Baby boomer here. But that is only one part of it all. With the increasing dominance of big box stores, independent nurseries and garden centers are becoming rarer. I just sold my part in the partnership of a garden center and am going into semi-retirement. Another independent in my area closed last year, and another may not open in the spring.
I have no problem selling a lot of perennials, but I no longer will try to do it through a regular garden center.
I am 57 and most folks my age are not doing big gardening projects,just fun little additions to the garden.
Younger people seem hell bent on stopping at one store and getting everything from milk to daylilies without moving the car. So I have not seen a real decrease in gardening, just a decrease in independents who specialize in garden sales.

What are they basing their conclusions on? Some articles they read in a couple high-end gardening magazines? Sounds like something someone pulled out his hat to sell an article.

Another thought. The increased use of power equipment, pesticides, and untrained help is leaving the consumer to either maintain it themselves, work like crazy to find one of the few capable maintenance people (and pay), or go with a lower maintenance landscape.

Like it or not, the majority of maintenance is done by the mow blow and go guys. You can have the idea of doing better than they do. But there is not a lot of help out there that is either willing or capable of learning how to do it right. If you should find the help, then the cost you much more (takes more time and less skilled people to get it done)to do the work. The pricing is established by the mow blow and go crowd which makes you look over priced. The result is usually that you either go along with the MB&G people or you starve. It is a viscious cycle.

It can be overcome, but it takes a long time to build enough of a reputation that you can get enough work, help, and money to make it work.

crankyoldman, I'd assume the writer of this article has actually talked with growers and owners of garden centers. To anyone in the industry and that reads the trade publications, this trend is not exactly news - it is a phenomenon that has been tracked for a number of years now. Last year in particular has evidenced a dramatic dip in plant sales, for whatever reason - the economy, the aftremath of 9/11 and the increased interior nesting and family-oriented activities that spawned, drought pressures that seem to be more prevelent in wider areas of the country, lack of time and committment or the aging of the largest segment of the gardening public, the baby boomers.

These things tend to be cyclical in nature and this is still an aggressively growing industry. But there are all sorts of reasons why sales drop off in one area, only to pick up in dollars spent in another. It is definitely worth noting and following if you are in the industry, but not necessarily a trend to get overly alarmed about.

Maybe the more urban our society gets, and the more focused on technological stuff inside the home, the more removed it becomes from nature, and thus the less attuned to gardening.

Unless the wonders of nature are introduced to people as children, it becomes more and more difficult to get them interested as adults. This is dangerous thing, in my perception, because that removal from nature also ensures lack of empathy to environmental concerns - and even personal freedoms. Note the USDA's new act to force all owners of livestock and poultry (from cattle to pet ponies and pigeons) to register their premises and individual animals with the government, and submit to having radio frequency microchips tagged on their animals! The average public knows nothing about this system (NAIS - National Animal Identification System), and those who have heard of it don't really care. Not until it impacts them directly in many ways. The urbanization/suburbanization of American has dulled the former awareness and empathy toward the natural world that includes agriculture.

The same removal from that world seems to have created apathy and distance toward working the soil and cultivating plants. You can create virtual worlds on a computer without breaking a sweat. Why grunt in the garden? What's the big deal about plants anyway?

We need to get horticulture, natural history and ecology back into the lives of our children, starting with the youngest. When I was a kid, we had a lady from Audubon who came to our school every week and introduced us to the amazing world of birds and wildlife. It triggered a love of nature that has accompanied me my whole life. I hope to pass this along by starting an urban gardening-nature program in my town and knocking on doors to get kids into it.

It's not to late to reverse the trend toward inwardness and removal from nature. We just need to cultivate the spark.

I don't buy the premise that people are less in touch with nature one bit. There are more people today involved in conservation, environmentalism, and outdoor recreation as if they are religions.

What demographic makes up big numbers in highly skilled amature gardeners? Is that demographic growing or shrinking.

Who can name that demographic?

There are more people today period. Is the percentage of the total North American population interested in home gardening higher than earlier?

Interested or capable?

Which demographic is the most capable? Does this message board have a dominant demographic of capable gardeners?

Is that growing or shrinking?

It depends, laag. WhoÂs keeping track?

