Why is it that there are no clear cut rules for gardening?

Often it seems more of a mind set than fact when dealing with garden information. Gardeners get all kinds of ideology mixed up with growing. If this is good or not is irrelevant, it just is.

Professional growers tell us to do what they say and forget all that other crap. We have already grown the biggest and the best so all you have to do is maintain what we sell you. There are even people that can be hired to dig the dirt and then water and feed for you. Sounds simple, everyone can be a gardener.

Who can garden that way?

To some of us the garden is as surely an expression of who we are, as is a sculpture or painting or musical score is of an artist. The drive to make what we do have a greater importance beyond ourselves is strong. Some few achieve greatness. The rest of us strive for something we can live with that honors our goal.

So what am I trying to say here?

Only that the garden has room for diversity. This strange mix of conformity and independence that is mankind is necessary to our ability to adapt. What we believe collectively creates our reality. What we do independently creates ourselves.