Is it just me or is this utter garbage. Its like the BBC took Bake Off and Master Chef and tried to put the format into gardening. The only slightly good thing in it is that J Swift is marginally watchable compared to his GW sections in which he is frankly a waste of space.
Re BlueOnion, that's because you are living with your garden, Chelsea is make believe, there has to be theatre to grab the attention
I agree with Verdun, I've enjoyed the show and don't mind not seeing everything grown from seed. It's the look of the mature-ish plants and how to use them. I appreciate seeing things in the flesh that don't grow in my own garden yet...or I have deliberated over at the GC.
I also echo BlueOnion with regards to Joe Swift. He used to grate on me doing GW, whereas here he is marvellous
I'm enjoying it so far. They do make interesting point about horticultural knowledge and, even tho it's a show garden, understanding what plants will do in the coming year and making sure they're suitably placed.
I was rather amazed at their being given £1000 to spend on plants for a 3 x 4 metre plot. That's half my front bed and easily 5 times more than I've spent on filling it with roses and clematis and an acer Sango Kaku and alliums and daffs and ground cover geranium macrorhizum and a box hedge to contain it all.
On the other hand, the box was grown slowly from cuttings and the roses were small, bare rooted jobs and the geraniums are mostly divisions and I haven't had to build and fill in just 3 or 4 days.
I suspect from mistakes being made that some of the competitors have never bothered to watch Chelsea coverage as they would have known about following the brief, using their landscapers well, not leaving bare soil or having roots showing and pouring gravel in last and not making silly, avoidable mistakes.
Anyway. Good programme. I could listen to James A-S talk for hours and in this format Joe Swift is tolerable and even quite useful. Jury's out on Anne-Marie so far.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I like the hardscaping ideas.. and seeing the variety of plants (and the limited info about them). You're right though, Wintersong, it's a "show and dance".. I hadn't really thought of it in that direction. I think "scene" might be more appropriate though.
I told my husband when I watch tonight I was going to make it a drinking game. Every time they said 'theater' I get to drink a shot. Perhaps doing a set of five deep-knee squats or sit-ups might be more useful long term though!
Joe Swift: "Theater?"
Female presenter: "Theater, Theater? Theater?"
Male contestant: "Theater..."
Male presenter: "Theater! Theater! Theater?!"
Sorry.. theaters really got me. I'll still be watching it tonight though.
Is it just me or is this utter garbage. Its like the BBC took Bake Off and Master Chef and tried to put the format into gardening. The only slightly good thing in it is that J Swift is marginally watchable compared to his GW sections in which he is frankly a waste of space.
That's how I see it too, the series being more about the drama of the competition and constraints 'will they, won't they' and the particular area of 'lifestyle' they happen to have selected out of the hat this time is garden-related. I'm not overly interested in the back story of the contestants, their reaction to challenges but internal focus groups at W1A in the manner seen on W1A will have determined the public really want more judge off/ judge through programmes for added human interest.
Maybe we're just getting old, cynical and can spot the patterns.
Joe Swift seems to have had a dimension added to him in this. I'd imagine his role in GW has been defined and restricted by the production team. I quite like him in both though.
I'm slightly amazed at just how naive some of these grown-up gardeners are, you can forgive the youngest but the others who made life changing decision with their careers and don't know that plants in a dessert don't grow in near rows or even how improbable a black and white planting scheme is, and the prize is the sympathy vote at Chelsea by this standard
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Is it just me or is this utter garbage. Its like the BBC took Bake Off and Master Chef and tried to put the format into gardening. The only slightly good thing in it is that J Swift is marginally watchable compared to his GW sections in which he is frankly a waste of space.
Re BlueOnion, that's because you are living with your garden, Chelsea is make believe, there has to be theatre to grab the attention
I agree with Verdun, I've enjoyed the show and don't mind not seeing everything grown from seed. It's the look of the mature-ish plants and how to use them. I appreciate seeing things in the flesh that don't grow in my own garden yet...or I have deliberated over at the GC.
I also echo BlueOnion with regards to Joe Swift. He used to grate on me doing GW, whereas here he is marvellous
I'm enjoying it so far. They do make interesting point about horticultural knowledge and, even tho it's a show garden, understanding what plants will do in the coming year and making sure they're suitably placed.
I was rather amazed at their being given £1000 to spend on plants for a 3 x 4 metre plot. That's half my front bed and easily 5 times more than I've spent on filling it with roses and clematis and an acer Sango Kaku and alliums and daffs and ground cover geranium macrorhizum and a box hedge to contain it all.
On the other hand, the box was grown slowly from cuttings and the roses were small, bare rooted jobs and the geraniums are mostly divisions and I haven't had to build and fill in just 3 or 4 days.
I suspect from mistakes being made that some of the competitors have never bothered to watch Chelsea coverage as they would have known about following the brief, using their landscapers well, not leaving bare soil or having roots showing and pouring gravel in last and not making silly, avoidable mistakes.
Anyway. Good programme. I could listen to James A-S talk for hours and in this format Joe Swift is tolerable and even quite useful. Jury's out on Anne-Marie so far.
I like the hardscaping ideas.. and seeing the variety of plants (and the limited info about them). You're right though, Wintersong, it's a "show and dance".. I hadn't really thought of it in that direction. I think "scene" might be more appropriate though.
I told my husband when I watch tonight I was going to make it a drinking game. Every time they said 'theater' I get to drink a shot. Perhaps doing a set of five deep-knee squats or sit-ups might be more useful long term though!
Joe Swift: "Theater?"
Female presenter: "Theater, Theater? Theater?"
Male contestant: "Theater..."
Male presenter: "Theater! Theater! Theater?!"
Sorry.. theaters really got me. I'll still be watching it tonight though.
My cringe moment last night was " Theatre is the one criteria ........ "
ONE CRITERION, IT'S SINGULAR. CRITERIA IS PLURAL, for goodness sake. GGRRRRR
I figured someone would have gone mad over how Kniphofia was pronounced different each time it was mentioned in episode three.
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/the-potting-shed/monty-and-his-kniphofia/681497.html
I'm slightly amazed at just how naive some of these grown-up gardeners are, you can forgive the youngest but the others who made life changing decision with their careers and don't know that plants in a dessert don't grow in near rows or even how improbable a black and white planting scheme is, and the prize is the sympathy vote at Chelsea by this standard
Not being sexist in any way, but the ladies were all rubbish and all the guys well: is it just me , or are they all gay?