I guess no more "walking on water"?
I agree that its rather ugly. Hopefully, it matures pretty so that it won't be (such) an eyesore in the cosplay pics. >.>;
Its too bad... there were more animes/manga that involved water than such tiny plants/gardens. I can only think of a character from Hetalia that might benefit.
Maybe fanime can start a "Rent a Back-drop" side-business for group gatherings (that want something other than said garden.) Or maybe cosplayers will start bringing their own back-drop.
As someone who owns several backdrops it's not exactly so easy to set them up for each gathering, there's also the thing that generally most back drops size wise will only fit a couple people at a time which doesn't work for most gatherings since they are rather large. If you'd want a back drop you have better chances seeing if a private shoot photographer has one they're willing to bring and use for you.
I guess that idea wasn't exactly practical then... -.-; Thanks for clearing that up.
It isn't that I want one... more like I was tossing out a random idea that crossed my mind. >.>;
No worries, I would recommend if groups aren't going to like having that farmville-like plot of dirt behind them they should change the locations to somewhere like the park and such since it's right across the street

Can just meet up in front of the center then move there together, I've seen some do it in the past and it works out very well.