I agree with you, Swilly. I always enjoyed Kathy Renwald and Gardener's Journal. I would love to see it return.

I know she and her show have been bashed on this forum because of her . . . searching for the correct term . . . hmmm . . . lack of formal education in the field of horticulture. Is that a correct summation?

But I equated her show to walking through the garden with an aunt or friend. Not everyone needs to be an expert to enjoy the garden.

It is by far my most favourite gardening show. I like to see established plant material and the different ways people combine their plantings to compliment their spaces. I find Kathy's quiet demeanor a nice change compared to some hosts like that idiot from gardening by the yard!! Kathy allows her hosts to talk quite freely about their gardens without the focus being on her. Here in Canada the Gardener's Journals new season starts tonite!!!

I too loved Gardeners Journal. I had been watching it since HGTV came on the air. I was very disappointed when they took her off, even though it was all reruns. I think everyone who loved that show should send HGTV an email, maybe if we all do this they will bring her back!

I think that's a good idea, gardengirl10. I'm disappointed with the current lineup on HGTV with their VERY short list of garden shows. (Landscaping is NOT gardening.)

I found the website of HGTV and browsed a bit, but did not find a place to send them a message. Do you have an email address for them, gardengirl10? Or any other ideas?

Here's a link. If you scroll down you'll see where you can ask a question.

Here is a link that might be useful: HGTV

OOps, I didn't mean to post that without adding that I enjoyed Kathy Renwald as well for the reasons that Perennial Woman says.

That fellow that uses his shovel to mark the planting area is sickening and if you've seen one, you've seen them all. I much prefer the goofy guy at "gardening by the yard' over him anyday.

And, I no longer like yellow lantana because of "the shovel guy" I always call him. How does he stay on the air??

Thanks aka Peggy. I did send them some comments and hope more people do as well. I told them gardeners (and the number is growing) are interested in gardens and plant material, not guys with big egos and cheesy mustaches.

It is a good idea to email them, everyone, but don't count on it working. Louis Rukeyser was taken off the air, and many people emailed and complained to the station to have him put back..now there's some silly person who has taken his place and is not half the commentator he is! You wonder who makes these decisions and why!

Also, what happened to Roger Swain and Chef Marion in the Victory garden? He was on for years. I don't even bother watching anymore.

I wrote them as well. It's aweful, I noticed that HGTV Canada has lots of gardenings shows, why don't we? I even miss from Martha's garden! Now you have to get up at 4am (on the west coast) to watch her Martha Stewart Living..we'll I'll have to tape it!

Peggy I'm dying! My husband and I sent our first email because of shovel guy! You forgot to mention the only two other plants he uses, Aztec grass and lorepetalum. He's not a gardener he's a contractor who buys plants in bulk for cheap and pulls the wool over his client's eyes. Glad to hear we're not alone.
I miss Kathy Renwald too. I watch "A Gardener's Diary" with Erika Glazener, but for me she spends too much time letting her guests talk philosphy rather than showing the garden.

I also miss the Gardener's Journal and wish HGTV would bring it back. We've got to pass it on to other gardeners that they should email the network and ask for the show back. My weekends were filled with gardening and at 4:00 I'd sit down to a nice hot cup of tea and an good PB&J sandwich and watch the Gardener's journal and the Gardener's Diary. You couldn't ask for any better gardening shows. I even miss Martha's gardening show and Victory Garden. You can email HGTV at http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/about_us/text/0,1783,HGTV_3080_4964,00.html

Do it!!!

It is hard to believe they would take the show off the air. Maybe she is now in the process of making new ones for HGTV. Love Erica's show; where does she find these characters?

I received an email from HGTV and they want me to check back in June and see what the status is on Gardener's Journal. Let's see what happens.

I love Paul James! Never noticed any kind of ego trip with him and he has tons of tips for gardeners and he makes it fun too.

I also really enjoyed the Gardener's Journal and really miss it. I couldn't stand the program they replaced it with (in my area) which was Surprise Gardener. Thank goodness, after a few weeks it isn't on anymore in that timeslot. I can't stand Paul James because of those stupid close ups. He has some good information on his show but I won't watch it because of the silly things he does and the way too close close ups. I hope that they are making new Gardeners Journals and that is why they are off the air for now. I would like to see more gardening shows too and I don't watch Victory Garden any more either. First they changed the time it is on in my area and then they put those new people on it. Not an improvement in my opinion.

Paul is clueless! He actually did an episode on bamboo and said he had purposely put invasive bamboo in his yard, only he didn't realize that when he did it. Of course, there were closeups of his nasty-looking 'flower bed' with the bamboo infestation. What other mistakes or misinformation might he be offering?

Also hate the show with the 'professional landscaper' who can't pronounce liriope and many of the other plants (which he always 'installs' in rows!) I don't want to hear from anyone who installs plants in other people's yards, never to see them again.

Why can't they make a garden show with real gardeners for real gardeners? I don't want to watch non-gardeners interviewing gardeners. They make moronic comments, don't understand what they're seeing or talking about, and waste all of the time! These people remind me of Bob Vila. I once saw him ask a guy something like, "What's this interesting vine?" He was told it was poison ivy and he probably shouldn't be touching it. ...And THIS guy is showing me around the yard?

I can't remember ever hearing about a compost pile on a gardening show, but they ALL talk about fertilizer and 'potting soil' as if plants simply can't be grown without them.

Shows that talk about plants with only common names are worthless. And um, if you poison the caterpillars, pick them off by hand, and/or put 'cides on your plants, what butterflies will be around to visit your 'butterfly garden?'

I think Rebecca's Garden is the show famous for using mostly perennials only hardy to zone 7 or higher, but not mentioning that fact. In fact, the whole show gives me the impression that they think MOST gardens are in zone 7 or higher. Same complaint with Paul, who I think is in zone 8.

I've wished before that the folks at Organic Gardening would make a show... but they would probably show me how to build a cold frame on every episode - in black'n'white. Sigh...

MeMyselfAndI,
Please remember that gardening shows are regional. Rebecca's Garden in filmed in Minneapolis/St. Paul - USDA zone 4a. The shovel guy's show is filmed in Florida, probably zone 9 or 10. Most of the plants used are those that do well in that climate. Paul James gardens in Tulsa OK, zone 6.

I hate the shovel guy's show. What a waste of videotape.

If you ever watched the OLD Victory Garden Show you will remember that they used to devote almost a whole show to one topic. Now, if ANY show spends more that 3 or 4 minutes on a topic, that's a long time.

I read a post in one of the forums on GardenWeb that said that someone had emailed a gardening show to ask why they didn't spend more time showing more detailed information on the plants, in the gardens they visited. They received a reply that said the show was there to show ideas and spark interest - not to be a complete source of information on the topics they presented. It was up to the viewer to do further research if they want more information on a topic or the plants shown.

I always thought it was such a waste when Victory Garden went to all of those fabulous gardens and then spent 4 minutes showing the garden. They could have done several hour-long shows showing all of the plants in the garden.

I, myself, like the fact that Erica Glasener, of A Gardener's Diary, will correct people when they don't identify a plant correctly. You can't do more research on the plant if you don't know its correct name. That is my biggest beef against Kathy Renwald and The Gardener's Journal. She doesn't know the plants, in fact, she was a news sportscaster before she got the gardening show gig.

Russ Morash retired from producing and the old The Victory Garden show went with him. All of the filming was done at his personal residence in Mass. When Russ retired they needed to find a new place to do the show and they decided to replace all of the old people who where on the show. Michael Weishan became the new host and the filming is done at his residence. You might want to search GardenWeb because someone posted a link to an article that explained what happened. (It might be easier to do a google search since the post could have fallen off of GW.)
Mike

To all of us who sent emails to HGTV it seems it didn't help. I am SOOO disappointed with this years garden shows, I just can't believe it! What is the matter with HGTV? The only good show on anymore is Gardeners Diary, although I do get a kick out of the garden guy (Paul James). For years I loved watching the garden shows on HGTV. They didn't have enough as far as I was concerned. Now look at the line up. Geeeez what can I say. I like to watch P.Allen Smith Gardens. I can only get him on a local station and they only have his show on Sunday mornings at 6am. I even wrote to that TV station and asked if they could have him on at a different time, no reply. I thought I had read in many sources about gardening being the number one past time. So I ask, if thats true where are the good garden shows???? Hmmm maybe gardenwed should make a garden show for TV?!

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who misses Kathy Renwald's show! I too would make a B-line through a PB&J sandwich to watch her every Saturday or Sunday. I cannot believe her show stopped, will hope it is just a lapse. Erica Glaesner (spelling, sorry) is my second fave. Both shows keep my Winter Blues at bay!!!
Patann
SE Michigan Z5

My top two favorite garden shows, " A Gardener's Journal" and "Gardener's Diary" without a doubt. I preferred "A Gardener's Journal", since the gardens shown were much closer to my zone while "Gardener's Diary" is mostly southern or warmer climate gardening. In any case both are excellent, informative shows. Such a pity HGTV let their garden shows fall by the wayside.

Do you think that HGTV believes that a "real" gardening show for and by real gardeners would violate the two-minute attention span rule that they obviously believe all viewers have? I have noticed that trend on all their shows, not just the garden shows, the half-hour makeovers, the countdown decorating contests,surprise makeovers,etc. All pretty ugly and tasteless, and at least the "victims" have the good taste to look uncomfortable.Hardly any more nuts and bolts shows left on any subject on HGTV. I am disturbed by the call-in-the-landcaping-crews, spend a lot of money, use product placement heavily, and use the five most popular plants for the region shown over and over. There's something wrong about a landcape that appears within a 24-hour period being called "gardening." I have moved over to the cooking channel, which satisfies my need to see experts do their thing, talk about it, and explain in detail--Ha.

I like both the Gardeners Journal and Diary, Gardening by the Yard and People, Places and Plants. I no longer watch the Victory Garden.

Roger Swain is now co-host of People, Places and Plants show (New England).

Here is a link that might be useful: People, Places and Plants

Message to all, Gardener's Journal is back on HGTV weekdays at 7:00 a.m. est. Yippee!!!

Yep. Now I can watch it before I go to work. It is a good show. The downside is: I've seen the episodes before and watching the show means I only have 10-15 minutes to prowl my yard before I have to head off to work. Of course, in Winter not much is happening in the yard anyway...so the time of the show is perfect. In Spring I might have to go to the VCR to record the episodes for viewing at night...
The show is kinda like the gardening catalogs you dream with in the Winter...in that it makes you yearn for Spring when all the action starts again.

For me these episodes are "new" in that HGTV chose not to air Gardener's Journal in my area last year! Also when spring rolls around who knows if HGTV's fickle programming dept. will still have this show on it's schedule? I guess we'd better watch while we can:-) I'm taping them all.

I have TIVO and loved the Gardeners journal and love a Gardeners Diary.

The others...I will watch the first few minutes and then fast forward to the end look at the finished project and delete. I really don't care for them.

The Journal and Diary I will watch over and over again...I just love those shows.

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