficker"(Nursery person).

"What size containers do you want? Melody asked, poised to enter many numbers into the cash register.

You know, I have no idea, I said. What do you have?

Three gallon, five gallon, seven gallon, even bigger. It depends on what you want.

I blinked back tears. Really. At this point, I just wanted to go back and hide in the car. OK, I need to explain to you that I do not know what I'm doing with gardening, and I do not have any idea what those sizes mean in context of a tomato plant.

The bigger the pot, the better! boomed an effusive man who I've seen at this garden center before. I don't know if he manages it or just works there, but he's no shrinking violet.

Well, we're trying to transplant, I said, as if that would make a difference.

Whiskey barrels! he boomed. That's what I would do!

What does that mean? I asked. I drink whiskey out of liter bottles, not barrels. I was a woman without context."

I feel you pain Genie! What's great about your post is I had never heard this experience related by a customer. This is "pure gold" and will change some of my thinking at the garden center.

I am asking you, dear blog readers, about any experiences you have had that relate to unusual jargon at the garden center or in your everyday gardening experience.

"The Plant Trafficker"

Over at the Inadvertent gardener Genie is telling the story of her "bitter" experience at the local garden center. She has even coined a phrase I have never heard, "plant trafficker', her phrase for a garden center employee. I keep thinking of a song I would call "Plant trafficker", perhaps to the tune of "Smuggler Blues"by the Eagles. If I were the owner of the nursery in question I would be reading her post. The problem for the garden center owners is they probably don't even know this conversation is going on. We are only at the beginning of this "blog revolution" that will change the gardening world. If you don't "get online", you'll miss out.

I believe more and people will tell the stories of their garden shopping experiences, for better or worse. If your a garden center owner, landscaper, designer, etc., you had better hope you are giving the customer your best, or the world will hear of it! You don't think a lot of people at the local level are reading this stuff? Think again. Just because folks don't interact on the blogs does not mean they are not reading them.

The garden center in question, has a web presence, but not in the blog world. If they did they could address the concerns of Genie. Explain their side, and talk about what they could do to prevent this type of negative experience.

Genie's complaints at first got my "plant trafficker"defenses up. We in the garden center business forget that we are talking about stuff that some people have never had experience with. We use jargon that we think everybody knows about. Buy a 4" annual? Is that how big the plant grows or the container size? What's an annual? What's a perennial? Buy somthing in a five gallon can? The can dosen't hold five gallons, why are we calling it that

Why should I be defensive? This is such a great opportunity to ask myself if I would, and I hope I would, have responded differently to her requests at the garden center. It reminds me that the most important thing I can do is Listen. Not talk over my customers experience level, assuming I know what they want. Meanwhile there is talk of a new gardening magazine. Over at Rant they want to start a magazine for gardening that is modled after "Wired" magazine. Amy say's "Look at Wired magazine. It's a magazine about computers and technology, right? But you'll never read "Customize Your Browser Toolbar in Five Easy Steps" or "Weekend Project: Upgrade Your Hard Drive." No, it's a magazine about the wider world of technology--about people and ideas and news and business and politics and, yes, a little about software and hardware. And even if you're not a geek, you still interact with technology somehow, and for that reason it makes for fascinating reading. Why? Because the magazine has style. It has opinions. It has attitude. Imagine a Wired magazine for gardeners. "

These are heady days. My blog was "elevated" to Blog Of The Week over at Gardening 4 Dummies. Thanks, Stuart.

And if you don't think that the gardening world is changing we have Angela calling for a "Revolution".

The revolution is happening before our very eyes! I don't doubt for a minute that these blogs will change the way we view gardening and the garden industry for the better. I know it has captured my interest. We'll see how long it takes my friends in the trade to notice.

Gardens Illustrated Nursery Booklet

In an post at Garden Rant

titled "Why British Gardening magazines Are So Superior To Our Own", Amy lists the reasons why she likes them. We'll, after I read that I went out and picked up the June issue and was pleased to see a small booklet attached to the magazine titled "Plant Nurseries, Gardens Illustrated Directory." Editor Juliet Roberts says "Britain is fortunate to have a remarkable heritage of nurserymen and plant collectors and many of the nurseries included are traditional, family-run businesses handed down from one generation to the next." She also said " Narrowing down the selection (of nurseries) to fit the given space was an extremely difficult task and I apologise to the many places that we've omitted."

