Do you ever watch the yard makeover shows on TV? I’m referring to the shows that feature homeowners who are tired of their current landscape designs, but who receive help from the pros to pull off stunning yard makeovers. The audience is shown the before and after pictures and the work that goes on in between. Perhaps you’ve occasionally had the same impression that I sometimes have in viewing such TV yard makeovers: namely, that even the “before” looked pretty darn good! Alas, if you have money to blow, I suppose there’s always room for improvement.
Such, however, is not the impression I get in viewing one yard makeover show: "Garden Police." In fact, the whole premise of the show is that the featured yards start out ugly -- so ugly as to qualify as crimes against the neighborhood. On "Garden Police," yard makeovers aren't optional: they're obligatory, and they're enforced by the long arm of the law!
But just who are the horticultural cops entrusted with keeping our neighborhoods safe from landscaping crimes? They are Shirley Bovshow and Michael Glassman, landscape designers. And you can watch them bust unsuspecting homeowners every Thursday at 8 PM (PT) on the Discovery Home Channel.
This show is about nothing if not yard makeovers with an attitude. It's a real gardening show (i.e., you'll learn how to install plants, etc. as you would on any other gardening show), but its crime motif adds entertainment value. The cops get into the homeowners' faces and mince no words, informing them that their yards are crime scenes and treating them like criminals.
Whereas other yard makeover shows ease into their introductions with soothing music, "Garden Police" hits the ground running. For dramatic effect, we are greeted with sirens blaring and a loudspeaker's insistent "Stop in the name of the law!" conveying a sense of urgency. The cops drive up to the crime scene and exit their cruiser, badges flashing in the sun. Only their steely cool sunglasses keep us from seeing the gleam in their eyes as they cry, "Lets go bust 'em!"
After the crime scene is cordoned off with police tape, the unsuspecting homeowners are ordered, "Come outside!" and they are issued a "citation." And of course, no crime story is complete without mugshots and crime scene photos. As the suspects are questioned, we are also treated to interviews conducted with neighbors. The neighbors are a critical factor in the case, in fact, since it is they who ratted out the "perpetrators" (i.e., the homeowners).
After the "violations" have been cited, it's time to get on with the yard makeover. But when our "Dragnet" team fully realizes the extent of the ugliness that lies before them, they call for "backup" in the form of a "Green Team" of landscapers. The perpetrators are forced to work, too, as part of their "sentence." Michael bosses them around with glee and doesn't tolerate any lip.
The crime stories on "Garden Police" have a happy ending. When the yard makeovers are complete, the citations are torn up. All things considered, I'd say the perpetrators get off pretty easy!
Besides the entertainment value, "Garden Police" has much information to offer about landscaping. Here's what I like about Shirley and Michael's yard makeovers on an informative level:
- Written notes appear on the screen as learning aids for the audience.
- Honest disagreements occur between the designers.
- "Garden Police" doesn't try to cover too much territory all at once.
I'll conclude by elaborating on each of these points.
As a yard makeover progresses on the show, a box called the "Garden Police Blotter" periodically pops up on the screen, a written summary to help the audience grasp what is being done. Similarly, the "411" notes offer viewers handy tips to read on their TV screens. Other yard makeover shows could be improved by employing these devices: I'm a visually-oriented person, and written notes would provide a refreshing break from hearing a host drone on and on.
Shirley and Michael's occasional disagreements over design are amusing; but more importantly, they add an element of realism (how often in real life would two designers agree on every part of a yard makeover, from start to finish?). The way I figure it, I get 2 ideas for the price of one when I hear them take opposing stances.
Finally, I like the fact that the individual tasks that comprise their yard makeovers are presented so as to be easily digestible for the audience. By contrast, in some yard makeover shows there's so much going on that the viewer really doesn't learn much specific information about anything. Waterfalls, patios, lawns, driveways...come on, a whole show could be devoted to instructing an audience on any one of those features! I applaud "Garden Police" for not trying to do too much in a single episode. After all, less can be more: any good designer should know that.
Shirley's site has a pictorial chronicle of each episode and related information.
