TV and Radio permalink
Gardeners' World 7th August
This discussion has been closed.
-
Message 1.Â
Posted by saima_host (U13967342) on Friday, 7th August 2009
Hi all
A preview clip for tonight's show is available at
as well as more information on the blog
-
Message 2
Posted by welshcol (U2301689) on Friday, 7th August 2009
Where has Phil gone ?? Summer holidays?
-
Message 3
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Friday, 7th August 2009
I see! Phyll gone start more threads?
Well again as last week I did enjoy the show, was very interested in the Salvia as I have had blue spires of flowers in blossom from April and the bees still on them in the sunshine today.
I do allow some of the Herb Salvia to blossom as the bees love it, any way there is always more than I need for cooking.
Like the allotment gardener and his tomato's I found a small clump of black spore this morning on one plant. Cannot risk them all so wrapped the area in cling film and took it out. I do keep side and roof vents slightly open at night to get an air flow also only water in the morning.
The thirty minute task was a fix, I did exactly the same job in 1998 took the bill out to see what it cost me. (well organised in keeping records) Toby said fifty quid.
Mine cost £28 back then complete as was Toby's the wood nothing and two bags of sharp sand £2 but with all the gear it took over an hour. It has been a boon since I put it in and continues working so money well spent.
A good all round programme.
Frank. -
Message 4
Posted by welshcol (U2301689) on Friday, 7th August 2009
I was looking forward to this weeks episode after sincere encouragement last week.
Personally I was very disappointed and at times toe curlingly embarrassed namely:-
1) Its a free country but who wants to grow echinacea and heleniums I don't and unless you have a 3 metre square bed will blow over in the first breeze even if they looked attractive.
2) This is supposed to be the "flagship" gardening programme. Who starts a trial of severe pruning to see what happens??. If it does not work we will know in 6 months time
I want expertise not trials. Not that I would want these plants anyway.Trials of varieties for taste, consistency etc are fair enough but how to grow them without a result is totally baffling.
3) I am getting increasingly concerned that everything is either £5 a plant from the Garden Centre or by Mail order which is also not very economical. I was "bearing with them" initially since it is a new "pretend" garden but there is no qualification of starting seeds off in March or whatever. I am currently admiring 2 off 30 ft long beds of marigolds in full flower grown from a 75p packet of seeds germinated in a lean too, nurtured then hardened off and planted out.
4) Carols episode with the kids was toe curlingly barren of sincerity and usefulness.
5)Joe cookery session of nettle tea had a predictable response.
What a complete and utter waste of an hour, I even regret to say Alys's window thingy was a waste of time.
A complete embarrassment.
-
Message 5
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Friday, 7th August 2009
welshcol
That is the beauty of these boards we can say it how we see it within reason and most of us do.
who wants to grow echinacea and heleniums I don't and unless you have a 3 metre square bed will blow over in the first breeze even if they looked attractiveÂ
Quite a few people do and if they stand up at Harlow Carr down the road from us then they would stand up in my garden.
The severe pruning bit is not new, it has been done for years when moving plants about and is proven with a lot of plants.
The thirty minute fix was a fix it took them longer than that but my over an hour fix doing the same thing 11 years ago has proven a Godsend. If people can afford one then fair enough show them how it is done, but do not expect to make a good job of it in 30 minutes.
Nettle tea, Yuck.
Alys and her window box yes, many people on these boards write they have very little room to plant so it shows those people what can be done. They do not have to follow Alys in the planting, they can use their imagination.
Boiled spuds and flowers??? I will stick to lightly boiled spuds and butter thank you.
Carol with the kids! Obviously staged only the enthusiasm of the kids was there and they will go on as one young lad told us, he has even built a greenhouse to grow food in.
I liked the programme and the last two have been a massive improvement on the early ones.
We cannot expect it to cover everything in full detail, it whets the appetite to learn and we can then get the books free from the library and read up on those things that took the fancy.
I would say that is what it is all about.
