ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 1996 TAG: 9604300052
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER AP TELEVISION WRITER
So how does your garden grow?
If your silver bells are tidily in a row and your tomatoes are to die for, fine. But perhaps, like many of us struggling weed warriors, you need a little guidance.
Before thrusting your hands into that rich, well-mulched back yard soil (and it IS well-mulched, right?), you might want to take a TV break and get acquainted with the bumper crop of shows devoted to gardening.
From PBS perennial ``The Victory Garden'' to syndicated Martha Stewart to regional programs to cable's Home & Garden Television, or HGTV, there's something for every gardener, whether casual or committed.
The young HGTV isn't on all cable systems, and you have to root around a bit for the syndicated or local shows - they tend to air during the day or on weekends - but you'll hit pay dirt if you find them.
Beginners can learn the basics of soil preparation; the ambitious can discover how to create an exotic water garden. There even are garden show tours for those who simply want to stop and smell the roses.
(OK, stop and view the TV roses; same philosophy.)
Gardening is, after all, very hot: One 1995 study found that 78 million adults have gone back to the land, spending $50 billion annually on gardening and related items - making it a leading leisure-time activity.
By contrast, golf generates $15 billion yearly, according to a May 1995 Forbes magazine article on the burgeoning business of gardening.
It makes sense that gardening shows would flourish on television, says Bruce Asakawa, veteran landscape architect and co-host of ``Over the Hedge,'' a new syndicated California program.
``TV is a visual medium, so we're able to show what we're talking about - diagnosing what's wrong with a problem plant, what an insect looks like, what the damage it causes looks like,'' Asakawa said.
Regional shows such as ``Over the Hedge,'' which plans to expand to more Western states next year, have the advantage of being able to focus on plants and environmental problems specific to the area.
But ``Victory Garden,'' now in its 21st year, airing at 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, is proof that a broader, national approach also works. HGTV expanded the idea: The year-old cable channel created a slate of programs, many original, with appeal regardless of a viewer's ZIP code or climate.
(About 25 percent of the channel's programs are garden-oriented; the rest tackle home improvement, interior design and crafts.)
A sampling of HGTV's garden shows: ``A Gardener's Diary,'' with host Erica Glasener - a match for Martha in blonde chic - on the road in search of unique gardeners and their secrets; ``Cityscapes,'' a how-to primer for urban gardening; and even ``The Victory Garden,'' seen here, as well as on PBS.
There's also ``Gardening by the Yard,'' how-to lessons from the knowledgeable and engaging Paul James. His sweaty enthusiasm (gardening is not for wimps) gives even the palest of green thumbs newfound vigor.
``No matter where you live, no matter what kind of soil you've got, you can improve that soil,'' James, a master gardener and pep squad for compost, says in one episode.
Be aware, he tells us, that soil is a living organism teeming with weed seeds, microscopic worms, spores and bacteria - ``A veritable midtown Manhattan in miniature.''
If you don't respect dirt and fertilizer after James' spiel, kick your seed catalogue addiction. Gardening just isn't your thing.
HGTV founder and president Ken Lowe, who has seen his channel steadily grow in audience and advertisers, tries to analyze why more people are finding that gardening is, in fact, the very thing.
A mark of its popularity: Celebrities are getting in on the act. Meshach Taylor, of ``Designing Women'' and ``Dave's World'' fame and a dedicated gardener, will host a new urban gardening show for HGTV.
Maybe the gardening affinity is a reaction to technological overkill, Lowe suggests, a need to get in touch with something real and not virtual. Or maybe it's because it offers a form of creative expression.
An interest in environmental issues and the urge to be part of nature in some small way also motivates people, suggests Asakawa.
Let's not forget the alleged cocooning impulse, the modern desire to stay close to home with our gourmet cookware, movies on tape and security systems.
Analyze away. The devoted gardener knows it all comes down to the rush of seeing a bit of green poking through the sun-warmed earth and the quiet, solitary pleasure of making it happen - with your hoe, your compost and your TV gurus
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB