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HGTV’s Gidding doesn’t have same “Appeal”
Posted Jan 14, 2010 by Kim Franke-Folstad
Updated Jan 14, 2010 at 05:41 PM
I like a pretty face as much as the next gal, really I do.
But the G in HGTV supposedly stands for garden, not gorgeous.
So I’m a little miffed about what the network has done to “Curb Appeal,” one of my favorite landscaping shows.
If you missed the newest episodes, which started airing this month, it’s now called “Curb Appeal: The Block,” and the host is the very handsome John Gidding.
Unlike past hosts, Gidding is actually a landscape architect, so the lovable designers who used to show up to help out (including the very talented Yvette Piaggio, Don Hirsch and Kelli Kaufer) are apparently gone. Model-handsome, convertible-driving Gidding plans a $20,000 facelift for the house and yard, and his Atlanta-based staff makes it work.
The homeowners are allowed to weigh in on the design, as they did in the past, and they sometimes lend a hand. But gone is the trip to the local nursery to choose plants, pots and fountains (my favorite part!), and there’s no funky little craft project, either.
The show seems to be more about Gidding and his gang than home improvement made accessible to everyman. They help average people with average houses on average streets, but you don’t get the nitty gritty of how it’s done. It’s more about how difficult it is to be Gidding when the homeowner or nursery causes trouble (wah!) and, oh yeah, how wonderful the “Curb” crew is (yay!) for bailing out a few houses on the same street with lesser makeovers.
Like so many other HGTV programs, “Curb Appeal” has gone from a quirky and inspiring show I could get do-able ideas from to yet another celebrity-designer disappointment.
Too bad. I love Clive, Carter and the rest of the pretty boys, but I tune in to the makeover shows to see the makeovers.
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Reader Comments
Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on January 14, 2010
Kim, Curb Appeal was my favorite show on HGTV. I did not know the new show took the place of the old show, this makes me sick. What can we do?
Posted by (shirlgirl) on January 15, 2010
The G in HGTV if practically gone from their programming now, how many garden shows are there? I miss shows like Gardeners Journal and Gardeners Diary that went to peoples home gardens and they shared their tips and ideas. I guess anyone with thousands of dollars and a designer can have a great garden but give me the homeowner that did it on a normal budget and some smart ideas and I can appreciate that. I have already emailed HGTV to say I wish to see more gardening shows again but see no changes so far. That is why I enjoy the dirt so much, you can get some real usable ideas and exchanges from other gardeners.
Posted by (Kim Franke-Folstad) on January 15, 2010
The budget thing is definitely a factor for me. I like shows like “Ground Breakers,” where they do extreme makeovers, but I prefer those that do simpler projects that don’t cost thousands of dollars. “Curb” and “Landscape Smart” were two of my favorites for that reason.
I also liked that those shows moved around a bit. This new “Curb” is only in Atlanta. That’s OK for Florida gardeners—they use a lot of the same plants we do—but we’ll never see truly tropical plants.
HGTV’s message boards had a fair number of complaints from gardeners looking for their favorite shows before the new lineup appeared. Viewers are really unhappy about all the real estate shows.
I’m guessing they’ll be getting even more grief now.
Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on January 15, 2010
Wow, I had no idea those quirky shows we love so much had been replaced. How sad. Do they think all of their viewers have designer budgets? Time to e-mail those goofy guys at the top.
Posted by (Chip) on January 16, 2010
My all time favorite gardening show is Rebecka’s Garden! mostly for the crafty stuff she make’s . She was on chan.8 Saturday mornings. Then HGTV gave her a contract everything was fine for a month now it is just a lucky accident if I find it….“Chip”