RE: [GWL]: The decline of garden writing

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Andy,

You wrote:
   Is it time for us to explore the role of garden writers in this dilemma?  Have we let our readers down?  Have we failed to cultivate readers and keep them involved and educated?  Have we completely failed to stimulate them?  Have we as garden writers simply...failed?

Yup, we are in trouble.

It is the failure in the mental stimulation area that is the culprit, in my view.  Far too much of the information published in newspapers, magazines and books today is simply recap of basic data.  How many more times do we have to say ‘Plant tulips eight inches deep”.  Everything is soft; no controversy allowed in garden writing, that’s for sure.  When did Horticulture or Fine Gardening publish a story about the controversy around bio-technology?  Do we ever attack the concepts of “organic” as espoused by the radical left?  I was in a garden center yesterday and looked over the book titles.  Every title was there ten years ago and again twenty years ago.  Annuals for Dummies jumped out at me.  A 200 page book about growing annuals with not a whole lot of discussion about varieties and options.  Now give me a break. 

Columnists are probably the only group in a good position to bring out controversy, but seldom does that happen.  I suspect the editors and publishers would not like it much. 

Going a step further, good garden writing, interesting garden writing, does not need controversy at all.  It just needs to deal with issues, or problems with different solutions, or just something unusual and worth noting.  I’ve been gardening for 30 years and I seldom find an article or column worth reading to the end.  The writing is not bad, it is just the subject is boring to me; I have read it before  several times. 

Garden writing in my view may be becoming dangerously boring.