I don’t know where Fussell got this gardening thing. Coming from a family of WASPy upper-middle class gardeners, I’ve never heard any mention of flowers being “tacky” (which would have been code for “lower-class”). And none of the flowers he names as upper-class are especially high maintenance except for roses, which could also be lower-class depending on color. Things I would consider upper-class are Japanese maples ($400 for a sapling and they take ages to grow), espaliered fruit trees, arbors and gazebos, hedges or topiaries that need a lot of clipping, and any layout that looks artistic enough to have come from a landscape designer. One thing that makes a garden look arriviste to me is a sea of mulch with annuals plopped in them at regimented intervals.
I tried to find pictures of gardens that could be considered upper class—does the Jaqueline Kennedy garden at the White House seem good enough? Because it’s full of topiary but also geraniums, salvia, chrysanthemums, and something I think are begonias (all identified as lower class by the article).
I don’t know where Fussell got this gardening thing. Coming from a family of WASPy upper-middle class gardeners, I’ve never heard any mention of flowers being “tacky” (which would have been code for “lower-class”). And none of the flowers he names as upper-class are especially high maintenance except for roses, which could also be lower-class depending on color. Things I would consider upper-class are Japanese maples ($400 for a sapling and they take ages to grow), espaliered fruit trees, arbors and gazebos, hedges or topiaries that need a lot of clipping, and any layout that looks artistic enough to have come from a landscape designer. One thing that makes a garden look arriviste to me is a sea of mulch with annuals plopped in them at regimented intervals.
I tried to find pictures of gardens that could be considered upper class—does the Jaqueline Kennedy garden at the White House seem good enough? Because it’s full of topiary but also geraniums, salvia, chrysanthemums, and something I think are begonias (all identified as lower class by the article).
It is controversial that one must signal high status from the White House.
USA Presidents routinely try to signal lower class than they have.