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More people choosing a DIY garden

WEB EXCLUSIVE

More people choosing a DIY garden
The National Gardening Association (NGA) in the U.S.
recently released a report that finds one in five households spent more time
caring for their lawn and gardens last year and 16 per cent less money than in
previous years, opting for do-it-yourself methods.

Sept. 3, 2010 – The National Gardening Association (NGA) in the U.S.
recently released a report that finds one in five households spent more time
caring for their lawn and gardens last year and 16 per cent less money than in
previous years.

The survey goes on to indicate that, while most of the 83 million
households that participated in do-it-yourself lawn and garden
activities last year spent about the same amount of time on their lawns
and gardens, 22 per cent spent more time food gardening, 19 per cent spent more time
flower gardening, 19 per cent spent more time container gardening, 14 per cent spent
more time on lawn care, and 13 per cent spent more time on yard and landscape
maintenance. Only about one out of 10 households spent less time on lawn
and garden activities last year.

These recently published results found in the Hard Times Lawn
& Garden Survey and 2010 National Gardening Survey show how more
Americans are tightening their belts while benefiting from their own
lawn and garden maintenance, said Mike Metallo, President of NGA.
"It makes perfect sense that people are spending more time on do- it-
yourself lawn and garden activities during this great recession because
it's a simple and direct way homeowners can maintain and improve the
appearance of their property and save money by doing more for
themselves." Metallo goes on to say that it's clear that food gardening
is a significant priority for many people because exercise, health and
nutrition, along with food safety, are on the forefront of their minds,
along with the dollars they spend on produce in stores.

The most important reasons why people say they participate in do- it- yourself lawn and garden activities include:

According to NGA's 2010 National Gardening Survey, household
participation in all types of do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities
increased by 2 million households last year, to 83 million households
from 81 million households the previous year. The average annual amount
spent per household on all lawn and garden activities decreased by $81
from $444 to $363. And the total amount spent on all lawn and garden
activities decreased by 16% to $30.121 billion last year from $36.060
billion the previous year.

"While the amount consumers spent on their lawns and gardens was down
a little, it did not approach the level of the decline seen in their
discretionary spending, which is good news," said Bruce Butterfield, NGA
Research Director.

Food gardening was the only category of lawn and garden activity that
saw a significant increase in household participation and spending last
year. Participation in food gardening increased by 5 million households
or 14%, to 41 million households last year from 36 million households
the previous year. The total spent on food gardening increased by $520
million or 21%, to $2.989 billion last year from $2.469 the previous
year. Food gardening includes vegetable gardening, fruit trees, growing
berries, and herb gardening.

A majority of households said they plan to spend the same amount of
money or more on do- it- yourself lawn care, food gardening, flower
gardening, and container gardening this year. Fifty-four percent of
households that hire lawn and landscape services said they plan to spend
the same amount or less to hire services this year.

For more information about the Hard Times Lawn & Garden Survey
and the 2010 National Gardening Survey or to purchase a copy, please
visit www.gardenresearch.com.