Bonkersbon's Blog

I'm with you on this Bonkersbon. My garden is for ME and a friend if I so choose. Oh and wildlife including any cats because I like them. It isn't there for people to criticise or praise. It's only for pleasure and relaxation. We have parks and botanical gardens to visit.
On the other hand mind you I do admire people who open their gardens for charity, and I suppose the people who have their gardens filmed are providing us with entertainment, but that's up to them. My garden isn't for that.
And what about GOY members when they (including myself) have put photos of their gardens on the site. Is that an intrusion when others look at them ? - Oh, it's getting too complicated now.

We agree with, and appreciate all the comments.
The great thing about this site on G.O.Y is that we can all learn from each other, and also share our views and thoughts about gardening.
By sharing our photographs and Blogs on here we are able to celebrate the diversity of gardening styles and tastes, as well as appreciate and enjoy each others gardens from all over the world.
Each garden,their owners and their views about gardening are unique, and this site gives us all a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this.

When we open our garden for charity we have the unique opportunity to meet and talk to fellow gardeners, share ideas and also raise money for the National Gardens Scheme charities, so we are very pleased and proud to do this.

Our garden has received so much publicity on television and through the press and media. We always try to take in our stride, and we never let it become intrusive.
In many ways we try to use the publicity for the good of the National Gardens Scheme and its charities, and that makes it all worthwhile.
When we close the garden doors at the end of an open day the garden becomes our own special, private space again.

I agree with Grenville - their garden is very much their own, it reflects their likes and dislikes and is their pride and joy. They do not import any extra plants or change their garden for the few occasions in the year when they generously share the beauty they have created with visitors to raise money for charity. The folk who do share their gardens in this way do so because they love their gardens and want to share their passion with other people. If only just one person who visits goes back to their own home inspired to create a garden in their small back yard, just think how this could spread! People need beauty in their lives - I always think that it's food for the soul, just as art and music are. Parks and so on are different, people use them for recreation - you can't relate to a park like you can to someone's garden, however pretty the municipal flower beds are! LOL.

My garden is my special sanctuary too - I love it and I must say that I am also quite proud of it - I'm biased, of course, as it is my 'baby'. So in the same way that every mother is proud of her child (even if he is a spotty little oik with a pencil shoved half way up his left nostril), I am proud of my little bit of paradise and I enjoy showing it off to other people. And when they gone away again, I have all this exuberance of colour and nature and wonderfulness all to myself :-)

Yes, Barbara - definately good for the soul.

Oh dear, Spritz! You hit a bit of a raw nerve in me, with your mention of parks just for recreation and municipal bedding displays, which, I agree, symbolize a mere token attempt on the part of some Council parks departments. Watch this space for when I am less busy, for I really want to jot down some writings on parks, their origins, their importance in our gardens, etc. (depends on which parks you visit, your research, outlook, etc).

TV gardening leaves me cold.Overly expensive and often made to seem overly complicated,It put me off even attempting gardening for many years.
I truly believed you needed an open cheque book and oodles of time to create anything even approaching a beautiful garden,and as for bugs and viruses I was stunned that any plants grew at all without a host of chemical helpers!
It slowly dawned on me that the hundreds of hedgerows and wild flowers received none of this cosseting and yet still survived.Beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder in gardening ,but I'm so very grateful to the people who share their own vision of beauty even if it's just the odd photo.It is an intrusion to some but I would imagine for others its pleasant to receive a little praise for all their hard toil and share their passion.I love the glimpses into other peoples tastes and even if it makes me aware of what I dislike it's been useful.More often it inspires me to emulate a superb planting or just marvel at the beauty someone has created.Indeed food for the soul Spritz.

Thank you Susie / Sid put so much better than I did ,really point I was trying to make is that these shows often seen as what gardeners should aspire to ,often at huge cost.Of course we all love beautiful gardens and this site indeed proves beauty in eye of beholder - which rarely comes across on TV gardening.Personally rather see your garden Sid all your own work than one built by landscapers / designers .

Thanks Bonkers - I know what you mean about gardens that have been built/designed. They often have some great features, but often seem soulless to me. They lack all those quirky little features and accidental associations that a 'natural' garden has - i.e. one that has developed over time and really reflects the owner.