to the “superintendent” of the public gardens–i know the gardens just opened, and you dont have much to do–but kicking me out because i was on the grass?? as a amature nature photographer, all i was trying to do was take a closeup picture of the flowers, seeing how this is the only “public” place i know of with flowers i can take..sorry, i thought this was for the publics pleasure, not yours to humiliate people and ruin they’re day. I guess i’ll have to grow my own garden to get pictures from now on.
—stay off the grass
This article appears in May 7-13, 2009.
“their”, not “they’re”. You made me cringe. Also, pictures of flowers… couldn’t you at least try to be more original? There are like 12 billion billion photographs of flowers that already exist, why do you need to add to it?
Go buy some flowers at a flower shop, and blammo, you can get as many macro shots you want, not to mention, saving you the embarrassment of being another dumbass thrown out of the Public Gardens.
Although you shouldn’t be on the grass (‘dems da rules) I think getting kicked out is a little much. Unless of course the OP beaked off when asked to get off the grass.
The ground is spongy and wet and I don’t blame park guy for getting upset although I do think kicking him out is a little harsh.
Did you miss the multiple “Don’t Walk On Grass” signs that have been there for decades? Yanno so dipshits won’t kill the turf by tramping all over them?
Buy a camera that isn’t shitty with good lenses, FFS. And not all the beds are super far from the paths.
Or at least stop planting your footy-prints all over the fucking turf, bozo boy. Better yet, plant your own garden and take your 678,978 shots of your first crocus.
If this ever happens again, just say sweetly: ‘Your fumes are poisoning my child.’ and start barking like a rabid Wolfhound. See if that doesn’t make him fall on his ass with a little help from your carriage.
Wow another seemingly legitimate bitch which only seems to attract the scorn of the more sophisticated regular posters. You’re all so clever. I’m sure your pictures are of much more serious import: Art (capital A no less) is the only subject fit for your attention. Please let a million children run wild over the soft ground in blatant disregard of the signage (what about the illegal duck feeders, cat-o-nine-tails please!) but dare one poseur amateur take a generic flower photo… well fuck em.
You must have all been the coolest kids in high-school, maybe you still are. It seems the surest way to join the clique is to mock the OP right off the get go, am I right? Let me try: this Karsh wannabe is a Somali pirate, vegetarian, sushi eating, velcro clad cyclist, heritage loving, kay loving, non posted sign observing douchebag! Oh but fuck I’m trying too hard! I’ll never be in the cool kidz club… what a shame you all seem like such nice people.
If everyone ignored the many posted signs and strolled all over the grass the lawns would be a mess and nobody would be able to enjoy looking at the carefully manicured landscaping. What makes the OP so special that they don’t need to follow the rules like everyone else?
I agree with not trampling the grass, but I think this guy or gal should have been allowed to take some pictures of the flowers, true there lots of pics of flowers but if someones practicing it should be ok. I use to take pictures of flowers all over because I though they were amazing. I used my old canon 35mm SLR too. Its very enjoyable to capture part of mother natures beauty like a bee landing on a flower. Its one of those weird situations. One time I got kicked out for having my bicycle beside me when I was younger
Hey Jai, the reason why they should be exempt is because they’re an artist! they’re taking pictures a child would take, and in some circles (like NSCAD) that’s high art.
Its ridiculos to not allow people to use the lawn at the public gardens. What a nice place to eat lunch, read, or sun tan it would be. instead its a sterile crusher dusk walking trail. more like a museam than a garden. they should change the name to the public walking path that cuts through a private garden.
Rafiki, the Public Gardens are not a park they are a formal Victorian garden. If you want to sit on the grass and have a picnic, read or tan there are plenty of parks and greenspaces in the Halifax area that you are more than welcome to enjoy (Point Pleasant, Commons, Citadel Hill, Fort Needham Memorial, Dingle etc…).
its been like that for years at TPGs. i’m almost 30, but when i was a teenager, a friend and I were there just sitting around and one of the commissionaires made a young gal pack up and leave.
she was laying on a towel on the grass with her university text books minding her own business. wasn’t borthering anyone, but rules were still rules.
Rakiki: Yeah, it is kind of a museum. It’s a surviving formal Victorian garden(sterile? WTF, so you can’t go fellatio the rosebushes up close so it’s sterile?). And you can eat lunch and read there just fine, btw. There’s tons of nice benches in shade and sun all over the damn place, AND a public lawn area, which you’re apparently not aware of.
The reason the PG actually looks half decent is because they’re strict about people NOT trampling on the grass.
