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I beg your pardon, but do you even garden?

The whole world’s “digging” their gardening hobbies…

Times are tough and many people are looking for more affordable ways to engage in life’s little pleasures or shall we say treasures… According to a 2022 online study done by GfK amongst 23000 people over 17 countries, gardening has increased as the hobby of choice. The US boasted large growths with 34% of US consumers now gardening daily or weekly, and 22% garden at least once a month.

Globally, nearly one third of people garden at home either daily or weekly. Australia has the highest level (45%) of daily or weekly gardening among all the countries measured, followed by China (36%), Mexico, the US and Germany.

One would think that the female gender would be most eager to take up gardening as a hobby as it was statistically so in the past, but according to the study the most growth was in the men’s section as 4% more males prefer gardening. People who own their main residence are most frequent gardeners, but nearly 18% of people who garden, do so in a rental property, and 12% in co-living units or what we would describe as apartments.

Age is where the study showed real insight. The second largest group of gardeners are in their twenties, first place goes to people in their thirties, and it seems like people in their forties are the least enthusiastic about gardening.

Is gardening a viable hobby

Is gardening a viable hobby, or even a paying one, the world seems to think so! There were many reasons given for choosing gardening as a hobby such as physical and emotional well-being, food security, religious practice, adding financial value whilst also enjoying being involved in nature, but gardening though we might think is expensive, is far cheaper than other hobbies, or not having hobbies at all.

A quick search online and through various articles gave us the estimated prices of the most hobbies that people pursued since Lockdown. To just watch tv seems like a cheap option, but the average expenditure on subscriptions and equipment was more than R37 500.00 per household. Road Cycling as a hobby can be as expensive as R55 000.00 whilst off road cycling averages at R70 000.00 excluding insurance but including some maintenance and events. Golf: well to start in middle, will cost you approximately R45 000.00 and depending on clubs, apparel and how expensive the toys you choose are such as electric golf carts, can sour to a whopping half a million rand. Knitting and sewing? Well, if you consider a middle of the range sewing machine, it will set you back approximately R25000.00.

It becomes relatively easy to see why gardening, cooking, and baking became the hobbies of choice during Covid and remains post-Covid favorite hobbies. These might also be the hobbies of choice because they are so closely connected to living and does not require a whole room in your house dedicated to it like crafting or woodworking for example. It fits effortlessly into everyday life, provides endless enjoyment, is part of personal expression and well-being, and one can start small or big. You can start with even just a seed in the ground. And we also think it is about time people get connected (and not in the technological sense but the natural science and garden design sense).

Continue reading: 5 reasons why you should have a garden