Digging on TV
April 19, 2008
My garden was featured on “Central Texas Gardener” today. If you’d like to view my segment of the TV show, about 8 minutes long, you can see it on YouTube.
Digging, this blog, is showcased a good deal, and if you look carefully you’ll also see a few screen shots of comments by other bloggers (let me know if you recognize yourself).
If any new readers find their way here via the show, welcome! I hope you enjoy your virtual visit to my central Austin garden and will come back again soon.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Fantastic! Great job by you and by CTG. I love the way that they alternated between vid of you and still shots, and lots of screenshots of your blog all woven together with the over-narration. “Layered for excitement in every season” indeed!
Well done, Pam. Well done!
Thank you, MSS. And thanks for being one of my early influences in garden blogging. Your site got a screenshot on the show too. —Pam
Congrats Pam for being on tv. What a lovely segment on your garden. It really gives the feeling you are just like all other gardeners who has issues and found things to work for you. I always feel like everyone is so supernatural with their gardening ventures. It’s nice to hear that others make mistakes and change things and all that newbie stuff that I’m going through. I liked seeing you garden in video besides pictures and of course seeing you and hearing your words.
Thanks, Priscilla. I am just like all other gardeners, of course, who have learned through trial and error (and lots of design books). I know what you mean though—it’s easy to think that someone has, as you say, “supernatural” gardening abilities when you see only their best garden moments on their blogs. But everyone becomes a gardener the same way—by making mistakes and trying again. Luckily, trying again means more fun in the garden. —Pam
What a beautiful segment! You’ve such a lovely place and you spoke so well for all the garden bloggers. Wonderful!!
Thanks, Nancy. I’m glad the producer devoted so much time on the segment to the subject of garden blogging. Blogging has been my ticket to meeting so many other wonderful gardeners. —Pam
AAck – I was gardening at 1 and at 4, but I tuned in late to the 9:00 show and am hoping I haven’t missed it!
Don’t worry. It’s out there on the blogosphere now, Diana. —Pam
Pam, that was wonderful! You did a great job, your garden looked amazing, and like MSS wrote, they did a great of blending in video and still pictures of your garden and your blog. Yes, I did recognize some of those comments and I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit “Green Hall” in person!
Thank you, Carol. I’m sure you noticed that one of the featured comments is yours! —Pam
Oh, Pam, what a wonderful tribute to you and your knowledge and garden! Very lovely! Well done! Congratulations. You must be very proud, as you should be!
Thanks, Kathryn. I’m feeling relieved, actually, that I didn’t sound like a dork. 😉 And I am very pleased at how the producer put it all together. She did a wonderful job. —Pam
What fun. I loved being able to tour the garden. It was just like we were having a chat.
I’m glad it felt that way to you, Jean Marie. Leaving comments can feel that way too, so thanks for so often reading and commenting! —Pam
great job pam! that must have been a lot of fun. you’re a natural on camera. and, of course, your beautiful garden was once again outstanding. it was great to see it on video.
irena
Thank you, Irena. It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad my nervousness didn’t show on camera. Linda, the producer, was a wonderful interviewer and a calming influence. —Pam
That was a great segment, Pam. I agree with Irena , you are a natural!
Thanks, Robin. I appreciate it. —Pam
Kudos to you! Your garden is beautiful!
Many thanks, Nancy. —Pam
Congratulations Pam. How cool to be featured on a TV segment. A real garden with a real gardener, not one of those HGTV instant makeover jobs. Now I will pray to the computer gods and see if I have the speed to actually watch it.
Thanks, Christopher. I can certainly vouch for the fact that mine was not an instant makeover. And I hope the computer gods smiled upon you. —Pam
Just watched the show I had DVR’ed. Very nice! What I liked about your segment was that with your blog photos we really got a clear idea of what your whole garden looked like. Sometimes on those garden segments the focus is on particular plants, and it’s hard to get an overview of the garden.
So when will your Emmy arrive?
Ha! Thanks for your comments, Vertie. I’m happy that they used so many photos from my blog to show my garden in other seasons and from other vantage points. The light that morning wasn’t great—they could hardly shoot the front garden because of the strong backlighting, and the back garden was looking kind of faded in late fall. So the photos showed it off to better advantage. —Pam
Pam, I just watched it. How beautiful it was. The grass moving in the breeze and my favorite feature of your garden (the birdbath with the green beach glass) was prominent throughout the broadcast. You sounded so serene, and I know that interviews can be rattling.~~Dee
Thank you, Dee. That Gulf muhly grass did look pretty, didn’t it? It’s such a standout in the fall garden. I looked calmer than I felt, but then again, the producer made it easy. She has a calm and friendly interviewing style. —Pam
Very nice segment Pam. One of the best I have seen, for reasons others have mentioned above. As vertie and mss mentioned, the combination of your photos edited in with the video was very effective, and the addition of the screen shots from your blog was the icing on the cake. Your narrative was informative as well as interesting. Your delivery was natural and confident without being intimidating. Your garden was lovely, even in the fall – another tribute to your talent. Maybe you could share with us sometime how the segment was put together, at least from your point of view. For example, how much input did you have? Were you able to view any of it before the final editing was done?
Congratulations on your latest success!