What do you need to become a good amature gardener?

Time, physical ability, and a place to garden.

Who has time, physical ability, and a place to garden?
Not the elderly, not people in an urban housing complex, not people working all day.

There used to be a lot more young women at home in the suburbs than there are today. I don't think that is disputable.

Another group to add to that list, laag would be couples without children. Most of my friends that have kids don't have time or the money to spend on gardening. What I don't know is if this group is growing or shrinking.

jb

Some years ago a nursery trades publication said the core customer was a busy professional in their 40s with no time for reading long plant signs (the article was about nursery signage). Sounds like no time for gardening, either, but money for gardening services to do it for them. Until their job was eliminated by mergers and downsizing or their business starting losing its customer base to same?

Who IS driving the consumer economy nowadays? Medical professionals, lawyers and software millionaires? Maybe there will be a big deflation of the balloon after all the people now maintaining their lifestyles on credit will finally have to give it up.

All I know is what I see- in the well-off neighborhoods that I do "fine" gardening in there's lots of additions and construction going on. And they're paying $35-45 an hour, plus materials for gardening services outside of mow'n'blow. Working alone, that's passable. If I were to enlarge, I'd really have to add quite a few clients to justify an employee. And even then, I couldn't offer much in the way of 12 month employment or benefits. So laag has a point- how do we support skilled, conscientious workers?

Let's face it, it will be a long time, if ever, before I make as much in horticulture as a plumber makes. And I'm not sure how many more years I'll be able to do the maintenance. For now, I figure I'm warding off Alzheimer's and broken hips (I'm a lot closer to them than my boogying (sp?) days).

As long as there are homes and businesses there will always be landscapers. As long as there are landscapers there will always be a need for plants. Just because not everyone tends their own gardens doesn't mean they stop having gardens.

Everywhere I look I see well cared-for landscapes, from front yards on residential homes to flower beds outside the DMV. Those beds don't look that nice on their own. Someone is doing the planting and they have to buy those plants from someone else.

We haven't become a complete concrete and steel civilization just yet.

"those of us in the business need to look to change our marketing and our focus in order to survive."

I suspect that has always been the case and always shall be. I am doing a major overhaul in what I grow/how I grow/to whom I sell. All goes back to business plans and keeping them fresh.

I worked my butt off to define my business and get established the first five years.........rode on my coat tails the next six.......and now am back to redefining my business and market the last five. Looking at other growers I know, small ones to major ones ........that seems to be the pattern for those of us who want to be around the next five.

I didn't want to sign up for the NYT online, but serendipity happens. I opened up a copy of Lawn and Garden Retail and come upon an article written by Judy Sharpton. I suspect this is what the NYT article is based on.

Interesting read. Although I don't buy into believing everything one reads in print, she does make some convincing arguments as to demographics. I listen to demographics. The thing is, we can't close our ears to things we just don't want to hear and I think some of the trends she mentions have validity, although I don't think she nessecarily comes up with the ultimate reason for these trends.

She mentions container gardening, and an increase in it's popularity and also the shift from mass market purchase of plants in flats to plants in smaller packaged sizes. I can attest that shift has happened to my market. I believe it has more to do with instant gratification, and a time priority shift, and not so much with the end user not wanting or being interested in gardening. She sees the role of garden maitenance and landscaping increasing, and product marketing decreasing and that is what I am seeing.

It's good food for thought, anyhow. Hey, wishes for success in '06!

well i have seen the industry do exactly what the article says. ur right, its time 2 change up how we advertise, b/c my friend is in the biz as well, and he really gets no calls compared 2 me, since about 6 mnths ago, i started advertisin online, and have seen a HUGE jump in business. whats great is I ADVERTISE FREE! the site i found was the best was wuraweb.com, they let u advertise free, and the ad shows ur logo, prices, contacts, and all this other stuff. pretty cool, and did i mention free, lol. my friend is bout 2 sign up, i no it will work 4 him, hope u guys do 2. if i find any more sites, i will let u guys no.

Here is a link that might be useful: that wuraweb.com site

Generations are becoming removed from any aspect of agriculture/horticulture. That is one of the reasons many hort programs are now focusing on youth, before it's really all lost in our society.