About
Greetings, visitors, readers, and subscribers. Welcome to The Renaissance Garden Guy. John G. Stamos here. I am The Renaissance Garden Guy. Sort of…
“Sort of?” What does that even mean? Well, it’s like this: I’m still the creative, organizational, curatorial, editorial, and entrepreneurial impetus behind this publication – so, in short, I’m still The RGG’s publisher. And I also still write stuff that appears here. But things have changed here in RGG Land (for the better, naturally), and the “sort of” comment is in keeping with those changes. What are the changes? I’m glad you asked…
For one thing, in the coming weeks and months, you’ll find written works here from an expanding group of brilliant guest writers and from brilliant regular contributing writers, as well. As a result of this happy influx of excellent talent and correspondingly excellent written material, you hopefully won’t have to read so much of the stuff that I write. So, “Yay!” Right?
For another thing, as a direct result of the addition to and diversification of The RGG’s writing talent, there are now two more excellent topical categories featured here. The Natural World and Earthly Thoughts now join The Renaissance Garden Guy’s original 16 categories. The Natural World will include fascinating and entertaining pieces concerning our planet’s wildly diverse population of organisms and microorganisms, as well as its geology, topography, and its own relationship with the solar system and the universe at large – in short, amazing relatable science. Earthly Thoughts exists as a repository for essays, views, opinions, stories, recollections, commentary, and more, all about the citizens of the world and how we all get along, or how we don’t. In short, it’s people, baby, and the things we do and the things we think and the things we say.
So, by now, you’ve probably caught the drift that The Renaissance Garden Guy is no longer by and about just one, lone guy. Bingo. The publication has grown, and continues to do so at an increasing rate. In terms of the excellent content featured here, and in terms of those who supply it, The RGG’s ranks are swelling.
Despite these new developments, however, some key RGG elements remain unchanged. The activity of gardening continues as the publication’s underlying and unifying theme. The florid, graceful, organic beauty of the plant world often finds itself as the central inspiration for the fine, decorative, literary, and performing arts, and for architecture and interior design. And parallels between the beauty of flowers and foliage and how any number of individual human lives are lived are inescapable. Gardens, therefore, and the things that grow and live there, provide the perfect backdrop, and thematic driveshaft of The Renaissance Garden Guy. But remember, it still ain’t all about gardening here. The “renaissance” and “guy” parts of the publication’s title still reference the diverse material you’ll find in The RGG. The fine and decorative arts, books and literature, creative writing (essays, short stories, poetry, and more), construction, music, film, and, of course, gardening and garden design, plus much, much more continue as The RGG’s topical mainstays.
And my own personal gardening methodology of “learn by doing” (actually, it’s more like “learn by killing”) continues, and it informs my garden writing with hard-won experience and knowledge. I’ve spent a lot of time and I’ve dropped a lot of dough on the fine art of gardening and the way it goes down on my own land. I know what I know, and I know what I don’t. So, when I write about something that’s growing in my garden, you’ll get the full-on 411, and you won’t get any bullshit. The paths that lead to your own gardening triumphs will be paved with cautionary tales of the mistakes I’ve made and have learned to never repeat. You can bet on that, kiddos.
And, of course, you’ll be reading articles by some remarkably talented legitimate gardening pros and experts here in The RGG. So, yeah, as part of that incoming wave of excellent writing talent I’ve been telling you about, there will very definitely be brilliant and highly-skilled botanically-oriented brains right here for the picking.
Finally, with respect to the things that are staying put here in The RGG, Sights and Sounds, and its 8 audiovisual-centric categories (including The Renaissance Garden Guy Podcast), are still right where they’ve always been, ready to satisfy any viewing and/or listening predilections you may be harboring. And The Renaissance Garden Guy Photo Gallery, with its 19 individual image galleries, remains in situ, but continues to grow and evolve with the addition of new photos on a continual basis.
And that, girls and boys, I think just about sums it up. You’ve now got the skinny on the new and improved RGG. New talent, new material, new categories of reading material, and me, in what might be considered slightly diluted form. What’s not to love?
Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
John G. Stamos
Publisher