Can you imagine what would happen if they started making exceptions for this one or that one?
Getting kicked out IS a bit harsh though so….I’m kind of suspicious and agree with what miles said: probably started mouthing off.
I think getting kicked out is a little harsh. It would be nice to have a portion of the park that’s open for people to be on the grass. The commons are available, but not so lovely.
well, there are benches throughout TPG….
usually people will complain about a lack of seats or lack of an option.
ohnogogo: There is, it’s on the Spring garden corner closest to Robie street.
The thing with that section, SD is that it’s quite shady. Nice on hot days, but if you want a little sun, that’s not the place to get it.
Also: ohnogogo — the reasons the commons aren’t so nice is BECAUSE people are allowed to trample on the grass. There’s a reason the PG looks so nice.
well it’s not like he’s banned…. there’s no force-field activated when he gets kicked out.
he can stroll right in there any time he pleases.
But I bet he won’t step on the grass anymore.
lovehatehalifax, the point was made… and an example set for anyone in the area.
stay off the fucking grass. That means you.
If I were that photographer and had any kind of clout I think this lack of tolerance would make for an interesting news article about the beauty of the gardens… suitably, with NO pictures except maybe of the worker at the gate. HRM should consider creating policies of kindness in their front line workers. There would be far less dictating and bitching going on. Hitler was the kind of guy who wouldn’t bend the rules too, ya know?
Oh he’s a photographer, he’s special he should be able to walk on the grass. Well I’m a race car driver, I’m special, I should be able to drive 100kmh on the peninsula. Get the idea.
I third the “probably mouthed off at the gardener when he asked me to not be on the grass” as the real reason OP got kicked out.
Yeah, we get the idea that your mind is very very VERY small, Bro Tim. The last I checked one did not need education, formal training, nor a license to walk in a public garden and take a picture.
I think I’d mouth off to a short sighted, power tripping, groundskeeper who lacks kindness as well. I’m with the OP on this one.
ok, kay… forgetting the racecar….
I’m an artist,… so I should be able to tag anywhere I want.
oh no! zZz! You’re brain is shrinking! Let’s explain about defacing public property, which is a criminal act with criminal intention, versus stepping on God’s green grass to take a picture. We won’t bother to point who owns said property nor who pays for it’s upkeep and, while we’re at it, let’s have fun comparing apples to… oh, I don’t know… Jupiter! Yeah!
I can’t help it… *kay rolls her eyes*
Everyone probably has their own special reason why they, and only they, should be allowed on the grass. Hey buddy, go to a friggin greenhouse.
I actually agree with kay for once, Grass is incredibly resilant. It covers most of the earth. walking on it does not hurt it. So what if it is a formal victorian garden? people should be able to walk around a public garden, look at the flowers up close. ps. The commons looks like shit because it has hosted quite a few rock concerts and is very poorly groomed.
you’re still defiling someone else’s property against the rules posted. because you think it makes no difference is irrelevant.
You know…I have always thought that rule was a bit over board…sure expecting folks not to trample the flowers, that’s reasonable…but the grass?? The place should be full of happy kids running and couples picnicking, not some grumpy guards that drive on the grass with their over-sized ATV mini-truck things.
Sure the guy could have purchased a better lens and not shirked the posted rule, I understand that the principle here that has gotten some so worked up was this fact…OK I understand, but the rule is fucktarded to begin with.
This Post in no way agrees with Kay for the sake of agreeing with Kay, it just happens to be in line with her opinion on this one (though she is using humor to get her point across with only one arrogant personal attack….I think she is on the mend!)
Rafiki: sure grass is resilient. Except in spring when people mash the new shoots when the ground is squashy. Or when repeatedly walked on by a shitton of people. And not all the freaking flowers are AWAY from the paths, FFS.
I see Kay because you pay taxes and the Public Gardens is kept due to taxes that you own it and can do whatever you like. So because you pay taxes which pay for the police department, fire department, etc, then you can drive their vehicles, etc because you own them. OK got your logic now.
and if he lets one person slide… pretty soon it’s going to look like the commons.
I’ll bet if the photographer were taking pictures for Tourism NS there would be absolutely no problem with two feet and an occasional knee on the grass… or say, a permitted wedding photographer to do his thing with an entire wedding party on that same patch of grass. We wouldn’t even be concerned as to what onlookers think because, indeed, the keep-off-grass sign is posted.
Just apply some practical common sense, add a dash of kindness, then tolerance if you can muster any. Add just one teaspoon of will-to-understand and this bitch wouldn’t exist.
