Buyer Beware

While gazing at the gorgeous images displayed in seed catalogues, you might be wondering, have I seen that plant before, and is that a new colour? We always assumed catalogues had accurate representations of plants, and those of reputable suppliers always do. However, the world is changing and especially the online world where fact checkers, even for plants are lacking. 

In the early days gardeners relied on drawings and descriptions of the material in catalogues. Even Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald, designed many catalogue covers for Sheridan Nurseries. Photography eventually became the norm, first black and white then colour. These images depicted plants in an actual garden before it became easier to produce better ones under lighting in a studio.

There, images could be more easily adjusted to ensure the colours matched the real plant. I picture ex fashion photographers using their skills to show flowers in their best light where you might hear them cajoling poor plants with “Stretch that stem, unfold that petal, tint that pink, more stamen, more stamen. Work with me, work with me. Come on pansy — show me a pout.”

It’s hard to know what’s genuine now when nefarious vendors online have realized there’s a huge market of gardeners waiting to be tempted by new plants in never-before-seen colours. First it was editing software which made it easy to generate images, and strange new ones appeared. Now we’re dealing with artificial intelligence that can conjure up anything a creator desires.

We’ve long been awaiting a truly blue rose. With only a few clicks, it’s easy to produce an image of a blue rose with yellow polka dots or pink stripes, or any combination. And the same goes for vegetables that can be made to appear larger, taller, and produce amazing crops. Stick these images on social media with a thrilling description of a revolutionary new plant plus a link to where to send your money — click, click.

Seasoned gardeners might not be easily fooled, even though some probably are. I know I’ve been tempted. Beginners can’t be expected to recognise flowers as obviously fake when they’ve only recently discovered there are thousands of plants in a rainbow of colours to choose from. Of daylilies alone, there are over 80,000 registered varieties in vibrant colors and diverse shapes. So why not a rainbow rose?

It might not be easy to determine the legitimacy of a company, but all plants have, or should have, a genuine botanical name listed somewhere. But what copywriter wants to clog up advertising text with challenging words when a catchy new name attached to an AI image will produce instant clicks. It can give anyone a headache trying to remember the Latin names of all the plants in their garden but knowing that a plant should have a legitimate one will help avoid those budget breaking clicks.

That’s the plants. Don’t get me started on the products that claim to produce plants even more productive or floriferous. Buyer beware — everywhere. Buyer beware — click, click.