I've canceled cable, and get digital TV over the air now. It turns out PBS has five digital channels including a Wisconsin channel that shows gardening shows. I've seen more gardening shows since I quit cable than I ever did on HGTV.

Anyway, I think part of why I garden is the challenge of it. The garden is always changing. And taking care of all of it makes me feel useful.

Why do I do it?

I love watching things grow...and don't want any more kids.

Sooo, madisonkathy, spending more time in the garden makes more kids unlikely? ;-)

tj

Hmm, tsuga...I guess it could be taken like that! Of course if I spend anymore on plants...and considering how I look in my knee pads, muck boots, and old gardening hat, smelling of compost and fertilizer, it's a wonder any of us have kids!

Seems like on cable there are a lot of channels that don't show the content their name provides. The SciFi channel shows wrestling, MTV shows... I don't know anymore and HGTV rarely shows gardening.

I've had cable since 84. When I found HGTV back then, I just loved it. A lot of good gardening programs that were on at good times too...not 7am like they have some. Now I don't get to watch any. There are so few on. One program I do love is 'House Hunters'. I love looking at homes.
As for gardening...I just love it. On the weekends when it's nice, I spend all day out there doing things. I'll get down on the ground and get the grass and weeds out of the gardens. That is a never ending battle. I love deadheading. And I'm at peace when I water my gardens...as long as the mosquitoes aren't bad! LOL!! Is there really anything better to do?? I don't think so. :)

Kat

Gardeners must be a dying breed. In my neighborhood, there are only 2 families that are out there most days; putzing and weeding and deadheading. Everyone else has low/no maintenance little beds and big lawns that are faithfully mowed. As for myself, I have turned over the bulk of the work to outside help. Altho, now that I have imporved health, I hope to do more. I love it too, maybe even because it is so fleeting.

I didn't get cable until '97, but there were tons of shows about gardening on at that time. Now the only one left seems to be Gardening by the Yard. Gardners Journal, Gardners Diary, Rebeccas Garden, Perennial Gardens, and so many more, are now long gone like dinosauers. Two nice ones came out of Canada. Some specials came out of England.
Penolope Hobhouse (?) was a particular favorite. She made me laugh so hard with her shrieking voice, I had to tape it and play it over once I'd calmed down. As for Victory Garden, it gets more mainstream every day. Whereas, it used to be sort of charmingly quirky. Who remembers Roger?
He was so homey: grungy, bearded, breathless. A sort of stereo typed farmer. Loved that guy.

So, my thought is that HGTV should just stick with HTV. And perhaps another channel will take up the Gardening programs. Even if shown only on weekends, it sure would be
nice.
Comments?

Looks like Gardening by the Yard may be over as well. No more new shows on Saturday, just reruns Sunday morning. Hopefully it's just until the new season's shows come out, but I dunno. You are right, Pondy, those are some good shows that went by the wayside.

tj

We don't get cable out here....too far out in the boondocks.

As far as the value of gardening:

Fresh air
Good exercise
Don't have to think (unless you're planning a new bed)
Love to get fingers in dirt
Calms the soul
Can lose track of time (maybe not always a good thing)
Lovely fragrances
Changing color/textures/heights/views every couple of weeks
Share plants/produce with friends & neighbors
Never boring - like Pondy said, "something always needs doing."
Experiencing the joy of unexpected surprise plants springing up.

I'm sure most of you could add to the list.

I hope to retire in one more year, so I can spend more time in my gardens.

Here's a question for all of you:
Do any of you feel annoyed when you get unexpected company while you're out working in the garden, and you have to stop and entertain them? (I'm talking about people who don't share your love of gardening.)

Julie

"Who remembers Roger?"
I remember & have met Roger and also Jim (I forget his last name) who was on the original Victory Gardener. We have both their autographs which I have lost. Until the last year or so ago, Roger did the tools column in Horticulture Magazine & I still see his work around in print every so often.
I am one of the last no cable holdouts. I'm not paying for TV until the commercials go away.
Regardless, the grass started greening up today & Spring is popping out all over. No time for TV for awhile.

I'm not paying for TV until the commercials go away.

With DVRs they kind of have gone away. They are still there, but you just press your 30 second skip button 6-10 times and the commercials are gone.

I do remember Roger. I thought he was great. And then there was the lady who did the cooking. I really miss the old 'Victory Garden' show. I don't remember Jim though, that was before I started watching it.
Julie, if someone should stop over while I'm doing things in the garden, they always get a tour of the gardens before I stop, whether they want to or not. LOL! If they don't like the tours, then they'd better call before they come. I have to admit, even if someone comes over unannounced, and they love gardening like I do, I do get annoyed. I don't get to spend a lot of time in gardens, so I value every minute.

Kat

A gardeners diary will be on thursday am. I have my dvr set for it. I love this show and they are finally bringing it back. Barb

Bob, The original host for victory Garden was Jim Crockett.
I never saw him actually, but did see a few oldies with someone called Bob. (Thompson, maybe) Then came Roger Swain, who was always breathless, and that is when I started to watch the show. They had a southern garden and Lucinda Mays hosted those shows.

Who remembers Surprise Gardner with the insipid Susie Cuello? or that Gary Alan from Florida who spraypainted curves and always planted the same old plants?

I really liked Kathy Renwald (Gardeners Journal) and Erica Glasener (Gardeners Diary). Thanks for the reminder rosepetal, I will watch it tomorrow if our local channel carries it.

Even fron Marthas' Garden got dumped. I still see P.Allen Smith on Sat am. Used to really like City Gardner from England. And Ground Force, also from England.

Its amazing home many shows have come and gone. So very sad too. Now I am back to reading old Organic Gardening magazines that I'v kept all these years. Pondy

Yes, it has been a long winter if we are going to wax poetic on the good old days of gardening shows way back in the 90's ;-)

Those were some good ones mentioned, though. I also got a kick out of "Burke's Backyard" from Australia. And then they'd cycle different shows every 6 or 8 weeks throughout the winter. Shows like "Winter Gardening" with that guy and his attached greenhouse or another fellow in Iowa and a couple of others my mature memory can't recall at the moment.

tj

Jim Underwood Crockett was the original host of, what was then, "Crockett's Victory Garden". He had a small plot of land in the back of the Boston Station where it originated (WGBH, I think). He was more of a 'hands on' host, unlike today. He did everything, from tilling/soil prep, to seed sowing, to harvesting...no silly travelogues, no nasty recipes from the producer's wife. Just 1/2 hour of pure horticulture. And I believe he complied 4 books from his time on the series. "Crockett's Victory Garden Handbook", a book on indoor plants which I have, but the name escapes me at the moment, "Crockett's Vegetable Garden", And "Crockett's Flower Garden". All 4 are excellent, and the chapters are a month to month chronicle of how to grow with a special feature at the end of each month. I would recommend them to anyone. The man was awesome!

Dave
Milwaukee