Frank. -
Message 6
Posted by welshcol (U2301689) on Friday, 7th August 2009
Take your points on board Frank but don't you think that for the only National Gardening Programme on air the programme could be more detailed,useful, pertinent and expert rather than aspiring as a a light weight entertainment?. I would think the detail for the large majority of run of the mill viewing gardeners require unambiguous topical help with their flowers and vegetables. The "new" programme aspired to be the "GW Dig In" where as in practice the real attention to vegetable growing has been minimal.
Can we at least agree that the expenditure on the plants for GW appears to be exorbitant and is sending the wrong signals to the viewing gardeners especially newcomers?. I will take as read previous threads on the money spent on the hard landscaping at Greenacres, which one hopes to will be a long term investment, but to advocate if not recommend buying plants from commercial outlets at high price is not ideal and for those who do not know better is biasing to be the only way or the "accepted" way to go-whereas we know better and garden on a budget and for some a very limited one.
Quite a few people do and if they stand up at Harlow Carr down the road from us then they would stand up in my garden. .. realistically in a normal garden will these long gangly plants withstand a wind when not planted in a substantial clump?. Still do not like them
The severe pruning bit is not new, it has been done for years when moving plants about and is proven with a lot of plants. If its not new and is applicable to echinacea and heleniums why did Toby infer, and even appeared doubtful himself for these species, as to what the benefits would be after spending £4-50p a plant!!. -
Message 7
Posted by groundelder (U11750698) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Yet again I feel like I'm watching a children's programme whenever Toby and Alys do their banter.
Embarrassingly awful, the rest so-so. -
Message 8
Posted by Logissimo (U14020652) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Surely a pertinent comment is that the whole series is badly conceived and realised. So many of the activities seem to be taking place at the wrong time: Planting up a water garden last week (beginning of August), planting perennials now.
So much time was lost due to the very late start to the series and more recently weeks, if not months were lost due to coverage of Wimbledon and all the flower shows.
If such a programme is to be of practical use to the less experienced and less frustrating to experienced, it should try to present topics which are topical rather than months later than ideal. -
Message 9
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
welshcol
Take your points on board Frank but don't you think that for the only National Gardening Programme on air the programme could be more detailed,useful, pertinent and expert rather than aspiring as a a light weight entertainment?. Â
I do think we could agree on many points talking gardening, though you have to see the whole concept of what the GW planners are doing.
People like me brought up in a time when the garden was an extension to the kitchen and fed us all year round we learned at an early age the basics, taking seed and replanting in the spring, correct storing and correct planting in rotation, still feeding us through the hard winters we had back then.
Then we had years of plenty the garden was a playground then an extended room with fancy stone work and wooden dance floors, now full circle, the garden for many people has to work again.
Problem! the programme was planned and brought into being before the world turned base over apex, what looked good last year is now dead in the water so changes needed.
The young whiz kids in planning now have to try and tell people how to make productive gardens and they have no idea.
Those people brought up in the 60-70-80 and 90's
are having to relearn a forgotten art and that is a large percentage of them.
They are busy people who have to work hard, then take children to dance classes horse riding play area's and then find the time for a garden.
Toby saying this is a plant it grows so high and you stick it in the ground like this is about all we will get.
As to growing from seed, only dedicated Allotment holders and old bats like me have the time.
Go to any garden centre (if you can get in the car park) and watch people taking trolley loads of plants out to their cars.
They want a lot of general information fast, not details slowly, the rest they will acquire by trial and error plus asking questions on these pages.
Frank. -
Message 10
Posted by Petalina (U13862206) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
I agree with Frank.I was born in 1950 into a family of complete non gardeners.I work full time and think that for people like me ( not just youngsters) the advice is very pertinent.We are not all sons/daughters of the soil and in fact I am the only one out of both my and my partners extended families who show any interest at all in the garden.
Also, I believe that I am not alone in buying all my plants from garden centres or catalogues for whatever they cost ( this summer I reckon I have spent over £5oo on perennial flowers )as, until I gain further expertise, I can't gat them any other way.
My partner is going to make me a heated bed similar to Toby's so hopefully,I will be able to start raising my own plants soon.