I assume, then, that you could not buy your way into this booklet. I love it! It looks like the little guys are given their fair share. The booklet is small enough to fit in your pocket and has maps. I know Great Britain is a small country, about the size of California, but it seems that our regional magazines, like "Sunset", could come up with something like this.

I guess what I like about the English gardening magazines, and this is the only one I am familiar with, is the respect they show to the nursery professional. Juliet says, "Many of these businesses are small, specialist and far flung and to ensure we don't loose them we must use them."

I also like the idea that they usually feature a nursery or two in the magazine, and talk to the owners to get their views. This issue, June, they talk to the owners of Pennard Plants Nursery in Somerset. One of the owners, Chris Smith said that Pennard Plants was intended to offer a gentler pace of life, after high-pressure careers in the garden center trade. They wanted to sell interesting plants to interested people. These are a couple of nurserymen after my own heart.

I do know that the English are "obsessive" about their gardens, but it would be nice to see more articles in our own magazines about interesting nurseries and the people who run them. Not that I am biased.

Fertilizer Art

Wanted to comment on Susans post at
Garden Rant about artwork on some some fertilizer boxes. Chuck B. said "Maybe this stuff has a following with pot growers". Bingo! I find the artwork amusing, but a little over the top. Especially "Wet Betty". It seems to be aimed at a less mature crowd. Kind of potty humor.

We carry a line of products by Foxfarm Fertilzer Co. that has some great artwork.

They have always done a great job of getting your attention. From the original Foxfarm Planting mix to the latest Cha-Ching, Beastie Bloomz, and Open Sesame. They do this without insulting your intellegence. Cool graphics, with interesting descriptions of what the product does.

No DEET Mosquito Repellent

We started carrying a product called "The Ultimate Insect Repellent", made by the people at Liquidfence Deer Repellent. It has been flying off the shelves as people are looking for an effective mosquito repellent that does not contain DEET. It contains all natural ingredients including lemon grass, cedarwood and citronella oils.

I have tried it and am happy with the results. It comes in spray bottle or toweletts. Check you local garden center, or order straight from Liquidfence. Let me know if you do use it how it works for you.

Getting Water The Old Fashioned Way

Stuart mentioned "it would be great to hear your views, frustrations and joys of being a nursery owner and all that entails."
Well, this morning at 6 a.m. I look out of the office and notice the sprinklers, which go on automatically at that time, are not working. So after I check the valve to make sure its on, I grab my broom and drive up the hill about a mile. That is where the water ditch that supplies our water travels. Now I am Trey the "ditch tender."

This ditch, and the one that feeds it, are old mining ditches from the gold rush era. They were originally built to transport water for the gold mining mining activities that built San Francisco, but were later used for agriculture, and still are! These ditches travel over 40 miles from the high country lakes, weaving their way

down to about a mile above the nursery, where it enters a distribution box that takes a portion of the water, and sends it down the "Garden Valley Pipe", which is a 8" metal pipe that just happens to pass right through the nursery.

What happens is debris gets caught in the wire mesh that protects the pipe from getting clogged, and you have to brush the screen to dislodge the debris and get water flowing again. Once the water is flowing it takes about half an hour for the line to fully fill and provide the pressure I need to operate the sprinklers. If the sprinklers don't start their cycle on time, they will still be running when we open, which is no good. I have six different stations that each run for a different amount of time.

I don't like to have to get up and do this, but the water is so inexpensive I can't help it. We buy what's called a "miners inch". The amount of water that flows through a one inch opening day and night from May to October. You pay a set fee, and we get all the water I could ever use. The drawback is the occasional morning trip to the ditch.

The other thing about the water that is unique is it is untreated. No chlorine. Straight from snow melt it has minerals, and I am sure some fertilizer. I haven't had to feed my plants since spring! Of course we dont't drink this water. It drops down off the hill right to the nursery providing 130 P.S.I., which is enough to operate 5 to 6 rainbirds at a time.

