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Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)
Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2008-05-06, 14:28:40
Susan Harris over at
GardenRant finished off her recent post asking for, and giving, examples of
dumb questions asked by the gardening press. One reader even took the slight out of context and thought new gardeners were being attacked, which as gardeners we would never do.
But when it comes to those who SHOULD know, namely those who are writing articles for gardening magazines, it seems fair game to hold them to account. What are they supposedly writing about anyway? Shouldn't they at least have a grasp on basic gardening concepts before they're set free on those who do.
Fortunately, or unfortunately - depending on your viewpoint, I've never been contacted by the gardening press to share my humble gardening opinions with their audiences. I'm not disappointed at all...really, I'm not...(the counseling is going fine so far) but I must admit that if I were to be, then I think I would be bitterly disappointed if I were asked some of the questions that Susan, and some of her readers, encountered.
The disappointment would come from the esteem we hold of these media giants. I mean, who in their right mind is going to turn down an interview and photo shoot by a leading gardening magazine? Not me, that's for sure. And if they were to come and do an article on my garden I'd be expecting that they were at least au fait with the fundamentals. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I would at least expect that they also garden (verb) and enjoy it as passionately as I do.
I guess this is the reason why gardeners like Doug Green are asking the question Are blogs the new garden magazine? to which I would respond - quite possibly. Bloggers are passionate about their gardens and their hobby and if they don't have experience to share are genuinely honest to say so.
It's actually quite refreshing to read genuine people's answers and solutions to gardening. And I can honestly say that I have yet to read a dumb question on a gardening blog. Or asked within comments.
My advice for gardening magazines - employ people who are passionate for what they are writing about. Then dumb questions appear as though they're sincerely seeking a response rather than trying to be *hip*.