So, please do not rubbish the likes of me,Welshcol, we all have to learn somewhere, whatever our age.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 2 programmes, a vast improvement -
Message 11
Posted by quitedutchbrit (U10671966) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
I have also enjoyed the last two programmes although I can't say as 'thoroughly' as Petalina did. But it was a lot better than at the beginning of the season. I think the other poster who said that the programme is simply wrongly constructed and that Greenacres was a poor idea in itself is right. There is no integrity to the general programme, only to isolated parts such as Carol's piece. Joe is just badly 'cast', the role he has taken on doesn't fit him and in my HO the Harborne couple's garden looked worse at the end - with all the squared off gravel sections, circles and geometric shapes - than when they started, 'smelly pond' to quote Joe, and all! Much better to have shown this couple (and us) how to clean up their pond with some well balanced planting and incorporate into a new scheme. I hate this 'chuck it out', 'throw it away and get something from the Garden Centre' style of gardening. 'How to inherit a garden and make it your own' would be a good topic. Using plants or constructions that have grown or stood on the plot for years in a new scheme. I wish Toby had said something about a vase for the Helenium blooms he cut off in order to get better ones later! He could have put them in a jam jar on a garden table or something so they could still be enjoyed for what they are, delightful flowers and not just products. But no, off with their heads and drop them on the ground! Only later did we see him selfconsciously walking with them in his hand. Somehow it never appears natural to Toby to treat plants like Carol does - with gentleness and, in fact, with respect. However lyrically he talks about them, I just don't see a real connection to the plant world in him. He's more of a 'decorator using plant material' (and sometimes wood.....). I also think it is always good to mention the compost heap when chopping and pulling up plants so that new gardeners realise that nothing is in fact 'lost' in a garden with a compost heap, it will all feed the garden in the next season. I still find Alys an uncomfortable person to watch and listen to. She shows no ease with what she is demonstrating, there's something clumsy and roughshod about it. In all... a badly conceived programme, badly cast. But it IS beter than in the beginning when, as some posters said so aptly, it was ABSOLUTELY DIRE!
-
Message 12
Posted by malanD (U7337386) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Petalina, you don't need a heated bed to start raising your plants. Lot of hassle and expense for something which is not really needed. This is the thing, the prog sends out wrong messages to those who are just starting to garden.
-
Message 13
Posted by Obelixx (U2157162) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
I suspect that it was so absolutely dreadful in the beginning that viewers are now willing to accept a slight improvement as adequate GW viewing. It's all a con though.
Toby continues to be slap dash and slip shod and distinctly direspectful of plants and his colleagues to the point that I now find myself discounting any advice he offers. eg those echinacea and heleniums - why on earth would you not plant them and enjoy the flowers then dead head them before they try and set seed? That way you get a couple of weeks of good flowers and still plenty of time for the plant to strengthen its root systems. No mention either of echinacea's main cause of failure in spring - slugs.
Alys is OK but so messy. Carole is good on propagating and clearly communicates a love for plants but I fail to see the point of all that gushing in the school garden filmed in May. What relevance does that have to vegetable gardens in August? They should be giving advice about stopping pumpkins and sowing and/or thinning over wintering crops such as kale and purple sprouting and Brussels sprouts.
I rather like what Joe has done to the couple's garden except for that raw looking timber raised bed. He's still a waste of time on allotments - far too superficial - although it is good to see his neighbours giving tips.
I did enjoy the Harlow Carr sequence and the salvias. I'd like to see more of this sort of thing and also topical tips about what to sow/transpalnt/trim/propagate each week with an eye on stocking one's garden for free or cheaply and noty with expensive and often bog standard varieties of plants from garden centres. GW should be more creative and inventive than it is now.
As for the 30 minute slots - I bet we could all think of rather more productive things to do with Toby in 30 minutes and they would probably involve his permanent ejection from GW. -
Message 14
Posted by Sam (U13967940) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
I thought it was a great show, it was a good 30 minute fix but I dont think I'll be able to afford the temperature control thing, so another winter of plants all over my bedroom and the kitchen
I wish I could have a greenhouse, I could grow so much more! I also like Alices window boxes, I might try and get some up for winter bedding plants and then next year fill with cuttings from my new herbs.
Also, can I have some tips on bedding plants. All my veg I grow from seed, and apart from Fushia's, Dahlia's and Pelagorniums (Spelling error?) every year I buy new bedding plants for the winter and the summer. Can I grow bedding plants from seeds, and if so will Thomson and Morgan etc sell seeds suitable? -
Message 15
Posted by Trillium (U2170869) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Not sure I quite got the point of the Helenium/Echinacea thing. If you are testing different planting methods, surely you use one cultivar and plant it in different ways, rather than mix methods for 20 different cultivars. What does that prove?
And I've always found Helenuiums to be completely hardy anyway - I don't follow why they needed their own border to test them in.
Echinaceas are another matter - the orangey ones (Art's Pride especially) can be very tricky to over-winter, I've found. Still, the testing could have been done with half a dozen easy to obtain varieties, rather than 20, then we can all go and get the winners. For example E. pallida 'Hula Dancer' is listed in just 10 nurseries - roughly one per region. I'm struggling to get hold of plain old E. Pallida in any quantity!
I see what you mean about the handling. As our national gardener we need him to treat the plants as we would - as if he had personally chosen them and paid for them, rather than as a hard-headed nurseryman.
But I have been goaded into setting up my heated propagation bench next week. It'll take me a lot longer than half an hour though - it'll take as long as it takes to get it absolutely right. -
Message 16
Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Welshcol, I have just come back from a day course at Pershore college and during a break I managed to take a peek at part of the garden., Guess what! lovely display of heleniums, rudbekias, alstromerias, echinaceas, miscanthus and others. I think you're going to be in a minority not liking them. Yes they needed supports but, so what!
Quite frankly, I think I'd prefer them to 2 x 30ft rows of marigolds, but then I'm not a bedding plant fan.
I was very interested in Toby's piece about doing different things to them to see if they overwinter better as that's exactly what happened to one that I bought. It didn't overwinter and now I think I know why.
If you want more trial gardening then may I recommend 'Gardening Which'.
It's long been a tradition of gardening programmes, and not just this one, to buy lots of plants at £5 a time as you say and plant large drifts. GH and AT were just as good at it.
I think you just have a downer on the programme and they can't do any right for you anymore. -
Message 17
Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
Petalina, despite what MalanD says, your cuttings will benefit from the bottom heat of a propagating bench. I worked in a propagation dept once and it was the best method for virtually everything, all year round. I made my own with the soil warming cable like Toby but I couldn't afford the thermostat at the time. It still worked though, but I just had to keep an eye on it and turn it off manually.
My bench has a lid on it. When I eventually got the thermostat (in a sale) it wasn't much trouble to wire it in and it makes a lot of difference. -
Message 18
Posted by malanD (U7337386) on Saturday, 8th August 2009
My point was that you can raise plants without having a hotbed. Most of us do you know!
-
Message 19
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
My point was that you can raise plants without having a hotbed. Most of us do you know!Â
Correct MalanD and those of us who raise their own know this.
Having been chased off the kitchen window sill with my old ice cream cartons, out of the spare bedroom "dirt all over the place" "SCAT" righto dear.
I started buying the odd small plastic propagator which seemed to break after one season, under pot heating pads that broke after two seasons and various other means until a time when money was no problem so ordered plants on mail order with varying results.
I have had a lean-to greenhouse on a full south facing wall for the last 25 years and raised plants in there with again varying results so made a heated sand box taking much longer than thirty minutes and much less money.
The result is 99.9% success so worth it over the eleven years since I made it. That means it has paid me back many times over as some seed is very expensive.
I enhanced it by putting two shelves above the bed on which I can put seeds or plant that do not need the full heat, then draped it with bubble wrap at night or on cold days.
So I get the rising heat for a lot of seeds or plants, humidity as I keep the sand damp and free from frost, with the wall taking in heat and giving it back at night I am frost free in any case. Best of all I do not need extra heat in the greenhouse in winter although I do leave a fan on frost guard just in case.
Toby showed those who want a sand bed how to do it, he did not do it in thirty minutes but that matters not to those who wish to copy him.
It is not wasted money, as it will repay you in the bedding plants you can grow yourself.
Frank. -
Message 20
Posted by rosante35 (U14097015) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
Hi, I agree GW is getting better compared to the first few programmes but not as good or as informative as it once was. I wish they would also tell you when things are filmed they do sometime but not consistently, living in Scotland we are always at least a few weeks behind and our growing season is obviously shorter.
Does anyone know where you can find a thermostat for £20 Toby made it sound quite reasonable but I cant find one for that price. Also a few more plant names on the screen wouldn't hurt. -
Message 21
Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
The Thermostat that Toby used was the Parasene one that I have. In the Two Wests catalogue they are £37 but has I said earlier, I got mine in a sale for under £20 pounds. I refused to pay the full price and searched till I found it.
It is a lot of money and I would be tempted to do without to begin with unless you can commit to that expense. Mine was well worth the money as it is foolproof and was easy for me to fix, just like Toby showed, to my existing propagator.
If you look after your stuff, they will last you a lifetime. Incidentally, when I made my new propagator, some years ago now, my father took back the original cable and carried on using it himself.
We shouldn't expect gardening to be particularly any cheaper than our other hobbies simply because leaves grow on trees. It can be, but we make our choices. -
Message 22
Posted by bookhimdano (U10771514) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
nice harmless fun. thankfully with iplayer one can zoom over the carol sections.
not sure how sharp toby's knife really was on the cuttings section?
despite the GW prejudice against lawns showing people how to get great lawns is a good skill to demonstrate. or show people alternative play surfaces for those with kids? -
Message 23
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
bookhimdano
not sure how sharp toby's knife really was on the cuttings section?Â
I did notice that, he was struggling.
I do have a very sharp knife but after being given boxes of new blades I use a stanley knife and a new blade after using the knife on plants. You do not spread anything that way and very cheap, well for me!
Frank. -
Message 24
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
PenylanSue
I got mine in a sale for under £20 pounds. I refused to pay the full price and searched till I found it.Â
One problem with that, the second it is mentioned on TV there is a rush to buy, they would probably up the prices.
I got mine in a sale and the same as yours in make.
Easy to fit, set it and forget, during the day I often find it has switched off coming back in late at night when temperatures drop.
Once the seed is set you can put young plants in and on all the shelves above on a minimum temperature.
I would not be without it now.
Frank. -
Message 25
Posted by michelle78 (U7007319) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
When the cuttings section was on I was rather perturbed about Toby's theory that damaging the cells encourages rooting.
I remember reading that you shouldn't damage the cells any more than is necessary to get the meristems at the bottom of the cutting as the plant has to heal and there is more chance of getting fungal rot off.
I know with gardening there are many ways to skin a cat, but to dogmatically state a fact which (in my understanding) is actually a matter for debate is yet again the beeb dumbing down, and another illustration of Toby's slap-dash style.
Couldn't agree more with others' comments about the lack of topical tips and what a waste carol's school visit was.
I have been enjoying Joe's harbourne garden bit. I felt they could have done a lot more with the planting aspect of design. Details about contrasts in foliage shapes and textures as well as colour, good design rules to follow, heights etc etc etc. It could have been a whole programme in itself, showing the planting up of their own beds at greenacre too.
All in all, still a poor relation to what used to be a great show. -
Message 26
Posted by happytobyfan (U13663471) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
<quote Also, can I have some tips on bedding plants. All my veg I grow from seed, and apart from Fushia's, Dahlia's and Pelagorniums (Spelling error?) every year I buy new bedding plants for the winter and the summer. Can I grow bedding plants from seeds, and if so will Thomson and Morgan etc sell seeds suitable?</quote>
Sam bedding plants are the easiest thing in the world from seed - as are many perennials. Do T & M sell them? - yes, they have a very large catalogue, which you can order on line. However, there are other companies who have, although not as large a selection - seeds of all kinds (but much cheaper!!) Or better still, do as I do every year - collect the seed from the plants growing in your garden now. Impatiens, salvias, marigolds, etc are very, very easy to get the seed from. I've also grown perennial campanulas, gaillardias, correopsis, and many more, from collected seed.
