Bitch fest

I’ve been part of the gardening trade/horticultural industry for about 25 years – yes, really, that long! And I’ve always been impressed about how friendly an industry it is. When you go to trade or flower shows or press days you usually bump into the same people – many are now old friends (others you try to avoid!) – and you have a good catch up, find out what they’re up to and generally have a good gossip about things - and try to find out about the latest rumours, or even start some. All in all, it’s good clean fun and even the bitching and gossiping is done in good spirits.

But now, all that seems to have changed. Or maybe there’s something in the air – or the water, or maybe it has all been a sham and the masks and gloves have finally come off.

I’ve been checking out numerous blogs and forums recently and on just about every one someone is saying something nasty about someone else, or the company they work for or just having a general moan about life/people/the industry in general. Maybe it’s the pressure of having to blog or put up posts regularly that’s to blame; what/who can I write about/take the mick out of today!

In no way am I in favour of the internet/blog police coming along with their big plodding feet and truncheons and putting a stop to all this – generally it brings a smile to my face (even when the work I do is the subject of some abuse), sometimes it can be very interesting and gives you an insight into people’s characters. And as Oscar Wilde once said: “The only thing worse than being talked about – is not being talked about”!

Some are just down right funny and are essential reading. Undoubtedly, the best of the bunch is Garden Monkey. No-one that I know of knows who he/she is as they blog anonymously – which adds to the fun. But I do know that the Garden Monkey police are on his tail and are digging around to try and find out who she/he really is; slowly, slowly catchee Monkey! Lots of names have been put forward – including mine; how I wish…! And, of course, there are lots of people trying to copy the Monkey, but none so far have come anywhere close.

If you’ve not looked at the blog then I can thoroughly recommend you go now. Now hopefully that will keep the doubters off my back and promote me to a friend of the Monkey so he doesn’t ‘talk’ about me. One thought: there is an English idiom “Speak to the organ grinder not the monkey”, so who pulls the Garden Monkey’s strings?