From Monet to AI

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Sara’s article last week got me thinking about gardens I have visited.  About two years ago, I was fortunate to see Givenchy, the home and gardens of famed artist Claude Monet🔗. While our wives were on a week-long art lesson near Avignon, the other two husbands and I ventured towards the west coast of France: Several days in Normandy, and other sights.

Givenchy is spectacular.  The amount of work that goes into planting and maintaining the gardens is truly awe inspiring.  Everywhere you look, another of Monet’s paintings jumps out at you.  From the lily pad strewn pond to the abundant flora everywhere, it befits the work Monet created and demonstrates the incredible work of 50 horticulturalists.

I can relate to the wonderful work that 50 team members, working together, can produce.  The staff in my employ is what makes the ‘Bates’ experience.  My staff has spoken to me, regarding a growing trend:  AI.  Many use artificial intelligence. Soon, every business will employ this technology in some way, we are not the exception.  We have done work towards the improvement of our website search functionality.  We’re not there yet, but it will happen.

We are seeing an increasing number of people bring in AI generated images of plants.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  It however can produce unrealistic visions of flora that do not exist. ‘Picture book’ catalogs have existed for decades, and they do much the same thing: They paint an unrealistic, and nearly unattainable image of plant perfection. 

We sell nice plants. They are not ‘picture perfect’.  They are reality-based.  While it is possible to grow something spectacular ultimately, most plants have flaws that careful trimming and care over time can ‘perfect’.  Most do not start out that way.

Temper your expectations when shopping for ‘real' plants, not artificial.  We keep it ‘real’ every Saturday morning at 8am on, Gardening Inside Out. Listen to our Podcast anytime! Follow and contact us:  Facebook.  YouTube.  Instagram. Our plant intelligence is not artificial.

David Bates

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