I grow lots of annuals and perennials from cuttings every year - by just sticking the cuttings in water (even the Gardeners' World mag was advocating this method last month). You don't need lots of plant pots everywhere. You can leave them in water for months - the roots will multiply - ready for potting up nearer spring. It works for me -
Message 27
Posted by happytobyfan (U13663471) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
Soory - forgot to close the 'Quote' thingy again.
-
Message 28
Posted by Petalina (U13862206) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
Thanks Frank and PennyIanSue - I'll definitely give it a go
-
Message 29
Posted by David K (U2221642) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to point out the dubious advice being given by the present GW presenters, particularly Toby Buckland.
Given that these people are supposed to be professionals, I just wonder what school of excellence they come from.
I just hope that people new to gardening don’t believe all of what they are being told. -
Message 30
Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
Tobyfan, yes lots of roots are produced like that in water and if it were that simple there would be no need for expensive heated benches, the likes of which they have in nurseries all over the world. The problem is that those roots are water roots and the plant will still need, once potted up to develop some better roots for itself so although you think you've succeeded, the plant could have had a better start from the beginning. Sorry to be so negative on that and I do root many things in water myself but that is how it is.
-
Message 31
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
michelle78
Toby's theory that damaging the cells encourages rooting. Â
I too wondered at that, is this something new I thought?
There is no way I would do that, I have the experience to know it can cause problems, others may not have that experience.
I use very sharp tools, Toby's looked dubious, and a pencil to make a hole then dib them in.
I never found any difference in using or not using rooting powder so never bother with it now, one less item to buy.
The lovely bells took my fancy, the one he put on the plant on his sand bed, how much I asked myself, too much when a couple of bent stiff wires across the bed and lay fleece over those does a perfect job. More so when I hang a curtain of bubble wrap around the whole bed.
Methinks they have much to learn from the posters and Allotment Lads and Lasses.
Frank. -
Message 32
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
I grow lots of annuals and perennials from cuttings every year - by just sticking the cuttings in water Â
I tried that years ago when a gardening magazine said it was a good way to root cuttings.
I got about a third of the plants to grow once they were put in pots.
The cuttings I put straight into soil pots gave me around 75% success.
That was before the heated bed now I seldom lose any.
They are not on the bed long and once they show I move them up to the shelf above the heated bed and then a last move to yet a higher shelf.
The rising heat is all they need to carry on growing.
We all have our methods and they probably work for some not others, I did think Toby's way would not be for me.
Frank. -
Message 33
Posted by Sir Plantalot (U11098143) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
No-one has mentioned the dodgy camera work it was back with a vengeance this week.
-
Message 34
Posted by Trillium (U2170869) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
Yes - the Salvia piece was almost unwatchable. There was only one tiny section in which the chap's face was in focus. It's really annoying having a plant in the foreground in focus, while the person speaking behind - extensively - is fuzzed out. I think it was only that piece though.
-
Message 35
Posted by ArtemisHP (U12217956) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
I feel like I'm watching a children's programme whenever Toby and Alys do their banter.
Embarrassingly awful..Â
I fully agree.
The only uplifting bit for me, as always, was Carol. She's "a natural" with school children. I believe she was a teacher and it shows.
Whatever she does she does it with such joy! It simply oozes into our living room and makes us feel it wasn't a complete, entire and absolute waste of time. -
Message 36
Posted by LeadFarmer (U13864996) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
I love GW but I think the problem with this current series is its location.
It doesnt feel like a real garden as it doesnt seem to belong to anyones house. Previous locations have always belonged to someones home, rather than just being a converted field. -
Message 37
Posted by Paul N (U6451125) on Sunday, 9th August 2009
I've said it before but it's probably worth repeating. I use a sharp knife when taking cuttings but always cut onto a piece of wood rather than against one's thumb. I get a nice neat cut with no snags nor risk of cutting myself. It must be better to cut against a firm surface rather than skin.
