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Re: [GWL]: Are gardeners cheap?

It  seems as though the twist on this question lies in the question
itself.....are gardeners cheap, or are garden writers cheap?  Most all the
response has hinged on the writers' justification for the receipt of free
product.  I can't speak for the writers, since I am not nationally known and
limit my exposure to the immediate locality.  I can speak for gardeners,
though.  First, though, I'd like to address the 8 varieties, 5 of each
plant, tomato issue.  Getting the seeds free is only a portion of the issue.
What are you growing them in?  And that is the real key.  As most good
gardeners know, unless the soil issue is addressed, the crop cannot be
blamed or accurately credited.
We got wise to this several years ago with a lovely, long cropping primula.
We used a nationally available potting mix and over time, noticed cropping
problems.  It turned out that micro-elements are absent from this mix.
So, suppose you write a bang-up article on the tomato.  Joe Customer decides
to grow a deck full of them, in containers, using this mix ( or any number
of others that may have the same deficiency ) and his tomatos fail.  Does he
judge the writer as a flake?  Does he decide he's a crummy gardener and
swears to never invest so much again?  Does he think " I don't know what
happened but I'm not doing it again ".  Any which way you look at it, it
isn't favorable.  Writers need to identify HOW the crop was grown, in WHAT
it was grown, and WHERE it was grown.
So, there's the pitch to get the soil manufacturers to pony up a soil sample
for you.  They deserve at least a THIRD of the credit of a success.
( I've had a customer come in this year complaining about how her
basket/containers weren't doing a thing.  Turned out she planted it all in
WalMarts 'Sam's Choice' potting mix.  Pure trash. )

Do I think gardeners are cheap?  Well, a novice gardener is cheap due to the
learning curve.  They'll shop at WalMart to get $3.97 gallon perennials.
Sometimes they are successful and then go on to being Intermediate
Gardeners.  Those that aren't successful throw the towel in and never try
growing much again.  In the meantime, they don't support independent
nurseries because they won't pay $5.95 to $7.95 for a gallon perennial.
Intermediate gardeners are not cheap.  They " get it ".  They know quality,
varieties and treasures.  Price becomes far less of an issue.  They often
don't care what something costs as long as it's within the realm of reason.
They keep us in business.  They keep me looking for something that will
shake their potting bench.  I'll wait for 3 years to get the rooted cuttings
of Viburnum 'Winterthur'.....because I know they'll buy it, rave about it,
appreciate it and tell all their friends how cool our nursery is.  They are
the ones that make it possible for me to pay more than minimum wage to get
qualified help.  $3.97 gallons gets you a checker.  $8.95 gets you a
gardener/horticulturist/botanist/grower or more.  ( Bear this in mind, all
you spendthrifts, the next time you buy a chain store plant and within the
following three years complain of no qualified help at a independent
nursery.)
The Grande Dames Of Gardening are another issue....they see a tree, a 10
foot shrub, a 40 foot vine, and they're looking for a seed or a sucker.
They know what they can do and they don't wish to squander a cent on what
can be had for free and 10 years time.  Yeah, I'd say they're cheap.  When
all the Intermediates become Grande Dames, my nursery will fold.  Then all
the GD's can go snitch suckers from each other, because it will be their
only source of new plant material.  I won't be searching across the nation
anymore to see what I can find to impress them.
But they can't be beat for cheap by the Ardent Environmentalist who wants a
native garden.  They come look at a 6 foot tree in a 5 gallon conainer for
$8 and you  hear them mumble " I don't need to spend $8!  I'll just get my
shovel and go up to the Park ".  And darned if they don't head for the
Olympic National Park and dig it up.  I swear, the only way you'd get their
business is to give it away free.

Just my opinion.  And you asked for it.
Diana Politika
The Greenhouse Nursery
Port Angeles, WA
Zone 8


----- Original Message -----
From: "Yvonne Cunnington" <ycunnington@sympatico.ca>
To: <Gardenwriters@topica.com>
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2001 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: [GWL]: Are gardeners cheap?


> I'm struck by how often folks on the list talk about things being too
> expensive or not being able to afford something. I also know people who
> spend fortunes on their gardens, or buy plants like rare hostas at $250 a
> pop. I personally have no kids and 10 acres and so I "waste all my money
on
> plants", as my neighbor's little girl once put it, making me laugh.
> Obviously, life is a matter of priorities and we all have different levels
> of resources and different passions.
>
> I'm writing some stuff as a guide for beginner gardeners and I often send
it
> to my sister who's quite clueless in the garden to get her feedback. From
> the tone of some of my stuff, and my questions to her about the pricing of
> the gardening workshops I do, she once asked, "Are all gardeners so
cheap?"
> If they are, then those of us selling our products and services will
always
> be nickled and dimed over every little thing and we'll always live in the
> small.
>
> So over to you: are all gardeners cheap?
>
> ============================================================

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