These ditches are a part of "old California", which will surely be gone one day. I think it's so unique, that the occasional morning trip to "tend the ditch" is well worth it.

Blogging Nurseryman

I wanted to comment on the post today over at Garden Rant. I basically have tried to stay away from controversial subjects that might negatively influence how my customers see their local garden center. I have never hung any political signs on my fence by the road, nor openly stated my political beliefs to my customers, even though I follow politics pretty closely, and have strong feelings about what goes on in that area. It's just that I want my garden center to be a refuge from all that. You can come to my shop, relax, and leave all that behind. The instant I hang a political sign on the fence by the road people will make decisions, that in my mind might cause them to not shop at my store. Same goes for my blog. It may not be courageous, but I am just trying to sell some flowers. I am envious of those of you who can say what ever comes across their mind. For many of you it's not going to effect the bottom line.
The same thing goes for controversial subjects on my blog. I don't usually bring them up intentionally. We'll, some times I dip my toes in, as in my post on Latin names. Why, we have had quite a discussion. Like who's bringing the cookies to the Latin Meetings, Amy, and we even have EAL going to "the Amalfi coast Friday, where, as I am sure you Latin buffs know, some of the wines most beloved of the ancient Romans were produced. (Tuscany was not all that in those days.) I will come back with recommendations." The controversy? I wanted a cabernet or zinfandel. I am sure we can hash this out

I am a bit like Hanna, who said "I started this blog because I am a little egotistical and a little opinionated and I really like to garden." substitute a "little egotistical" with "egotistical" and "I really like to garden" with "love selling plants", and that's me.

I am also interested in what Stuart was asking for. I like reading, and perhaps commenting on the more controversial aspects of gardening. It seems right now the most controversial subject is more about what blogs are than gardening. I don't have much to say about that, since I have only been blogging for a little while. It is quite refreshing to see how everyone has been passionate, yet respectful. I think that is the nature of gardening. Gardeners are special people, with an an ability to respond to the issues that impassion them, but see the bigger picture. Your garden is a place to retreat from the day to day events outside the garden wall. If, and when you want, you allow people inside your special place for a visit. That's the beauty of garden blogs. If your garden is off the street where people can't see it, you can, when you desire, show it to the world.

The reason I blog is because I feel I have something important to say about "my" garden. My "garden" is my nursery. It is a interesting place and occupation. People are always saying how much fun it must be to play amongst the flowers and make it your business. It is! But as all gardeners know, when it comes to tending their garden, it's hard work. Not only do I have to tend my "garden', I have to figure out what it is that you folks want so I can have it in my "garden". Like Amy said "I am a total plant addict and the people who feed my addiction are getting rich." I was wondering why their are so many rich nurserypeople in Eureka.

Those of you who are "Suspicious of the horticultural industry.”, fear not. I am just trying to figure out what it is you want, when you want it, and how I can get it to you.

I am also a bit of a voyeur, and just enjoy looking at your garden.

Latin Names

I read a post over at Gardening While Intoxicated about the use of Latin names in gardening. I couldn't agree more to what EAL said.

The advice we get from nursery trade magazines these days is to keep it simple for the gardener. We are told that using botanical names for plants will make the customer feel intimidated and talked down to. Use common names to make the customer feel comfortable, we are told.You don't need to know the Latin names of plants to enjoy gardening, but it is nice to learn something about Latin names for the reasons you stressed. We don't over use Latin names here when talking to the customer, but we don't hide from them. Our plant signs have the common and Latin names on them. When I write an article for the paper, I always try to use the common names with the Latin names.

The trend to use only common names is an attempt to appeal to the mass audience, which apparently needs to have things made simple for them. We are a smaller garden center appealing to a smaller, more gardening astute crowd. They, and we, want the Latin names to help prevent confusion.Is it creeping zinnia or Sanvitalia procumbens. Want a tulip tree? Magnolia soulangiana or Liriodendron? Want a Redwood tree? Sequoia sempervirens or Sequoia gigantea?Latin is necessary in our trade, and besides its kind of fun.

Snow flower in the high country.