-
Message 38
Posted by brightonjen (U4580756) on Tuesday, 11th August 2009
You're right David. Much of what you see in GW is 'instant fix' stuff which in the end, will only go wrong & people will then blame the show - probably rightly. It is NOT good gardening any more. How many more times do people have to say that?
I'm glad people think the show is getting better - it couldn't have been any worse could it? I now dip in occasionally & still can't bear it - but most of the time I just don't bother. I loved GW at one time - I'm really sad at what it's become. -
Message 39
Posted by welshcol (U2301689) on Wednesday, 12th August 2009
I think we should convene in a garden or pub
as optimistic supporters of GW so that misunderstandings that regularly seem to occur on these message board threads are avoided.
In a previous post I was suggesting that Toby put in a sentence advising".....that plants could be grown quite easily, and far more economically, from seed or propagation rather than buying plants from Garden Centres if time allows". This comment I think would encourage new and/or limited budget gardeners. How you can infer from my posting that it was deprecating people who buy plants or whatever from GC's I don't know eg. ...So, please do not rubbish the likes of me,Welshcol, we all have to learn somewhere, whatever our age. ... If you seriously understood this to be the point I was trying to make, I apologise, it was not intended. I regularly go and buy from GC's myself, not very often for plants, but mainly for seeds , onion sets etc. If time constraints and budget allows its a free country so people have a convenient source of plants. Since GW is the programme for all I think Toby should advise and comment on valid cheaper and perhaps more rewarding alternatives to provide a gardening balance.
I do think we could agree on many points talking gardening, though you have to see the whole concept of what the GW planners are doing. .... I do think we agree on a number of gardening items as well .
I do earnestly feel that GW has improved over the current series. It does not approach the Halcyon days of GW with AT,GW et al although they had their critics in their day, but I do believe that a reasonable gardening standard and balance needs to be maintained which is encouraging, teaching properly & advising new and "old" viewing gardeners alike. Its a difficult task and compromises will and have to be made. Its this balance in which I think the GW production team, rather than the presenters, are showing their shortcomings. I trust that feedback provided via this board and others will encourage the programme improvements in terms of topicality, depth and "normal" run of the mill gardeners and gardens will be recognised and that the "ivory tower" & "we know better" approach to content and format will be amended.
Like a previous poster I also perceive an unwelcome hint of a return to some of the zoomy/ focus pulling camerawork creeping back. Must be a new toy in the camera department!! -
Message 40
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Wednesday, 12th August 2009
welshcol
I do see some of their problems having been there done that.
Four and a half hours of filming in a couple of locations reduced to a half hour programme shared with two other people.
There will be hours or camera work, retakes, retakes of single operations from different angles, and then all chopped down to a one hour programme which will include film from other sources and I suspect some archive film.
It could be nothing like the original things the presenter did or was intending to do.
Trillian Crouchee Giant Trowel and others can tell you what it is like and they too possibly wonder what happened to the other four hours and ten minutes film.
We do not know exactly where the blame lies but it could be down to directors in glass boxes fitting it all into a time schedule.
just a thought,
Frank. -
Message 41
Posted by welshcol (U2301689) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
It could be nothing like the original things the presenter did or was intending to do.
...  I go with that Frank-the annoying thing is that it is so frustrating in the almost total absence of decent gardening programmes that there should be a waste of such potentially good, useful material. Also GW seems to be the first prog. to be displaced and lost forever at the first sign of sport!!. Whats wrong with Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú3 or 4 as a last resort rather than being lost at the height of the season.
Thank goodness for Sky to access BG on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland, which by the way I guess could be easily shown nationally to replace some of the multi repeated drama/soap/antique drivel with I am sure a warm welcome. I did not fully appreciate the content of uktv Gardens, with GW reruns etc, until it was pulled-shame.
Take care -
Message 42
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
welshcol
On all that we do agree.
The new out of work figures show that anyone with a plot of land will need to work it to subsidise their food bills.
