In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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October 12, 2007

Why and how we garden

Why, despite drought, gophers, deer, blossom end rot, powdery mildew, and bad weather do gardeners keep planting year after year after year?

Speaking for myself, I can’t imagine a time or a world where I did not have a garden of some kind, whether it was a huge vegetable and perennial garden, or a patio stuffed full of potted plants. For me, gardening is simply who I am. It’s what I do. Sure, there are failures and frustrations, but there are also successes. I find great satisfaction and beauty in the garden, whether it’s a tiny flower, a seedpod or a blazing display of fall color. I believe you’re born a gardener, and you simply can’t help it.

As gardeners we collectively spend huge amounts of money on our yards and for plants for the inside of the house. Gardening, according to some pollsters, is the number one or among the top 10 leisure activities for people. So it's only natural that research groups would want to quantify what we buy and why we garden.

Each year the Garden Writers Association Foundation polls gardeners to come up with information on garden trends. They want to know what projects people are contemplating in the garden, why they garden, what they buy, how much they spend, you get the idea. The 2007 Fall Gardening Trends Research Report is out, and here are a few highlights:

The most popular reasons for gardening are decoration (47 percent) and emotional enjoyment (43 percent).

The number of gardeners that plan to purchase plants in the fall with spring in mind grew from 35 percent in 2006 to 45 percent in 2007.

Mulching yard waste is still a top priority for gardeners. The number of households planning to mulch their fall garden waste with a mower increased from 28 percent in 2006 to 31 percent in 2007.

Households planning to compost fall garden waste rose from 17 percent in 2006 to 21 percent in 2007.

Indoor gardening was the choice of 46.3 million households, or 57 percent of consumers who responded. In the past, lack of time was the number one obstacle to indoor gardening. This year lack of time dropped to number three, and the major obstacle to growing plants indoors is limited space.

In addition, the poll asked gardeners what activities were appropriate for the fall season, and gave them choices, including activities that were typical fall gardening chores and ones that were not. My reaction to that question was "Why?" Was it to determine whether gardeners knew the difference between spring and fall activities? I think the survey could have asked something insightful instead.

Do any of these numbers fit your reasons or style of gardening? Let me know.

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