Re: Speech By George Ball

**"k*@frontiernet.net" k*@frontiernet.net**

I wholeheartedly agree with Duane.

As a young person (19, a garden writer, and working towards a BS in 
hort) out working the ropes, so to speak, I feel that the world of 
gardening has a promising horizon.  I wonder if the issue here is how 
generations define gardening.  Look back through the history of 
gardening in America throughout the 20th century.  You will likely see 
that the token definition for gardening changes drastically from time 
to time, sometimes in as little as a decade.  The definition and 
perspective of gardening held now is held by those some call boomers or 
perhaps the next older generation.  This perspective will likely and 
honestly not meet the needs of a younger generation.  Each wave of new 
gardeners that we ever acquire will alter that position of gardening in 
our society.  I?m one to often start characterizing trends in garden 
history but I think that surpasses the scope of this email.

With regards to DIY, what does it matter if new gardeners do it 
themselves, completely, or not?  It surely doesn?t undermine the 
premise that they too can be called gardeners.  If gardening serves as 
an outlet for outdoor expression for those who partake in it, who cares 
how it comes to fruition?  If they don?t do it themselves it helps to 
further secure the horticulture industry as it maintains job 
availabilities for my peers in college who have high ambitions of 
becoming landscapers, garden designers, or professional gardeners.  I 
would prefer not to look at gardening as a template which new gardeners 
must fit.  I would prefer that gardeners, however they define 
themselves, find a way to a) enjoy plants, b) culture plants, c) find a 
way to express or enjoy themselves, and d) do what they want to do with 
plants in whatever ways they want to.  D) is an ideal formerly found in 
the head?s of many great gardeners of the 20th century.  I could list 
names but need only mention those called the ?manor garden writers? to 
make my point.

Horticulturally,
--Kelly D. Norris
Master Gardener
Contributing Editor, Garden & Greenhouse Mag.
Editor, Dwarf Iris Society of America
Bedford, IA Zone 4b/5a

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