Thanks for the super recipe!
Wedding parties and Tourism NS shoots apply for permits before they set one foot on the grass. And there is a list of rules associated with that permission. Same with any location shoot in and around HRM.
I’m so sorry Rafiki, but when you leave yourself wide open, I just gotta get a shot in;
…”Grass is incredibly resilant. It covers most of the earth. walking on it does not hurt it.”…
Quick! gather the scientists! Inform the botanists, Harriet Irving et al!…I knew it, I just knew it…..
*tikka-tikka-tik-tik* News flash! Apparently, contrary to what we have been falsely led to believe, up until now, was solid science, has been a total myth! It has been discovered that most of our planet is not in fact covered with water, sand, tundra, or boreal forest, but grass. Yes that’s right! plain old common grass. Picture your lawn…now go to Google earth and have a gander from space…all that green stuff? lawns! millions of lawns andf golf courses!
…in other news, Rifiki wins Nobel prize for this stunning and science changing discovery ~:)
and did ya ever wonder why all those grumpy dads, over all those decades, yelled at kids to keep of their well manicured lawns..especially in the spring? Nothing better to do? sadly misinformed about seed germination and other stuff that home owners, sod farm operators adn botanists fret about? Ever play soccer for any length of time? Ever wonder what grounds keeper at a golf course does?
sorry…just could not resist..it’s a Tourettes’ thing.
Geeze I forgot… that recipe is useless if you haven’t purchased a permit, which was kind of the point, Three.
Of course some people are going to want to get close to the flowers.
Therefore: artificial turf.
I’m all for plasticization, but grass is where I draw the line.
Lovehatehalifax, since your poking so much fun at the post’s on these bitches, that you yourself are posting on, can I take a guess that you are the wannabe cool kid?
Rules are rules, although I do tend to agree that he MIGHT have mouthed off, because kicking someone out is slightly harsh. A simple, no walking on the grass would do.
lol @ Dino Jr.
I’m confused and intrigued. What ARE you in favour of plasticizing?
re flying brick: Was I really wide open? or are you just reaching? allow me to explain what I ment by grass covering the earth.
When I said grass covers the earth, I of course did not mean literally.
As for it being the most succsessfull life form on earth, its pretty close. Grass does in fact grow every where on the earth. Its resiliancy can be best examplified by some species of grass that call even antarctica home. On mountain tops, high above where trees can grow, or much anything can live, you will find grass. As for the ocean, yes every ocean you can name has many species of grass growing in its waters. every salt marsh and estuary you could care to visit. every desert has grass growing somwhere in its expanse, what do you think camels and oxen eat??? So yes, grass is known to cover the earth. every corner.
Seriously, walking on the grass is not going to hurt it. The commons actually looks quite nice so far this year, sure the walking paths are beaten down into dirt, however, this would not happen in the public gardens due to the expansive walking trails that are already solidly in place. Personally I agree with the Op I think is a foolish rule that limits the real enjoyment people can get from the beutiful public gardens.
No Dogma: Bosoms, of COURSE!
Just funnin’ ya Rafiki, but seriously, ya really need to proof before ya hit send. Not so much the spelling thing, but just read it as if you were someone else…how would it sound to others. Perhaps a version of “all varieties and species of grasses, populate the far reaches of the globe, and this tenacious and prolific”…..ah forget it.
and Dino…brace yerself…astro-turf…artificial, and sadly, plastic grass has been with us for decades…why? because they just did not buy Rifikis’ theory on imperviousness to foot traffic.
*sarcastic mode off*
wow, i was considering replying to this as a different opinion but my word people take petty details to heart.
…grass is resilient, as you explained rafiki, it does cover most spaces when theres enough moisture, yes… but not resilient before its rooted. ie spring, sod, sand dunes. and especially not when its expected to look ‘pristine’ either. personally i’m more of a ‘natural’ fan, but any greenspace in hrm shouldnt be criticized .. its nicer to look at.
.. plasticization.. never a good thing, our planet is turning into a concrete jungle and a plastic, contaminated soup and it is absolutely nauseating to think we actually expect a reasonable future on this planet beyond the next forty years, with our path laid out as it is. if you want to bitch about that opinion, ok, ok.. ill leave you to it, im not exhausting myself.
..as for getting kicked out.. a little extreme, but nothing i assume reasonable conversation couldnt bring you both to understand? if you were desperate for those photos you could have always re enterred and browsed for another bed.
anything else regarding taxes, art, etc.. is seemingly irrelevant…isnt it?