ego - portrait by Rob
I first noticed garden lensman and author Rob Cardillo through his message to the Garden Writers Listserv on the subject of website . lector know I ’ve been ranting and rabbit on overtime lately about site , so here comes another ( rave , that is ) . His niftyprofessional photography sitedoes everything it need to do , and well , with plenty of middle candy for the frustrated gardener in winter . ( Professionally plan by theQDesign Shopfor $ 1,200 . ) Just recently he ’s create a do - it - yourself site to help promote his new book ( with Adam Levine),Great Gardens of the Philadelphia Region – this one only costs $ 5 a month and was quick+easy to produce usingHomestead .
Then I readRob ’s bioand plant out that his picture have been published like everywhere – Organic Gardening , more books – and he ’s a muckety - gook in the Garden Writers Association ( past Director for the Mid - Atlantic region , past president of its Awards Committee ) and the venerable Pennsylvania Hort Society . So I decided to enquire Rob for an audience and because he ’s A-one - favorable and a diehard gardening enthusiast , he agreed .
Self-portrait by Rob
Philadelphia contract Gardening SeriouslyFounded in 1827 , thePennsylvania Horticultural Societydoesn’t allow history stand up in the way of keeping up with the multiplication . Today it bosom its traditional phallus , the Main Line Philadelphians ( the mover and shaker behind the amazingPhiladelphia Flower Show)andcommunity gardeners and activists of all sorts . Very coolheaded . I was particularly impressed with theirPhiladelphia Greenprogram , which has take in over enough empty stack to make a difference in the metropolis and is now a model for garden as a putz for urban revitalization . perchance there ’s a DC Green in our future .
verbalise of Philadelphia , if you ’re going to the Flower Show ( March 4 - 11 ) , we ’re looking for a stringer to cover on it for us . The pay ’s lousy but think of the resume - enhance “ Guest blogger for GardenRant . ”
Bringing the Garden Writers Association into the 21st CenturyRecently theGWA’sears were burning as listserv member ranted ( mostly ) about what it ’s doing and not doing for its member for their $ 85 annual dues . Sure , members attending GWA ’s regional and national conferences have a grand old clock time networking with each other , and I assure no complaints about the conferences beyond some predictable quibbling over details like hotel selection . But about GWA ’s annual commission of a resume of trends in horticulture ? Some complaints about its utility and hint that the money could be best spent . ditto mark their dead - tree and snail - post newssheet . So let ’s contemplate how that due income might be better spend .
Well , what ’s a professional affiliation for ? part so phallus can touch and relish some camaraderie ( and who needs it more than writer , after all ? ) But deal of members are now suggesting GWA rivet its efforts onhelping them get workthrough things like line of work banks , andhelping them get more moneyby negociate better contract terminal figure between publishing and freelancers . Our own Amy offered a long and sensible lean of avail that the GWA might bid and in response , she was told to offer and make it hap . Ya fuck , in her plain prison term .
So as a GWA insider , what ’s Rob ’s take on all this ? He jazz GWA ( “ It ’s one of the best networking organizations of gardening communication ” ) and suggest that members who want to see it revitalize “ get involved . ” Well , as frustrating as that answer may be , I know from my own experiences with organization that the people who do the work generally get to find out what happens and how , so he ’s credibly right . But damn , ca n’t we just take amember surveyand see the organisation reply to the results ?
On Promoting BooksIf schlepping across the U.S. in mid - winter to elevate a book is n’t your estimation of the good life story , go local , or in the case ofGreat Gardens of the Philadelphia Region , regional . It reach promotion a snap . Of naturally , it helps if your region , like the Philly area , is at the top of gardening ’s nutrient range of mountains . Garden - goer here in D.C. are naturally covetous ( oh , to be able to drink down in on Chanticleer or Longwood whenever we find the urge ) but feel lucky just to have Philly within sidereal day - tripper range . So I solicit Rob for a review copy of the Bible , he have commiseration on me , and proofreader can bear some regional garden porno here soon .
Why do n’t Gardenblog photo wait like These?Okay , we ’re not professionals and Rob need n’t concern about challenger from us , but even amateurs are docile , at least in theory . So Rob , any tips for us ?
