Subscriber Comments for
My Ten Commandments (Minus the Burning Bush)

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COMMENT 71478	2010-04-24 04:18 PM
Thank you Billy. I love your commandments. I live in a condominium in Santa Barbara which used to be known for it's spectacular grounds. In the last few years the grounds have been systematically hacked, stripped, pruned, poisoned,tortured ( you don't want to see what they have done to the Magnolias Jasmine,Rhaphiolepis,Roses,and even the sturdy Geraniums, which are hard to kill in this climate.) and practically destroyed by every imaginable loud, buzzing, strident piece of machinery, namely that oxymoron, " the garden tool". I was born and brought up in England. I remember well the gentle "swoosh" of the broom and the soothing scratch of the rake,in the hands of our gardener,who miraculously produced thick herbacous borders and a wonderful landscape of twists and turns, bursting with seemingly casually placed plants. A big plus too were the many fruit trees and a vegetable garden to die for. All produced without any of those instruments of torture. I recall just a few tools, a pruning saw, a large digging fork and spade. and a lawn mower, but I know there were more in the garden shed. The big tall compost heap was an ongoing attraction to our dogs. As was the yearly delivery of the pig manure, which produced fits of ecstasy from dogs, and wails of despair from my mother when they dashed through the house after a good wallow in that gloriously aromatic pile! And of course I still imagine that wonderful aroma from a bonfire of Autumn leaves. Sigh.
SEEDLADY	2010-04-25 04:12 PM
yes, much of what is done is in the name of pruning a crime, I agree. But, well...your writing style is a bit crude. I just don't want to read that something "sucks". (cringe) Can you be a bit more descriptive without being crude? You're an entertaining writer with lots of good insights. This is a topic that has gone mostly unwritten (or -spoken) about for too long. I don't think you have to be crude to be entertaining or to sound stylish. Good luck with your project.
COMMENT 71925	2010-04-26 06:01 PM
(I corrected my login info Billy, and can now leave comments, here's my first, the one I sent to you via Facebook) Pretty good stuff. But I'd tone down the attack on folks who use power tools. I have a big yard, and although I'd love to turn it into a wildflower meadow and cut back on cutting grass, I like a nice lawn so I own a riding mower and dedicate a fair amount of time to a love/hate relationship with mowing. I don't use chemicals in the garden, but do use gas in the mowers. I'm a sinner, not a saint.
FEARLESS-IN-SB	2010-04-26 06:50 PM
Billy, I love your writing and think a book of yours would have a wide audience. I dont' mind you using the word "sucks," but I do think your tone could be a little less "Fox News", a little less rant, and a little more lighthearted insight. If your lovely wife, on your first date together, held you to the same standards as you hold us well-meaning but ham-handed home-gardeners, you would have never gotten that first kiss!
GREENTOO	2010-05-01 03:08 PM
Billy, I love your spunky take on garden subjects and it is exciting that you are thinking about writing a book. If your aim is to reach as wide an audience as possible, a small adjustment of language may be necessary. Approach it as if you're in an academic mode, (Adult Ed, Botanic Garden, etc.), clear on philosophy but somewhat more precise and subtle in venom delivery. Write on!

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