Wow
Although I can read your post as a sort of peacekeeping effort to be more inclusive on the one hand, the meta-message is clear.
Words do matter, but it might just be the attitudes they come with, or that which drives and forms them, that bother me more than anything else.
Specifically, regarding rock gardening, it is the sanctimonious, exclusive, elitist, and snobbish way in which the generic and general term "rock garden" has been co-opted and exalted to mean alpine garden/alpine terrain, necessitating distinction, explanation, and
correction on the various other (intimated lower) forms of gardening with rocks for the ignorant general public by those erudite breathers of rare and superior alpine air that precludes my participation.
True story Rick:
your posts at NARGS talking about all the nice, but ignorant, "general public" type gardeners at ATP is what led me here and away from there
likely to the delight of all the purists!
edited to add:
Thank You! I love it here--it is a much better fit for me and my appreciation for all kinds of plants and types of gardens
