Is life nowadays all about image?

Maybe that says more about the people who said that than people in general. Surely most people understand the satisfaction from creating and maintaining a lovely garden than just it's instagrammableness?

I agree Aveline a very odd attitude indeed.
I don’t think our beige back garden desert impressed any friends or family we’ve entertained this year!!

Some weird people around, aren’t there ? I do our garden for me, not for other people. Our back is better than the front because it is very big and I like to wander in it and usually pull out a few weeds as I go. The front is a bit neater because it is small and easier to manage. I guess we are lucky because it is very private here and you can’t see into our property unless you go down the driveway. No one overlooks us.

My front garden is my show piece, and yes, I guess it's sort of for other people to see too. But I mean for them to enjoy and remember. There are some unusual flowers that people comment on. In fact, only last month I cut several offerings for someone who was doing the flower arrangements for her son's wedding and had admired what I have on view.

Oh, our front garden is much more boring than the back.

The front looks worse now as some patches of green grass are coming through, some lawn weeds have survived but one area which was a grassy bank looks completely dead.

What to do with it?

Our front garden is behind a high hedge and so we have no image to project. !

Firstly I must deadhead the pelargoniums in tubs at the front; this thread has made me feel guilty.

We obviously have no kerb appeal.

The only things that have survived in my North facing front garden are Box Not a bit of colour left anywhere. I need to have a rethink as we can't manage much these days anyway. It's tidy but not worthy of admiration or envy

That should probably be Boxus 🙄

You do get that impression at times but I think there have always been people who have put appearances first. Hopefully they’re still in the minority.

We don't have a front garden, just 2 side gardens.

Aside from that, this attitude has always been there. Hence phrases like 'Fur coat and baked beans', the importance of front curtains.

Being mainly an urban liver, my back garden has always been over looked to a greater or lesser extent by neighbours.

I've heard of all fur coat and no knickers but not baked beans 😀