Those feisty Canadians

**f*@aol.com**

See what I mean? I'm tellin' ya, we're fencing the wrong border! 
Doug, I salute your bilingual gardening abilities. Perhaps you could pen an informative monograph on which language is most effective when used to swear at specific plants or pests. I find that Japanese beetles are not moved by English or Spanish, while Swiss chard understands a host of tongues and even dialects. We need a massive binational grant to study this issue.
But seriously, folks... Guilty as charged, Doug. After years of training, Marketers can
indeed think out of both sides of our brains just as Canadians can garden in
two languages. Pulling new plants through to market is not
your job. Your duties are to your employer/publisher and your reader.
Marketing is my gig. But I can't tell all your readers how good Achillea 'Strawberry Seduction' is. They need to hear it from you.
I'll cheerfully buy you a brew when our paths cross again. It doesn't have to be a Molson, does it?
JF

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Green <d.green@xplornet.com>
Sent: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 7:24 am
Subject: Re: [GWL] Those cantankerous Canadians

On Sat, 2007-02-06 at 08:05 -0400, FRIELSTER@aol.com wrote:
> Kirk, Doug,
> it may not seem possible but I agree with both of you.

Oh- oh - another marketer that can think out of both sides of the brain
at the same time. ;-)

> A good garden writer is or should be the best conduit of information on  
> plants, new and otherwise, to his or her audience. Introducing them to new  
> varieties is a shared pleasure. Kirk's right.

And I don't disagree - as you'll see from my previous note.  I love
describing new plants and growing them.  I simply don't see my role as a
pull marketer for any gardening company.  My role is for my readers or
those paying the bills.  As for new plants, hang on until you see the
launch of the new website features. 

> A wise garden writer does not breathlessly tout plants that he or she  has 
> not tried or at least seen growing. The urge to be first to show off the  
latest 
> stuff is a dangerous one. Doug's right.

OK!  Doug gets one point from JF.  Yes!!! made my Monday morning, I can
breathe safely the rest of the week.  There is a gawd in heaven this
morning. LOL!

> I work for a large company that introduces lots of new plants. We love to  
> see our stuff praised by garden writers. But we always have to bear in mind 
that 
>  a garden writer's credibility is his or her most valuable asset. 
> The members of this list, and/or the GWA, have to do a great job of  
> informing and entertaining. If your stuff fulfills only one of those 
functions,  it 
> will eventually cease to be read.
> JF

No problem here JF.

Now.  About the subject line. "cantankerous?"  Jeez - you take a day off
to visit the neighbouring country (note spelling svp) to the South and
you come back to find yourself and your nation (note plural) described
as "cantakerous"  Collins defines this as "irascible" and "quarrelsome".
John, surely you jest.  We are a nation of peaceful plant-lovers. Able
to garden in two official languages. Our historical role has to been to
take care of the guarrelsome nature of other countries who don't garden
as much as we do and insist on imposing their gardening views on other
parts of the world.  Incroyable! That such a slur should be visited on
all of us gentle gardening souls by a double-brained marketer. 

Jacques, this is going to cost you yet another biere by way of apology.

Doug

who has to write his newspaper column and radio show about plant
performance in his garden.

-- 
Doug Green
Internet Publishing for the Garden

________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters