10/01/2007

Excerpt from an e-mail

My BFF Kirsten just wrote:
"Did you know Dat is featured on page 20 of the new Garden Design? I opened up the new issue and he's there looking like a super model with the article 'I love this plant: Bell Reed'. Too funny :)"

That made me laugh out loud. Dat is my friend who works at Living Green. He functions at the outer limits of Super-Fabulous and I'm in no way surprised to hear he's turning up in the pages of Garden Design.

I don't subscribe to Garden Design (but I recently decided I want to), so I'll have to pick it up tomorrow. And then call Dat and invite him over for a drink. (My favorite drink right now: equal parts coconut rum, pineapple chunks with juice, cranberry juice, in that order, over ice, not mixed.)

Anyhow, I thought maybe they'd have Dat online so I could link. Well, it turns out I Love This Plant is a regular feature, but they're still running last month's feature, Whitfeldia elongata. Or maybe it's this month's feature, and Dat was really last month. Publishing is mysterious to me; everything seems to come out several months ahead of time. So you get the December issue in October. Why not ship the October issue in October?

Well, anyhow, Garden Design also has a readers poll up on the homepage: "The [American] city with the best exterior design is..."

San Francisco is beating L.A. three-to-one. Chicago is coming in second. Garden blogger capital of the known universe Austin, TX is tied with Boston, MA for second to last. Last is St. Louis. (Note to self: Is it always St. Louis? Never Saint Louis?)

Also, you can subscribe online by just signing up. Nice. And it's only $12 a year. Even if I hate it, I can deal with $12/year.

14 comments:

Christopher C. NC said...

Dat certainly caught my eye in the October/November issue of Garden Design more so than the Cannomois virgata he was promoting.

I am not sure why it irritates me when particular plants or groups of plants get "Fashionable". Mr. Hinkley was promoting the Restios in the August/September issue of Horticulture which for some reason arrived in the mail after the Oct/Nov issue of Horticulture.

The Agaves are also now in vogue and being highly promoted. I mean they are both fine sculptural garden worthy plants and deserve the attention. I may need to figure out what bugs me about plant trendiness ... or not.

And people always complain that garden publications are east coast centric.

chuck b. said...

*I* complain that garden publications (and blogs) are east coast centric. I'm happy to see some west coast revenge. Although I'm sorry it's bringing you down (if that's what's bringing you down).

Restios are long overdue for better press.

I think plant trendiness is fun, and not to be taken seriously. Fun equals not serious. For example, wouldn't it be great if Carol's Cereus got trendy? Suddenly, everyone has to have a Night-blooming cereus.

Must go get Garden Design at lunch. My imagination is reeling...

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

Dat guy is HOT.


The only thing that irked me about HOT DAT's blurb in the magazine is that he felt inclined to name drop Marcia Donahue's garden.
Like this plant , Cannomois, has been around and hotly coveted by many gardeners in the S.F. bay area and is planted many gardens, especially those who frequent the plant sales at Martin Gramtham, ( the bay area main propagator of this stock plant ) .

Anonymous said...

Marcia Donahue once came by my tiny garden when I was a very young gardener and picked it apart mercilessly. She was not nice, and if I wasn't such a bitch myself, I might have quit gardening right then and there!
I used to write for Garden Design! I wish it came out every month the way it used to - I think that may be one of the confusions ... they publish it 10 times a year.
I haven't seen Dat, but if everyone says he's hot and fabulous, I like him.
And I know I'd LOVE that drink you describe ...

chuck b. said...

Interesting comments, you two.

lisa said...

I want to see the hot guy! Is there a picture of him somewhere? What's his real name?

Anonymous said...

anyone help suggest where to check out these nice bell reeds??? Thanks...

Anonymous said...

anyone know where to check out these nice bell reeds? Thanks...

chuck b. said...

Are you in the Bay Area? I would check Reagan's Nursery in Newark.

Anonymous said...

Yes...I am in east bay...thanks for the info...I googled for Reagan's Nursery, Newark, Ca and didn't find any relevant info...can you share the address or phone #? Thx..

chuck b. said...

http://www.regannursery.com/

Anonymous said...

Thanks...I checked the nursery and good selection of Japanese maples but didn't have the luck to check out the bell reeds there...asked the folks working there...they were not aware they had one there...anywhere else???

I bought some seeds from seedhunt and want to see if there is any instruction or tips on cannomois gemination...thanks...

Anonymous said...

What's the secret on germinating jacaranda seeds?
I would love to get a reliable recipe, please share?

chuck b. said...

If I did anything to condition the Jacaranda seeds, it was just to drop them in to near-boiling water, which I then allowed to cool overnight before sowing in wet peat. That's all I ever do to hard-coated seeds. Good luck.