Gardens by Kelly Productions

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{My recent interview with Ken Druse jostled my thoughts again relative to the topic of “the future” as it relates to communication and this passion of ours called gardening.  I don’t pretend for a minute to have all or any of the answers, and you know what they say about free “advice”.  I promise the next post will be something plant-related.  We need some relief from the doldrums, right?}

I just heard Craig Ferguson on his CBS late night TV show say this in reference to newspapers.  He’s implying of course that blogs basically substitute for newspapers.  But do they?  Now I’m not a likely defender of a business as lamely stifling as newspapers, but Craig’s caper of sorts deserves exploration.

As bloggers, we must really have the world duped.  Do blogs really suffice for the kind of journalism relied on and expected for generations in a format like newspapers?  Not hardly.  But is the point of a blog to really transmit news?  Some blogs do of course, particularly those kept by prominent columnists or newspaper writers.  They become subsidiaries of the larger publishing machine, transmitting early leads or insights that later formulate into full-blown stories.  But most blogs really are idea platforms, and only that, existing as the result of passive, fragmented consumption.  They give some writers 15-minutes of fame, offer popular authors a chance to keep in touch with audience members in a more personal way, and still offer more a chance to push agendas to the masses–even the 10 or so who choose to listen.  And while bloggers enjoy support en masse (that whole community idea), their demise comes from an overcrowded room.  Right now, particularly in the gardening realm, little oxygen remains in that room.  When a form of content delivery continues to fragment the market, it’s time for reconciliation.  A new mall only needs so many shoe stores before someone has to give.

So what next?  How does an oversaturated market correct itself?  In the world of real, tangible products and stuff, things start to disappear.  In the iris world for example, almost 50,000 cultivars have entered the marketplace in the last 100 years.  How many are left in existence?  Probably 10-15% or less.  How many are left and really popular, frequently sold, or grown in more than five gardens?  Probably 3-5%.  So let’s replace irises with gardening blogs in that analogy.  Nobody is mandating that bad, inactive, infrequently updated, or poorly written blogs disappear for the sake of others.  Anyone is entitled to share their opinions.  But who listens?

That’s where this whole mess runs astray.  Who listens and reads?  Who cares?  And more importantly, why do those people listen, read, and care?  Does a blog entertain?  Does it stimulate thought?  Does it deliver content that more than five readers want to read?  While blogs and other online media have unlocked the gates of publishing to all, they’ve also systematically unraveled standards of excellence.  No venture (whether market, business, hobby, etc.) has ever operated successfully in the absence of governing standards of excellence–they’re natural products of human-mediated enterprises that result when poor-quality products are perceived the same way as good-quality products.  My prediction, crystal ball firmly in tow, is that blogs will eventually become major powerhouses of content because the few that will remain post-excellence apocalypse will maintain tribal followings of people who demand and expect content produced and delivered in superior ways.  How do you think newspapers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post still exist, even in this turmoil that publishing is in?

So how do those blogs exist pre-excellence apocalypse?  They impose those standards of excellence on themselves, rise above current expectations,  bond with their followers, and teach them to dream.  When people enter the business of teaching people to dream, the market drives itself.  Look at the success of Apple, for example.  One company has effectively inspired its clients (and those that aren’t yet) to dream of the possibilities.  If newspapers, blogs, and books inspired their readers to dream of the possibilities of their product (not just how it’s delivered), we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

Really, all this is just a mantra for how to do business in this day and age…..any business.

Hey readers!

Here’s a quick plug for one of my favorite gardening podcast/radio shows….ever.  Ken Druse Real Dirt is hosted by THE Ken Druse of authorial and photographic fame.  Ken’s most recent book is the beautifully illustrated Planthropology. He garnered international acclaim with his 1988 book The Natural Garden and many others thereafter.

Ken was gracious enough to invite me on his show this week.  Check out the interview on his website.  We cover a lot of ground including irises, zoneworthy plants, and the future of gardening.  Feel free to comment and post feedback!  I’m planning a follow-up blog on some of the topics we discussed later next week.

Please consider subscribing to Ken’s podcast as well.  With lots of great information and interviews, his podcast has always been one of my favorites (gotta love his radio voice too!)

Best!

Greetings from frigid Iowa!

My heartfelt thanks to the 100 plus attendees of my lecture “ZoneWorthy: Underused Plants for Zones 4 & 5″ at the Des Moines Botanical Center this morning.  It’s always great to start a new year of lecturing activities with an energized, inquisitive local crowd.  To check out the slate of upcoming lectures, click over to my calendar.  If I’m in your neighborhood, give me a shout!  I’ve got a few engagements to add to that calendar, but it’s up-to-date for the most part.

For more information about my Zoneworthy concept checkout www.zoneworthy.com, a redirect to plant profiles from this blog.  In 2010, I plan to launch a standalone website that will serve as a conduit of information for people intrigued and engaged by the Zoneworthy concept.  Look for updates and changes!  Also feel free to download copies of my handouts and view my Powerpoint lecture on the Handouts and Downloads page.

Everyone seems to be talking about movements today, including me.  In the 21st century, movements sell.  Political parties bank on movements, tidal waves of change in hearts and minds.  Movie producers plug actors into multiple franchises, taking advantage of actors’ innate popularity that can make or break a brand.  Movements are everywhere.  Local activists lobbying for a recycling center or college students petitioning for greater administrative representation hope that their efforts result in wholesale movements of public opinion and perception.  All movements rely on three major components, roughly speaking.  First, an opportunity.  Second, an organizing force unhindered by norms.  Third, an interpretive theme.

So what moves gardeners?  Sustainable food sources.  Sustainable landscapes.  Etc.  Sense a theme?  That’s because someone (or some people) about 15 years ago started floating the word “sustainable” in effort to spur hearts and minds to action.  Now soccer moms, business executives, and gardeners hear sustainability almost every day.  But what does it mean?  We’ve got the first two components covered; 1) an opportunity to change public perception and understanding about humanity’s role in the environment and 2) a tireless throng of millions who readily, and for the good, monopolize our daily lives with talk of meaningful sustainability.  But have we done a great job of interpreting what sustainability means to someone who gardens less than six hours a week, or anyone for that matter?  I say no, and the field is ripe with potential.  We don’t do a great job posing the question either.  ”What can you do in your garden to be sustainable?”  ”Um, gee I dunno, start composting?”  Great!  But where does that leave us?  Someone now has the idea that composting, instead of buying fertilizer or other soil additives, is a sustainable practice.  Great!  But all they have is an idea.  Are they spurred to action?  Did the question we posed motivate them, or simply put them on the spot?  I stand behind nobody in my commitment to sustainable horticulture, which may surprise you given the critical stance I’ve just posed.  But too many have already grown complacent about the strategies we use to energize, enlighten, and inspire.  Here marks the spot where creativity sulks.

Movements die just as fast as they’re born, often because they lose spirit.  The message gets foggy, too many people vie for attention for attention’s sake instead of for the sake of the message, and chaos typifies the brand.  Maybe it’s time for a movement about sustainable thinking when it comes to gardening, rather than just a movement about sustainable gardening.  Otherwise, what does it all mean?