They need it now, not next year, a good do it yourself grow your own from base up and the cheapest possible way.
I will not hold my breath as golf tennis and many other sports seem much more important to those not on hard times. Who are they I wonder?
Frank. -
Message 43
Posted by the cycling gardener (U2350416) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to point out the dubious advice being given by the present GW presenters, particularly Toby Buckland.
Given that these people are supposed to be professionals, I just wonder what school of excellence they come from.
I just hope that people new to gardening don’t believe all of what they are being told.Â
Hello David - if there's one thing I learned about gardening from my earliest memories it is that there are many ways to skin a cat. One grandfather had been Head Gardener at a well known country estate in Ireland, the other had gardened all his life, their wives gardened and so do my parents - all passionate in their own way. Sunday visits could be lively affairs as they walked around and disected my parent's garden with stongly held differences of opinion - little did I realise how much I was taking in as a small girl as I trailed around with them, often bored to tears but hanging on to their words.
I am sad that my grandparents weren't around when I eventually got my own garden but the experience taught me to gather information from many sources and establish what worked for me and my environment. GW can only be one resource as it cannot possibly cover all the information needed by all gardeners for all eventualities at all times of the year. It is a seasonal framework at best and in my experience, has always required back up research. -
Message 44
Posted by David K (U2221642) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
Hi, The Cycling Gardener - I do take on board and respect what you say.
However, the point about misinformation I speak of/bang on about, really cannot be put into a 'there are many ways to skin a cat' category.
I could illustrate numerous examples of what I mean, but I offer this as typical.
In the very early days of Toby Buckland taking over, he and Alys were picking apples. Toby was in the tree, throwing them into a bucket on the ground.
When Alys reminded of the fact that these apples would be bruised and unsuitable for storing, he dismissed her comments, saying it doesn’t matter.
In my book this is a gaffe, but he just goes on and on.
My point is that it /does/ matter a lot and anyone wishing to do likewise would be well advised not to take any notice of him....fruit intended for storing should be handled carefully and there /isn't/ any other way.
For myself, I can offer no professional qualification, but have been a keen and successful amateur gardener for almost 60 years. -
Message 45
Posted by the cycling gardener (U2350416) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
Point taken David. The apple picking also demonstrates Toby's general lack of respect for the plant material he handles. Its all a bit slap dash. We see him throw tools around and tread over carefully dug borders (at Harlow Carr last week). I don't sense any real love, nurture or joy in the subject from him. Its all a bit mechanical. Perhaps I'm being harsh? Perhaps its a female thing? Its just that there is no magic.
-
Message 46
Posted by Trillium (U2170869) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
I've been umming and ahhing about posting this link. But since the discussion is about 'not enough gardening on telly' and 'making good use of your own land', I thought I'd share this with you. Don't know if it's allowed or not....
Should be 5 mins every Monday evening, with luck... -
Message 47
Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
Very good, Trillium. They should have you on GW
-
Message 48
Posted by Petalina (U13862206) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
Excellent Sue, you really are a natural
-
Message 49
Posted by Paul N (U6451125) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
That's not bad at all Sue, lots of useful advice, no silly joshing around, no five minute fix. ;-D
-
Message 50
Posted by Ken Smart (U1158196) on Thursday, 13th August 2009
Should be 5 mins every Monday evening, with luckÂ
Far better value than the GW's I looked at earlier in the season. I also thought you made a darned good fist of it, and it looked awful like a throwback to the days when substance took priority over style (and there is no offense intended here). I've said several times over the years, that there are people on this board who could do a fine job on GW given the chance, and you've proved me right (aren't I always). More seriously, I would suggest that you give consideration to shedding the alter image on this board, and posting under your own (professional) name. Best wishes, Ken.
About this Board
Welcome to the new Gardening Board. If this is your first time, then make sure you check out the
or  to take part in a discussion.
The message board is currently closed for posting.
Weekdays 09:00-00:00
Weekends 10:00-00:00
This messageboard is .
Find out more about this board's
Search this Board
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú iD
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú navigation
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú links
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú © 2014 The Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.