Is gardening becoming too elitist?

That would be an Ecumenical matter.

 

Whoa! It all got a bit Bolshevik in here didnt it?!

Marxist analysis of gardening, interesting!

 

That's kind of what I'm getting at Chris. Even at the lowest end of your estimate, £15,000 is a 'hellava' lot to spend on a 'small garden', and whilst I realise that the costs are met by exhibitors and sponsors, they wouldn't do it if they weren't sure that they were going to more than recoup that expenditure in sales, potential sales, prestige etc.

I don't for one minute doubt these people are 'passionate about plants', but the wastage in getting a garden - indeed most of the exhibits - to Chelsea (for example) is eye watering. It's very clever to manipulate nature so as to have daffodils in bloom at the same time as chrysanthemums and even the most humble gardener probably strives for 'perfection', but most of the exhibits, stands and gardens, are false and very few can be re-created in 'real life'.

The point I'm making is that I'd much sooner spend £100 on plants that I can enjoy possibly for years, than spend the same amount on a day out looking at things I know an amateur can never re-create.

The RHS (as worthy as it may be) seems intent on charging astronomical entrance fees which many just cannot afford - its Consolidated Financial Statement for the year 2010/11 as given to yesterday's AGM, does, after all state that it's income for that year was ..... £24.4m!

 

In my eyes there are two types of gardeners. Gardeners who will slog at their garden all year round and make their own compost etc. Then there's the occasional gardeners you can spot them a mile off, they will show up in the garden centres/DIY stores with trolleys full of bedding plants, composts and pots in the summer months. Gardening happens all year round, not just when the weathers nice.

I'm not trying to sound snobby but that's where the money is and when you go to any garden centre it seems to be more about bedding plants more and more rather than perennials.

 

But Jane you do sound pretty elitist!

What's wrong with people who only want a nice window box or two to put out the front?
Does it only count when you've raised plants from seed?

 

Gardening means different things to different people and that's an important factor.

I happen to believe that an amateur can indeed recreate show gardens, nothing has to be done overnight and nothing has to be expensive.

As everything, gardening depends on a persons disposable income and the time they allow for it.

 

That's not what I meant. What I meant was that I've seen many people spend a lot of money on bedding plants each year to plant in the ground and then do the same process over and over again year after year. It's a waste of money imo. Occasional gardeners want instant results in the nice weather and have no patience to just wait, let something grow to something even more spectacular.

Perhaps I am an elitist, I don't mind being called that if I do sound it, that's just the way I feel. Gardening is a craft that requires skill and patience, I believe we should all be proud of this skill we all have.

Now I wonder if I'm digging myself into a hole bigger than I dug yesterday by sharing my views.

 

There are several interesting idealogical arguments happening on in this thread.

I may have been joking about the Marxist (or class based) analysis of gardening, but it appears there was a little truth in that throwaway line at least in how this thread has manifested.

The honest toil of the working class Vs the middle class and their money?

There is the amateur Vs the professional?

Long term effort Vs instant gratification?

 

Jane, your views are as valid as anyone elses! There is no 'hole' you are digging!
This is a discussion, you shouldnt apologise for your views.

You value effort, time taken and the journey. There is nothing to apologise for there!


I think Im just a little more laissez faire than you, thats all! I believe people make use of the resources they have available. If you have the time and the inclination to garden all year round then brilliant.
If you have more money than time, then garden centres, and professional gardeners are a godsend.

 

In the past I've raised quite a lot of plants from seeds, with rather mixed results. I don't really have the space or facilities to have lots of seedlings on the go and the process became a bit cumbersome. I'm quite happy to buy plants for the odd window box and I don't feel less of a gardener because I haven't nurtured them from infancy. Bedding plants are one-hit wonders anyway; I'd sooner save my energies for more permanent things.

The great thing about gardening is that there is something for everyone. You can create a very beautiful garden for next to nothing or you can spend a fortune on flowers/trips to posh shows if you're lucky enough to have deep pockets. You can even take a more utilitarian approach and simply use your outdoor space to grow your own fruit and vege. Sometimes I think nothing looks nicer than a well kept vegetable patch!

Do flowers have a social class? I found myself pondering this important question whilst listening to Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen being extremely snobbish about the Britain in Bloom contest. He was particularly scathing about hanging baskets containing fuchsias. You'd have thought the hapless individuals who were responsible for them had been making bombs in the potting shed, rather than planting up a few flowers. I seem to remember that the late Barbara Cartland found pelargoniums desperately common, branding them 'council house flowers', but it is exactly their down-to-earth, cottagey quality that I find appealing. Anyway, I think we can take La Cartland's comments with a pinch of salt, since she evidently thought that giving herself a facelift with elastoplast and making false eyelashes out of dead tarantulas was über-classy.

 

Morning Clare!

I saw that fool Llewllyn Bowen saying that too. It irritated me greatly. His manner doesnt help.

In this age of beige and minimalism, colour and clutter in a garden are rather looked down upon.

Personally I find abundance and fullness incredibly attractive- in people as well as gardens!

 

I believe that all hobbies have a high and low end, weather it be Stamp Collecting,Horse Racing,Football etc. etc.
Gardening In General Is Not Elitist.
Maybe some garden shows are,because of the sheer cost of the gardens and entry fees.
We are all lucky though that we can see magnificent (imho)coverage of these Dreamland Show Biz Extravaganza's on TV.
They are of course optional.

My father and Grandfather never went to the Chelsea Flower Show only the local village flower and veg. show.
This didn't make them any less a gardener.

So.......There is an elite end but that is a minority as apposed to the millions who enjoy this wonderful hobby every day of their lives.

 

Thats very true Roders,

There is always an elitist end of every hobby, along with obsessives, collectors, enthusiasts, the main stream, fair weather gardeners, and reluctant gardeners.

I am all of those - but on different days.