Where Did The G Go?

Last week's purchases: Dianthera candicans, Caryopteris 'Blue Myth', Lantana, Red Porterweed, 2 freebie daylilies (Skechers clogs just happened to be sitting there & I love the color so I left them in the picture)

WARNING: Ranting may run rampant!

Over at Plurk, where several of the garden bloggers hang out to talk about manky plants and horticultural dreams, we found ourselves lamenting the sorry state of HGTV. Although the network has always emphasized HOME more than GARDENING, there was a time when their schedule of shows justified that G in their acronym. 5 out of 5 garden bloggers surveyed now agree, however, that there's precious little gardening to be found.

On a network supposedly dedicated to home and garden, check out the schedule for the week and you'll doubtless agree with us. After taking a closer look, I'm even more appalled than I was previously. I counted approximately 284 shows in a week: the vast majority of those shows were on buying and/or selling a home. Only eleven shows of the 284 were on gardening or landscaping. LANDSCAPE SMART, OUTER SPACES, LANDSCAPER'S CHALLENGE and GROUND BREAKERS focus on someone else's stepping in to renovate an existing space: all are more geared towards the creation of outdoor living spaces than what I and my fellow garden bloggers think of as gardens. Gardening is about much more than just making your house look good: it's a highly personal and emotional journey. Each gardener's journey is unique and yet each gardener shares some of the same experiences on that journey: our joys and frustrations, our questions and dilemmas, our doubts and our delights.

It's their failure to recognize that that has cost HGTV my viewership. I'll admit to DVRing A GARDENER'S DIARY, in which gardener Erica Glasener visits gardens across the country; it's the one show out of 284 that I know won't disappoint me. My disappointment in the direction they've taken is shared by others, including Carol at May Dreams Gardens, Mary Ann at Idaho Gardener, Robin at Bumblebee Blog and Mr. McGregor's Daughter. If gardeners like the five of us are dissatisfied with their offerings and disinclined to watch, surely there are others like us out there. Speak up, y'all, and let HGTV know that we're putting them on notice. They want that G, they need to earn it!

Three Fishies: this week they're Little Ricky, Ricky & Lucy