Comments on: Try this at Home: Copycat Gardening

By: blithewold.org » Blog Archive » Open season

blithewold.org » Blog Archive » Open season — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:09:48 +0000

[...] a faithful reader but her comment on my last post led me to Bumblebee again this morning. I found this post -and others- recommending that you get out to public gardens and flower shows and bring home [...]

By: Kris at Blithewold

Kris at Blithewold — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:29:34 +0000

I think (I hope) I can speak for public gardeners everywhere — r&d (I’m hereby adopting Kim’s term) equals success! You’re our raison d’etre. Visit, take ideas home and improve on them. Thank you for this post. I hope to see you sometime at Blithewold – you can take it with you.

Thanks Kris! And thank you for the E is for Excellent award over at Blithewold. What a nice surprise to find when I visited yesterday.

Robin at Bumblebee

By: Shady Gardener

Shady Gardener — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:00:35 +0000

You’re right. You did a beautiful job!

By: meems

meems — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 03:59:01 +0000

Hi Robin, I agree with Kylee – your container is actually nicer which I guess is part of the idea… not to duplicate but to imitate.

I don’t do this where gardening is concerned but I do arrange fresh (and silk) flowers so whenever I see an arrangement I like in a model home or retail display – I take photos – so I can copy the idea.

By: kari & kijsa

kari & kijsa — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:16:41 +0000

Love it! Happy Valentines Day from our hearts to yours!

blessings,
kari & kijsa

You too!

Robin at Bumblebee

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:02:38 +0000

I agree! And at work (I’m in marketing) we call it R&D. No, not “Research & Development,” but “Rip off & Duplicate”!!!

Kim,

I saw this comment late last night and have been laughing about it all day. Having worked a number of years in an ad agency, I can definitely say there’s a lot of R&D going around!

Robin at Bumblebee

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:53:28 +0000

This is a really helpful idea. I feel the same way you do. Clever way to accomplish it!

Hey Kate! Let me know how your design is coming along.

Robin at Bumblebee

By: Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:32:36 +0000

Now why didn’t I think that of that! I always go to public gardens and get all inspired but then forget a lot by the time I get into my own garden. Duh! I should take reference photos! How silly am I?

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Yep – A good number of the photos I take are for documentation more than for beauty shots. Glad you found this helpful!

Robin at Bumblebee

By: jodi

jodi — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:19:37 +0000

Yes, I like yours better, too. You’re right that it can be a great way to learn about plants, and you can interpret and put your own spin on a design so that it’s not identical. Not that anyone would be likely to say, “Oh, look, that’s just exactly like the planting at the public garden in Liverpool”, but we do like to put our own flare into things too.
I’ve never bought a collection of plants like we see advertised in garden magazines etc, because I figure I can do my own selection and planting and have them look as good or better than those designs. I think also that people sometimes expect the design to look full and robust the first year, when it may take three or four years or longer for it to fill in and look ‘just like the picture.’ This is something I’ve run up against with beginning gardeners wanting instant perfection; have you encountered this in your gardening experiences?

Hi Jodi,

You probably do a lot more in the way of advising people than I do, but yes, I’ve seen people frustrated with new landscaping because they have a hard time envisioning what something will look like in a few years.

One of the biggest mistakes I made early on was not giving some plants enough room. When the nursery tag said the butterfly bush would get to be 8′ x 10′, I thought “surely not.” Well, guess who’s digging up a well-established butterfly bush this spring!?!

Robin at Bumblebee

By: Kylee

Kylee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:12:09 +0000

Robin, I like yours better! Seriously! Very pretty.

Gee, thanks! Actually, it provided nice color all summer long. I’ll definitely do a version of this again next year.

Robin at Bumblebee