Re: Sore Subject; was Street Plantings


hello,

I think the problem is that most people set out to buy a house, not a
garden.  The garden just comes with the house and most times is viewed as
a burden of home ownership.  The garden has to be neat to maintain home
values or the garden is part of the total status symbol, along with the
designer interiors and the pricey car.

I have a couple of friends who purchased nice to luxurious homes and who 
often complain about the damage done by their mow and blow guys.  In
fact, one of my friends let go of the more knowledgeable and
expensive gardener who had done a nice job of maintaining the garden in
favor of cheaper help and now they complain about roses, camellias being
whacked off when they are in flower and other hack jobs.

My friends aren't gardeners nor are they interested in learning about
plants.  So I think is is really easy to denigrate something they don't
understand because they don't know how much knowledge and skill it takes
to maintain a garden.  and I have the feeling that my friends are pretty
typical of most homeowners.

I think having a beautiful garden is more like having a pet rather than an
appliance or furniture. Plants grow, need to be watered and fed, and then
they grow some more.  when they are unhappy, they let you know
it. sometimes they need to be trimmed or relocated.
So I have the feeling that people who want instant gardens with minimal
future maintenance actually think they are buying an architectural plan,
or several nice pieces of furniture rather than a collection of living
organisms.

  Maybe designers have the responsibility to emphasize to
their clients that good gardens and good gardeners come as one package?  I
also think that garden design magazines should do more than just sell
pretty pictures of gardens and plants.  They should really emphasize what
it takes to maintain those gardens.  but then, maybe a lot less people
would be drooling over those photos if they realized how many hours or
much money it really took to maintain a certain look.

Angela

> > let go after a few months
> > because "Your fees just aren't in the budget." or
> > "My husband doesn't think I
> > should spend this much on the garden."
> > 
> > Never mind what they've spent on the property, the
> > mansion, the designer
> > furniture, it's just that the upkeep of the garden
> > doesn't rank high enough on
> > the list. Then their conversation at the lavish
> > parties turns to the garden
> > where its poor condition is usually the fault of the
> > designer. Yes, I've heard
> > it myself!
> > 
> > > business many years ago,people would pay for
> > > a good design and installation,but then expect to
> > pay
> > > damn little to a maintenance gardener, then
> > complain about the
> > > results and say the gardeners were lazy,etc...You
> > get what you pay for.
> > >
>
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