A 2021 survey conducted by Draper Tools revealed some surprising comments from 18- to 34-year-old respondents. Eighty percent thought gardening was cool, and more than half would rather go to a garden center than a nightclub. Imagine choosing horticulture over a night out!
These were some of their comments:
“There’s a tendency to think of gardening as an activity for older people, but this poll proves that gardening really is for everyone, whatever your age.”
“Gardening is a very calming activity, as well as a rewarding one—everyone can enjoy the benefits it brings.”
The respondents indicated that while the act of gardening itself is a big appeal, satisfaction is gained by more than actually performing gardening tasks. Most of those surveyed said they love shopping for gardening items; the shopping lists included plants, seeds, and tools.
Millennials spend time on social media and online helps. A recent commercial aired on TV shows a young woman is using a Ouija board to help her with houseplants that are having issues. Where does she go for advice? A gardening app. Here are some free apps that may be of interest to internet
Here are some free apps that may be of interest to internetsavvy gardeners, not only millennials:
• ‘Seek’ by iNaturalist is “like a botanist in your pocket.” Take a picture with the app and it gives you suggestions for identifying what you captured. Developers of Seek say it gives users a ways to be more engaged with nature around them. This app has a broader application than plants, it includes animals and fungi. inaturalist.org
• ‘MyGarden’ is a social network. Millennials are experts at social media and this app lets them keep track of not only their personal plants, but plants of friends. mygarden.org
• ‘iScape’ is an interactive landscaping app useful for not only newbie gardeners but also professional landscapers. The app is helpful because it can search plants by variety and color, virtually designing a landscape before time or money has been invested. iscapeit.com
• ‘GrowSquared’ is a dragand-drop planning app. It plans garden and bed sizes, and with its 3D interface gives dimensions for the amount of space needed for a garden. GrowSquared gives information for plants included in the garden design. growsquared.net
• ‘Garden Compass’ users can track updates on favorite plants and with this app users can live-chat with experts on gardening questions. smartplantapp.com
Some information from goodnewsnetwork.org; bhg.com
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers
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