Scandalous goings-on in the garden

Return to the Perennials Forum | Post a Follow-Up

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by eric_oh 6a (My Page) on

Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 20:17

This story in Saturday's New York Times only peripherally relates to perennial gardening, but is so hilarious I had to share it.

Briefly, it's about the uproar created in a community garden on New York's Roosevelt Island, when the old guard was challenged by new leadership (don't miss the part about the strange noises at night in the garden).

Here is a link that might be useful: Digging up some real dirt

Follow-Up Postings:

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by diggerdee z6 CT (My Page) on
Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 22:21

Interesting! Kinda makes me happy I have my own little piece of land to garden, lol.

Thanks for sharing this! Passed it along to some fellow gardeners.

Dee

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by gardenweed_z6a N CT (My Page) on
Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 7:02

Enjoyed reading this but it reminded me why I don't "join" garden clubs. A friend belongs to a riding club and her tales of horror/strife/conflict are more than adequate to prevent any urge to contact my local garden club.

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by aachenelf z5 Mpls, MN (My Page) on
Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 7:04

Stuff like this makes me want to become a hermit when it comes to gardening endeavors. Although it didn't escalate to this level, I walked away from a community garden I helped to co-found when massive egos, power and control became the dominating themes. Putting up with that stuff just ain't worth it.

Kevin

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by docmom z5 MI (My Page) on
Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 9:10

And people wonder why politicians are so bad. Amazing what a little bit of power will do to some one. I think it's tragic. People who have to live in New York should have access to a peaceful spot to get their finger dirty and grow some delicious vegetables. So sad.

Martha

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by molie z6 CT (My Page) on
Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 13:07

True that power can corrupt in politics or in organizations, so I'm kind of in the camp that has "walked away" from such ego-infested groups. For some reason, garden clubs are often at the heap o' the pile when it comes to intrigues and fights. As Kevin, Gardenweed and others indicated, these do-good ordinations often end up doing-so-bad.

This article was doubly funny, to me, because my grandson attends a school on Roosevelt Island and I go there often. RI is a beautiful oasis in the center of the East River. I've been to that garden many times as I've taken walks before school let out. Who knew there was so much going on there? Next time I'll have to listen for illicit rustlings ;)
Molie

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by kato_b z6 NEPa (My Page) on
Mon, Apr 15, 13 at 15:31

I got a laugh out of it but it does seem to be the way of clubs... I've seen my favorite local non profit go down the toilet as someone with the big bucks has donated his way towards getting his daughter a job there. It's a shame to see a good thing polluted like that but you know how power goes! Needless to say I'm done volunteering there.

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by hostaholic2 zone 4 MN (My Page) on
Mon, Apr 15, 13 at 16:57

I got a chuckle out of it but I hardly think it typifies all clubs. I have been a member of our local garden club for about 18 years. In that time we've had one person drop out because of differences (we didn't plan enough fun entertainment) and we've lost some who have moved from the area, a couple who were dealing with health issues of their own or a family members. Maybe it's been sheer good luck but though we are not a huge club, it has been in existence for 73 continuous years. I understand that 3 or 4 dropped out before I joined due to changes in the meeting time ( going from daytime meetings to evenings) That's the only old guard vs new friction I'm aware of. That's not to say everyone always agrees with everyone else but to date we've manged to find compromises that everyone can live with. Of course we are NOT dealing with power over who gets what plot of ground. Here, pretty much everyone has their own gardens but give a fair amount of time to planting and maintaining a large bed at the county fairgrounds, beds at the local post office, and a large boulevard bed as well as pitching in to do things like help with moving or installing beds at a couple of senior living complexes, helping at the local hospice house and other things. It may be that the purpose the club has helps facilitate us in working towards compromise when needed.

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by campanula UK Cambridge (My Page) on
Tue, Apr 16, 13 at 6:53

Ho yes indeed - so very, very familiar.
Gardening on a public allotment (there are 300,000 such plots in the UK), this sort of behaviour is dreadfully common....which is why our site has forgone any association membership, leadership (presidential or otherwise) but just pays rent to the local council which has zero interest in allotment spats and disagreements . Afraid there have been a couple of Ms Ward's (we all know the type - those who crave power are the ones who should not be allowed to have it!) but they have been rudely ousted by a general air of anarchy. We do our own thing here (although other sites in the city have far different methods of interacting). Gardening raises high passions in the UK - we have had murders over hedges, giant vegetables, compost defilement, clematis wars, pumpkin stealing....but mostly, interlopers who start throwing their weight around. I expect Ms Ward will have a brief tenure since gardeners are nothing if not patient, cunning and tenacious.

RE: Scandalous goings-on in the garden

clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings

Posted by Auron22 6b (My Page) on
Tue, Apr 16, 13 at 8:06

This is really scary....I was considering joining a local garden club, but now i'm not so sure :( Although, I doubt anything this severe happens, since they just manage about 10 acres and no one in particular owns any of it.

Post a Follow-Up

Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum.

If you are a member, please log in.

If you aren't yet a member, join now!

Return to the Perennials Forum

Information about Posting

You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
We have a strict no-advertising policy!
If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.