Gardening Trends Survey Tests Consumer Knowledge of Fall Season
The Garden Writers Association Foundation (GWAF) is pleased to announce the release of the 2007 Fall Gardening Trends Research Report with some very interesting insights on consumer gardening attitudes and expectations for the current gardening season.
In a measure of what consumers know about the fall gardening season, this year’s survey asked what activities homeowners believed were “appropriate” for the season. The survey offered choices for activities that were, and were not, generally recommended for the fall season.
Forty-four percent indicated pruning trees & shrubs was appropriate and 25% would plant trees or shrubs in the fall. One in three households (33%) said seeding lawns is appropriate in the fall and almost the same number (30%) indicated fall was a good time to plant bulbs.
Almost 1 in 3 households responded fall is a good time to fertilize annual and perennial flowers and 15% chose sowing flower seeds as a fall activity. Almost one in three households (29%) also reported they believed gardening should stop at first frost.
Other findings of the fall gardening trends survey include:
1. Households that plan to make fall plant purchases primarily with the spring season in mind grew by a whopping 10% from 35% in 2006 to 45% in 2007.
2. Mulching yard waste remains the top choice of consumers. The number of households planning to mulch their fall garden wastes with a mower increased slightly from 28% in 2006 to 31% in 2007.
3. Composting wastes also gained slightly. Households planning to compost their fall garden waste rose from 17% in 2006 to 21% in 2007.
4. The number of households planning to do indoor gardening has now risen to 57% representing 46.3 million households.
5. The top two reasons for indoor gardening are decoration (47%) and emotional enjoyment (43%).
6. Lack of time has been the traditional major obstacle to indoor gardening. This year “No Time” declined from 30% in 2006 to 25% in 2007, making it the #3 obstacle to indoor gardening. Limited space (last year’s #3 obstacle) is the major indoor gardening obstacle for 2007.
For more details, get your copy of the 2007 Fall Gardening Trends Research Report today. The fall gardening survey was conducted in August and covers consumer expectations and attitudes for activities and purchases planned for the next few months. The survey was conducted by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, a national consumer polling organization, and statistically represents the attitudes of 110 million households with an accuracy of 95% (+/- 3.1 percentage points).
The 2007 Fall Gardening Trends Research Report is the final national consumer survey planned by the GWA Foundation for 2007. It is now available online FREE TO ALL GWA MEMBERS. Simply visit the Garden Writers Association website at www.gardenwriters.org and select the Gardening Trends Research tab. Choose 2007 reports and follow the online instructions. For further information, contact the GWA at 703.257.1032 or info@gardenwriters.org.
Lori Bushway | Articles for the public, Grant writing fuel, Resources