Garden Organic to Close Yalding site.

[TonyF]

Ok - can I show my ignorance please? I am an RHS member, I pay my subs each year and visit Wisley and various other gardens when I can. I have been to Yalding several times and generally enjoyed the garden.

My question is this - if GO are in trouble why is it bad if the RHS pick up the garden - the garden would thrive and become the attraction that GO should have made it - and possibly the car park might not resemble a mad potholing convention, but that is another matter - What is inherently wrong with the RHS?

I used to belong to the RHS and I have similar doubts about their ethos and the new GO ethos - and it was confirmed by the recent Titchmarsh series. The Garden (mag) is mainly full of very expensive, high ends adverts aimed at the wealthy, way beyond the means of many practical hand-on gardeners. And whilst you may get some good ideas from Wisley and their other gardens, even buying their plants and shop stuff is top price and quite often, kitchly gardening.

The whole organisation is run like a Victorian gentleman/women's club, evidenced by the people who were highlighted in the series, broadly patronising and absolutely in love with regimented gardens of a certain style and nature and wholly out of touch with the reality of inner-city and 'real life'. I've just stood down as a trustee of a charity which is run in exactly thre same way by many people that the RHS and my charity have in commone, mainly because they're resitant to change and reallt don't understand the real world - **** happens, things aren't always regimented especially gardens, gaps occur in veg beds but they don't seem to want to see that.

Even the trainees allotments were not allowed any errors in presentation or style, according to their tutors - posh gardening it may be, frequently hand-on daily gardening it doesn't seem to be.

[Sue]

Hi
~I got the letter today, and yes it is rather alarming. I'm not going to respond, it just doesn't seem to be about "grass roots" but about organic PR.
All rather worrying and surely they can't rake in that much money doing this?
Sue

[Tracey]

I would like to be able to focus my support on the heritage seed library part of their organisation. It would be a real loss if it closed. I don’t know of any others that, on a big scale, are doing the good deed of keeping our heritage seeds alive.

[pigletwillie]

The HSL dont have refridgerated storage systems and a lot of the work is undertaken by volunteers. As they say they have 20k members all paying £20 then the HSL itself rakes in about £400k, which must generate a huge surplus.

As Tony says they are moving away from what they were to some glossy RHS wannabes. The begging letter was replied to via email stating as much andwas shredded where it will at least do some good in my compost bin.

[TPeers]

I used to belong to the RHS and I have similar doubts about their ethos and the new GO ethos - and it was confirmed by the recent Titchmarsh series. The Garden (mag) is mainly full of very expensive, high ends adverts aimed at the wealthy, way beyond the means of many practical hand-on gardeners. And whilst you may get some good ideas from Wisley and their other gardens, even buying their plants and shop stuff is top price and quite often, kitchly gardening.

The whole organisation is run like a Victorian gentleman/women's club, evidenced by the people who were highlighted in the series, broadly patronising and absolutely in love with regimented gardens of a certain style and nature and wholly out of touch with the reality of inner-city and 'real life'. I've just stood down as a trustee of a charity which is run in exactly thre same way by many people that the RHS and my charity have in commone, mainly because they're resitant to change and reallt don't understand the real world - **** happens, things aren't always regimented especially gardens, gaps occur in veg beds but they don't seem to want to see that.

Even the trainees allotments were not allowed any errors in presentation or style, according to their tutors - posh gardening it may be, frequently hand-on daily gardening it doesn't seem to be.

Ok, I can accept that point of view. However the RHS is there to show excellence, it is a level for people to aspire to and in order to maintain that level there must be some ridgidity of form to use as a guide line for that excellence.

I agree that it would be nice if they accepted that we poor mortals are unlikely to achieve their standard and would show their (inevitable) faliures but as that might be seen to detract from the overall standard I can understand why they don't.

I suppose that makes me too 'Surrey' for words but I don't have a problem with the way these things are organised, almost every hobby/activity has its club, its achievers and those who aspire to the heights as well as those of us content to just plug on doing the best we can while admiring the achievements of those around us.

I'm assuming that while you dissagree with the management style that you do like their gardens?

Terry

[muckdiva]

I didn't respond to the begging letter, as I agree, there were faint alarm bells ringing. However, TPeers, you are right; I do love the gardens, and things like 'The Vegetable Kingdom' exhibition at Ryton, which is great for encouraging kids IMO.

I suppose regarding the magazine GO probably feel readers will think they are getting more value for money if they receive a glossy publication rather than a black and white newsletter (like you get with HSL). But in the end, what's important is the content. I actually read the HSL newsletter with more interest than the magazine (I shouldn't say that really, being in publishing myself! )

[bluemoon]

Talking of glossy mags and mail shots, my mum was a supporter of the British Red Cross for years, but when she retired she obviously didn't have the disposable income that she had before, she carried on with her monthly donation, but eventually phoned to ask them to stop the mail shots as she could no longer manage the extra donations that were being asked for with increasing frequency. The mail kept coming and eventually she stopped her monthly donation too. As she said, by this constant mailing they were wasting her money. These were not quick letters either, but glossy, well produced parcels of pleas and 'real-life stories'. And they were produced so fast you'd almost believe they'd known about a disaster months before it happened. The whole thing was counter productive, they alienated, then lost a life-long supporter and by the sounds of it GO are heading the same way.

I have no experience of the RHS, except to say that when a veg carries the RHS award of garden merit, it is wise to avoid it like the plague. I don't know what the criteria are for winning this award, but the flavour of the veg in question must be well down the list.

[Protea]

Interestingly (and what most of you probably don't know) is that GO (Ryton) have a conferencing facility and trials gardens that are used by the 'trade'. I've been to a few conferences/seminars there and to an organic potato day for farmers and i would hazard a guess that it isn't cheap to hire! With a good facility like that they should be raking it in - they're mis-managing it if they're not.

I'm not a member and never intend to be so haven't seen the letters, but it would be a great loss if either site closed.

[john.tate@paytontate.com]

In a blatant bit of self-promotion; may I mention our website

Save Yalding Organic Gardens

Things 'may' not be as bad as originally thought - though there are still many questions that need answering, about GO's handling of the whole affair!

Many thanks...

[JohnTate]

In a blatant bit of self-promotion; may I mention our website

Save Yalding Organic Gardens

Things 'may' not be as bad as originally thought - though there are still many questions that need answering, about GO's handling of the whole affair!

Many thanks...

Apologies for quoting my own last post - under my former identity (Why am I banned? It was meant to be deleted??) - but there is news on the reopening of Yalding on the 'new' version of our website at Yalding Organic Gardens.info where we have the new operator (Maro Food)'s Press Release, a link to their website, and various other bits and pieces.

Many thanks,

John