Curb appeal in Buffalo
My front garden photo has the subhead, "Create vertical interest" and mentioned how some gardens use climbers for vertical interest, but mine uses trailing vines for the same effect - leading to cone-shaped baskets, down to window boxes on the railings.
Garden Gate magazine has been to Buffalo twice collecting photos and stories from gardens throughout the area. Most shots are used as "stock" photos to illustrate garden befores & afters, reader tips, weed identification, Q&As, test garden notes, design trends, and plant education. So you never know when they'll pull a photo and use it. The photos appear in Garden Gate, or any number of their specialty publications.
Often while looking through Garden Gate I'll see a photo that looks like a garden I know, and usualy it's something shot in Buffalo. There could be more Buffalo area photos in the magazine, but if I'm not familiar with the garden, I would not know it's Buffalo.
I enjoy Garden Gate, it's a very approachable guide to garden design, pants, and plant care, with great features including new plant introductions, an illustrated feature showing three ways to design the same garden, or plants that are good choices for different purposes - this month it's Allan Armitage's top 10 perennial picks (I have to get my hands on the new red "Georgia Peach" coral bells).
My only beef with the magazine is that photos are not attributed. It makes the photos no good for my marketing & PR purposes. Visit Buffalo Niagara, our convention & visitors bureau, usually tracks all published media, but cannot count this among our national press coverage because it does not mention Buffalo.
Not only that, but because they don't publish the city, or region of the country a photo is taken in - it's hard to tell if what is growing in the photo can be grown in your own neck of the woods! It doesn't seem to be a great benefit for the gardeners reading the magazine. They should at least be attributing the photos to a gardening zone!
All that aside, I'm amazed and pleased that they found some "curb appeal" lessons from my garden. It's not like I set out to make conscious decisions with what I do. I just keep doing similar things each year, learning a little bit more each year as to what works and doesn't work.
Have you asked Garden Gate to add a garden credit? I an surprised they can use someone's garden without at least a credit and a release from the owner.
ReplyDeleteBut you must be pleased to see your efforts being lauded in a national magazine! Kudos for your curb appeal.
ReplyDeleteI like Garden Gate too, and yours are valid points. I need to look through mine again, knowing your garden is in it!! Glad Buffalo Garden Walk is noticed.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1,
ReplyDeleteMy garden was not photographed for a feature story for Garden Gate. I'm sure if they shot my backyard, or specific items in the back yard, there'd be some sort of a release to be signed. I remember signing multiple forms and releases when I had a photo of my garden that I shot, used in "Fine Gardening" magazine. I tried to give away my first born, but editor Steve Aitken apparently had enough children already. I do know, as an ad agency art director, that has worked with photographers for nearly 30 years, that it is legal and acceptable to photograph someone's home from the street without permissions, and that the ownership of the copyrighted photo belongs to the photographer, unless he is employed by, or on assignment for a publication or other firm.
Anonymous 2,
I was pleased to see my house in a magazine. It did take me by surprise.
Janet,
Garden Walk Buffalo is noticed - but not credited!!!!