Posted on: December 13, 2017 | Written By: Everybody Gardens |
The Grumpy Gardener isn’t actually as grumpy as his name would suggest. Steve Bender is the garden editor for Southern Living magazine, but his gardening expertise extends beyond the Mason-Dixon line.
A better name might be the Honest Gardener because Bender says exactly what is on his mind … and that might not be what some gardeners want to hear. In an in-depth interview with Mother Nature News, Bender offered his advice philosophy.
“Sometimes they don’t want to hear the truth about something. But I’m going to tell it to you anyway because I want you to be successful,” he says. “And if you are doing something that is honestly killing your plant, I’m going to tell you to stop doing that! If you don’t want to take my advice, then just go ahead and kill the thing. That’s really where Grumpy comes from.”
Ultimately, Bender wants to give practical advice and make gardening fun. And his recently released book, “The Grumpy Gardener: An A to Z Guide from the Galaxy’s Most Irritable Green Thumb,” does just that.
“It’s geared towards my own garden experience and the experience of my readers,” Bender says in the interview. “I don’t put myself above them. If I make a mistake in the garden, I’m always going to tell the readers about it. That’s how you learn.”
For more on the Grumpy Gardener, check out his blog here: https://www.southernliving.com/garden/grumpy-gardener
And for even more gardening advice, make sure to check out all of Doug Oster’s articles on our site.