Can I say that Jim McKinney's tour de force was not so much a rant, as he said at the end, but he makes a lot of sense. In order to raise capital for the establishment of Auchgourish Botanic Garden and our nursery here I undertook several large landscape design and some became builds as well. I tried always to point out to clients that "more is less". Such activities are probably what put me in hospital over my back as a consequence. Sixty year olds can't do as thirty year olds do, but we think it though. The most egregious examples one comes across in Scotland are alpine gardens where people fill it with every damned thing they can lay there hands on without allowing for the fact that even alpines can grow and spread, with the result it is just a mishmash of meaningless, and boring, mess with no theme or focus far less any contribution to amenity for others or the gardener, let alone having any conservation worth. We have a saying in Gaelic, it looks a right "bourach" and the word bourach sets well into and is adopted by the Scots language as well increasingly by English speaking folk come to use it when they emigrate to retirement homes here. Intuitively "bourach" sums it up; pronounced as - boo rucch . I hope to hear and see Americans referring to horticultural disasters as 'Bourachs' soon too. Let gardening America become bilingual with Gaelic, heaven knows so many of you are Scots Americans there in the USA anyway and with a name like McKinney we know where you come from Jim! Regards, Iain Iain Brodie of Falsyde with a full on Highland blizzard ragging outside, wind speeds up to 80 mph forecast. Happy days!