A Good Year to Grow On
According to recently released research from Bruce Butterfield at the National Gardening Research Co. (formerly a part of the National Gardening Association), there is good news to report — spending on lawn and garden products increased considerably in 2015.
Last year Americans spent $36.1 billion on their lawns and gardens and there were 6 million new gardeners.
The National Gardening Survey from the National Gardening Research Co. shows that the average amount spent per household last year was $401. That is an $84 increase over 2014’s $317 — the lowest mark during the recession.
It’s been readily apparent that the recession’s impact changed the levels of consumer spending on the lawn and garden category, but it didn’t impact the level of participation.
“Participation in gardening did not decline much during the economic downturn,” says Butterfield. “People have been participating in gardening all along but they weren’t spending as much in recent years.”
The research shows that an estimated 90 million households participated in do-it-yourself lawn and gardening activities last year both indoors and outdoors. That figure makes up nearly three-quarters of all U.S. households.
Thirty-six percent of American households participated in food gardening while flowering gardening was a very close second at 34 percent.
Butterfield reports that Americans spent an estimated $3.6 billion growing vegetables, fruit, berries and herbs and $2.7 billion on flower gardening in 2015.
Butterfield’s research also shows that the baby boomers continue to be the biggest spenders (married households and those with annual incomes of more than $75,000). But there’s also good news for the future when it comes to the demographics — Millennials are buying. Five million of the 6 million “new” gardeners in 2015 were 18 to 34 years old.
The 2016 season is in full swing right now. I am really curious to see what kind of numbers the National Gardening Survey will report 12 months from now.
You can learn more about these trends and the National Gardening Survey by clicking here.
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