E-mail Gardening Glenn and suggest he post his meanderings here before he makes a fool of himself again.

I'm not a TV news watcher unless there is a tornado in the area. But sounds like this guy needs help - he is frustrating some new gardeners out there.

Okay, right after posting this, I had to get it off my chest. I contacted Fox 4 news and sent them a message - rather long - about what I thought of Gardening Glenn. I mentioned in lack of expertise about the plants above, but also noted that when people call for gardening advice, how he automatically wants people to get out the big guns (pesticides, fungicides, etc.) to solve the problems rather than offer a safer alternative first. This guy is on there to promote products sold by the Home Depot - not to give good, solid gardening advice. I even went so far as to suggest they use the TAMU horticultural agents from Dallas and Tarrant Counties and even master gardeners - they could take turns each week. Okay, off my soapbox now. I feel better. ;-)

I watched it too, for the same reason you did, Denise. I agree with you that not all of those plants can be considered perennials here in this particular viewing area. That being said, terminology can be misleading. You probably already know this, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Perennials are plants that will live on indefinitely *in their ideal environment*. In other words their lifecycle is indefinite in length when in their native environment.

Annuals actually achieve their entire lifecycle in one growing season. So in other words, an actual annual is not a perennial anywhere. Even in their native areas, they will only come back from seed. It's the same with biennials. They complete their entire life cycle in two growing seasons and are not perennials anywhere in the world.

It can be a little misleading when the box stores use the word perennial when, in your climate it might actually not come back year after year. That doesn't make it an annual, it just means it's a perennial that is not hardy in your region.

I hope that made some kind of sense and sorry if it's old news to anyone :).

Kristi

I used to watch bits-n-peices of Garden Goon - I mean Glen, but I soon realized what he was doing too. I have had horrible issues with HD and will not shop there for any reason. I personally think the reason he pushes the annuals is because of course they die and it keeps you coming back. They are consumable and as long as those are the plants he pushes the @#!?*-HD has customers for life!
We need to call into viewers voice!!!

~Angie~
Shops at Lowes now

I get disgusted every time I see him on Channel 4 & turn to another channel.

I haven't seen Gardening Glen but that is typical of the big box stores in general. My problem is when they present segments like this that are probably mega buck infomercials, and present it as something OTHER than a commercial. Seems a bit deceptive to me when it's presented within the programming rather than as a commercial.

Well, my e-mail to Fox 4 got someone's attention. Here is the response I received back from them this morning.

Denise,

Appreciate you taking the time to write in and express your concerns about the gardening segment.

You make a lot of good points and I think some of these could be worked into future segments. Want to emphasize that Glen is not representing Home Depot. He sometimes buys plants there (not todayÂs) but we feel itÂs a strength that he is able to show plants and other gardening products that are readily available and utilizes a variety of sources. We would also consider common availability a positive of the plants he chose to display today. IÂm sure there are other plants he could have picked, but many other perennials are more difficult to obtain and display. If itÂs more difficult for us, hope you can understand why that may not be as useful to the audience.

Your point about IPM is well taken and I will make that suggestion to Glen personally. I agree he could do more to offer organic alternatives. While I will continue to work with him toward that goal, we also feature Howard Garrett and some other gardeners from time to time who are stronger in that arena. Neal Sperry also comes on the show as well and less frequently, some other gardeners, usually authors, who travel here for various reasons.

While IÂm absolutely sure there are a wealth of gardening experts around town, I hope you can appreciate our loyalty and respect for a regular guest whoÂs offered valuable advice to viewers now for the better part of a decade.

That said, IÂd welcome suggestions from any of the local horticulturists and would not be adverse to considering individual segments with them in the future.

Again, I appreciate your time and thoughtful response. Thanks for watching

Best,

Dana

"Glen is not representing Home Depot". Interesting, I wondered why he quit wearing the orange Home Depot apron when he's on there now. But I do remember just a few years ago he wore the apron every time.

I remember the apron too!
He could show perinial lantana, coneflowers, hollyhocks, hibiscus, and tons more that are all readily available at big box stores.

Yes, I remember him in the orange apron too. It looked like he came straight from the store with the plants or other gardening items in tow. I agree that there are many other perennials he could have shown that they sell there, but it doesn't look like he put much thought into his selection when it came to perennials.

It's funny how everyone assumes because he may offer Home Depot products, that he works there. I know Glen personally, and he DOES NOT work for home depot. Actually, in his spare time, he waits tables when he's not gardening. Do you think maybe the reason he pushes Home Depot Products is because he is contractually obligated to? Maybe they financially support the show? Once, I had a roommate with a large breed dog that had terrible fleas. They infected my cat and the carpet in my house. I asked Glen what I could do about it and he recommended a product that was safe for my carpet, pets and myself. Maybe if you actually listened to what he said, instead of attempting to nit pick everything he does, you might learn something.