In celebration of National Garden Bureau’s 100th anniversary, we conducted a “Future of Gardening” survey. We think you’ll be interested in what your fellow gardeners (or you, if you took the survey!) have to say.

Our main goal was to get an overall vision of what today’s gardeners think their kids’ and grandkid’s gardens will look like over the next 100 years. Our mission as an organization is to provide inspiration and education to consumers. These insights will help us provide even more relevant gardening information to our community.

1. Why Don’t People Garden More?

A full 40% of consumers over the age of 35 said they didn’t feel they have enough space, followed by not enough time to garden. Consumers under age 35 flipped those answers. Sounds like we in the industry need to help gardeners see how little space they need, or how to save time in their gardens and still be wildly successful. You will find lots of new and improved varieties that do just that…use little space and grow well with little maintenance.

Here are three to look for…

2. Traits You Want in a Plant

Consumers over 35 said they wanted plants that stay healthier longer, which means buying plants with built-in disease resistance. Younger consumers wanted plants that produced more fruits, which means buying newer hybrids that have higher yields.

As expected, more consumers, especially younger ones, cite social media (Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) and the internet as their top resource for finding ideas and inspiration when gardening. Right behind those, however, were plant retailers (like your local garden center). For consumers over age 35, retailers were actually the highest information source on their list.

Many survey respondents felt that the garden of the future will be more of a food source. But for those gardeners in climates where year-round gardening is not possible, what are the options? A garden right in the kitchen! Indoor gardens are on a lot of people’s wish list. And what do they want to grow indoors? Herbs, tropical plants and vegetables topped the list, naturally.

Three different herbs to grow now:

When asked what types of gadgets they would like to see available for future gardens, it’s clear that some people want automated tools to help save them time and energy. Gadgets or tools to help ensure success were important also. For example, if there is a tool that helps gauge water needs, when to water, and how much to water, buyers will be there to buy it! Or if there are is a smart tool to tell gardeners exactly where to fertilize and which nutrients are needed, consumers will be much more confident in their ability to be a successful gardener.

There was great interest among all the consumers surveyed in using gardening as a means of escaping their problems. What made this interesting is that the survey was conducted pre-COVID-19, meaning that the desire to escape was there even before people were forced to shelter at home.