Since it was Monday, and the nursery is closed, we took a drive up Wentworth Springs Road past Georgetown to Loon Lake and Gerle Creek Reservoir. These bodies of water are where we get the water for the nursery. It sits at about 6500 feet in the Crystal Basin Region of The Eldorado National Forest. The snow must have just melted since I came upon a Snowflower (Sarcodes sanguinea). These plants show up right as snow is melting, sometime poking up through the snow. I found out that where we were was inaccessible just a week ago, because of snow. It was hard to miss driving along the road as it was the only bright red flower in view. It only occurs between 4000 and 8000 foot elevation. Here is what John Muir had to say, "... It is a singularly cold and unsympathetic plant. Everybody admires it as a wonderful curiosity, but nobody loves it as lilies, violets, roses, daisies are loved. Without fragrance, it stands beneath the pines and firs lonely and silent, as if unacquainted with any other plant in the world; never moving in the wildest storms; rigid as if lifeless, though covered with beautiful rosy flowers."

The drive up Wentworth Springs Road is one of the most beautiful drives in California. It takes us a little over an hour to get to Loon Lake, if we don't stop
to look at spectacular views and plants along the way. The dogwoods and ceanothus were still blooming since in the high country spring was just starting.

Questions and answers

We started something new with our latest e-newsletter. While we have always had a place to e-mail questions, we never shared the answers or the questions with everyone. Now we will post both the questions and answers on the the e-news, and on our web site www.thegoldengecko.com, under Gardening Q and A . This will allow everyone to share in the knowledge. I am getting people with differing or added advice commenting on the questions and answers. Great, we will put those there too.

Dirt: Garden Rant Takes Over the World

Check out a new blog Dirt: Garden Rant Takes Over the World. Amy Stewart, one of the bloggers, says --'We are delighted by people with a passion for plants. Show some excitement! Have an opinion! Fall in love! Get mad! If you're bored, put your pen down and go outside. Just don't bore us, too.'

Here is 'Garden Rants' manifesto:

We Are:

Convinced that gardening MATTERS.

Bored with perfect magazine gardens.

In love with real, rambling, chaotic, dirty, bug-ridden gardens.

Suspicious of the horticultural industry.

Delighted by people with a passion for plants.

Appalled by chemical warfare in the garden.

Turned off by any activities that involve landscaping with plant materials.

Flabbergasted at the idea of a no maintenance garden.

Gardening our asses off.

Having a hell of a lot of fun.

I can't wait to read about the horticultural industry, which I am a small part of, and the authors are 'suspicious of..' Good, lets hear what people have to say. I'll check out 'Rant' regularly.

Hypertufa workshop

We have gotten back to holding our workshops every other Saturday. What with the anniversary party, quilt show, garden tour, etc. we hadn't held a class for a month or so. Monica's hypertufa container class is always popular as you make the pot here to take home.

Hypertufa pots are made to look like English troughs originally made to hold water for livestock. When the old stone troughs we no longer used, gardeners found them great as containers for plants. Since these were stone and hard to deal with, hypertufa came along to resemble stone, with a lot less weight.

While there are lot's of recipe's for making these containers Monica uses this formula:
1 1/2 parts peat moss
1 1/2 parts perlite
1 part Portland cement

The shape of the container is really only limited by your imagination.
You can brush yogurt onto the hypertufa to create a moss covered look quicker than nature would.

Our next workshop 'container gardening' is Saturday, June 24th. Some of the people who came to this workshop will bring their hypertufa pots for planting. I'll post some pictures of what they come up with for plantings. Cactus, succulents, miniature conifers, bonsai, or flowers. We'll see.

Nursery before, and now.

We just celebrated our 2nd anniversary at the Golden Gecko Garden Center a few weeks ago. I found some before and after photos of the nursery. When we were building the facility I had to remind myself to stop and take some photos. I knew they would be fun to look at later.

When we bought the property we found this willow, just about to fall over. I thought it would be safer to cut it down, but fortunately was convinced to try and save it. We put a brace on one end,
and give the tree a haircut in the winter. It has become a favorite of our customers and guests.
Sometimes you get so involved in what your doing that you don't realize how far you have come. We love this place, and enjoy adding to the beauty of the location.