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| Tom Stuart Smith's award winning garden at Chelsea Flower Show |
Last week I wrote a post about plants for spring 2011 that were “hot” or “not.” In the post, I took a deliberately sardonic tone imitating the fashionistas I had just seen reviewing trends for the Academy Award show. I knew I’d get some flak for that post, but was rather surprised by some of the condemnation I got for even paying attention to trends. The reaction raised some interesting questions for me. Should we pay attention to garden or design trends? Are gardens immune to fashions? One commenter wrote on another blog:
"Real gardeners don’t pay attention to which plants are in or out. I shudder to think about those that pay attention to such nonsense and am concerned about those that disseminate such marketing misinformation."
I wonder, who are 'real gardeners'? One of my favorite bloggers, Nancy Ondra, wrote a
rather compelling photographic response to my comment that
Amsonia hubrictii was “out.” Of course, I should have known better than to pick on such a beloved and versatile plant. I still think it peaked out a year or two ago, but I must be honest: Nancy’s gorgeous photos of Amsonia through the year crushed my argument. I know when to admit defeat. By the end of her post, I wanted to run to my nearest nursery and buy 50
A. hubrichtii.
I rather expected good natured responses like Nancy’s. What is puzzling to me is how strongly some readers objected to the very idea of trends in the garden. One commenter rather eloquently wrote, “It is sad when we find the obsession with newness and being on-trend spilling over into gardening. We need to preserve its value as essentially a slow process—the experience of designed landscapes growing and maturing and becoming more desirable with the patina of age.” Another comment remarked, “I have to laugh, because there’s such a funny part of human nature, that when something becomes ‘too popular’ those who consider themselves ‘in the know’ are obliged to hate it.” Both comments make some excellent points. But I find myself having a very different reaction to trends.
I wonder, who are 'real gardeners'? One of my favorite bloggers, Nancy Ondra, wrote a rather compelling photographic response to my comment that Amsonia hubrictii was “out.” Of course, I should have known better than to pick on such a beloved and versatile plant. I still think it peaked out a year or two ago, but I must be honest: Nancy’s gorgeous photos of Amsonia through the year crushed my argument. I know when to admit defeat. By the end of her post, I wanted to run to my nearest nursery and buy 50 A. hubrichtii.