Carol
Thank you for your kind comments, Carol. To answer your questions about how the segment was put together, not much and no. Linda, the producer, knew about my blog when she initially emailed to ask if I’d like to be on the show, and when they arrived for the interview she suggested getting some shots of me working on my blog. But after the interview she changed her mind and had the idea of interplaying their footage of the garden with my photos of it, which had the advantage of showing my garden in different seasons. A few months ago, she emailed to ask for photos illustrating the progression of the garden over time, like the patio installation and the early days of planting. That was about it from my end. She did a really nice job of tying together the blog angle and the theme of the show, “layering the garden for fall.” —Pam
Great segment, and you look gorgeous in your interview, Pam. Congratulations, they did a great job of showcasing the special features of your garden and the personal touches you have put into it.
Thanks, Bonnie. You are too kind. —Pam
I love your garden, it’s just gorgeous. It was inspiring to see how you have mixed natives with the ‘classics’ so beautifully, and as a gardener working with something close to a blank slate I very much appreciated your comments on the importance of hardscape. Thanks for sharing your garden with us!
I think you’re lucky to have a blank slate, Susannah. This way your garden can be just the way you want it. And as for hardscaping, it’s a whole lot easier to install it before you’ve planted anything than after the garden is established. Thanks for your comments! —Pam
I just watched your segement on utube. What fun to be able to hear what you sound like. Your garden does shine whether it is on utube, tv or your wonderful blog. Great job Pam.
I’m sure I sound very Southern to you, Lisa. 😉 Thanks for your kind comments. —Pam
This segment was so inspiring! To be able to “see” your garden and to hear you talk – it’s almost as if I’d been there! – You have a beautiful garden! Thanks for sharing it! /Katarina
Thank you, Katarina. How nice to know you “visited” all the way from Sweden. —Pam
Congrats on the TV appearance, the clematis tip, lovely pics and the bean dip recipe, too. Glad you had a great Spring Fling, I am traveling for the next month but I will regularly tune to your blog for my garden fix!
Thanks, Nicole. I always appreciate your comments. Happy traveling! —Pam
Great show, Pam! I was so disappointed that my local PBS station doesn’t carry Central Texas Gardener – thanks for sharing the link to KLRU. Everyone is right – you are a natural in front of the camera!
Thank you, Mary Beth. I’m surprised it doesn’t air in your area, actually. YouTube makes that less important though, as you can catch up on old episodes of the show that way. Just go to YouTube and search for “KLRU Central Texas Gardener.” —Pam
That’s great! It’s neat that you get showcased so much. I tried watching but my computer moves like a snail and makes it impossible to watch and enjoy any video via the internet. Love the gorgeous flower though.
Oh, that’s OK, Cinj. I’m just as happy for you to read me on my blog. Thanks so much for your comment and encouragement. —Pam
They did a very good job–really informative and I am sure inspirational to other gardeners in your area.
Thanks, Elizabeth. —Pam
I just watched the clip on YouTube (thank goodness for that!) and I really enjoyed it. Your garden is so beautiful and you didn’t seem nervous at all. I would have been a wreck. This is one of the few clips that I’ve watched on YouTube that didn’t start and stop all the time – it played right through. Whoever posted it knew what they were doing. I didn’t know that you were originally from N.C. and I learned a new word – “lawnette.” 🙂
Thanks, Phillip. I lived in Raleigh and worked in Chapel Hill for five years after college, and I grew up in the Piedmont of South Carolina, so the southeast is familiar ground to me. I made up the word “lawnette” to describe my tiny lawn and was tickled that the producer used it in her narration. —Pam
I just got around to watching this–it’s a wonderful portrait of your garden, and of the process you followed to make it what it is today. I’m so happy to have seen your garden in person at Spring Fling–it really is a special space.
Thank you, Brianna. I’m glad you were here during the Spring Fling too. I look forward to our next Austin garden bloggers get together. —Pam
I really enjoyed the youtube clip of your garden. I loved seeing the progress and evolvement of your work. I have started three gardens, now on my fourth. We learn so much by doing. I was really interested to see how you went from the familiar of the past to the natives of your region to now such an amazing blend of all. The last touches of agaves to your palette are wonderful. Lovely garden Pam. So glad I came by for a visit.
I’m so glad you did too! Thanks for your kind comments. I hope you have much joy working on your fourth garden. —Pam
Great job! I really enjoyed seeing you talk about your gardening journey!
Many thanks, Nina. —Pam
That was great! SO articulate. This week I’m being interviewed in my garden for the DC-area CBS affiliate; could you come by and answer the questions for me? Please?
Thanks, Susan. Having met you at Spring Fling, I know you’re going to be articulate and smart and photogenic on your interview. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. —Pam
That was outstanding! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks for the smilies, Chuck. —Pam
Pam, I’m so tickled to see you and your beautiful garden on TV…via YouTube! The segment was wonderfully done by an obviously talented group. All your hard work and creativity shone, and you seemed so relaxed and natural. It was like having a lovely stroll through your garden, and a nice chat with you (lovely to hear your voice!), and now I have a better sense of the garden as a whole. Well done!
Thanks, Kerri. So you could understand me through that Southern accent? 😉 —Pam