Something interesting happened the other day while I was making “the rounds” (my word for walking around and asking people if they need help). I saw a young guy looking at some roses and, assuming he was a layman looking to buy something for his mother or grandmother, I went over to see if I could offer some suggestions.
Color me surprised because it turned out that this young man who couldn’t have been more than 20, was actually shopping for himself. And not only that, but he was obviously a very experienced gardener as well. His questions for me were less along the lines of “what grows well in sun” (nothing wrong with asking that by the way, it’s what we’re here for) and more like “How disease resistant is this variety of rose?”
It was only later that it really occurred to me just how rarely we get any customers who are younger than thirty and the ones that we do get are invariably looking to get a gift for an older relative. It hit me that this kid, and he really was just a kid, was really the first customer under thirty that I’d seen who showed a real interest in gardening. Now, I’m not sitting here wondering why the cool kids aren’t stopping by and picking up a tray of impatiens for a Saturday night planting party but I do remember from my own high school days that there were plenty of kids interested in knitting or chess or any other number of “sedentary” activities… but I don’t recall any group who took an interest in gardening. At all.
I suppose it might be a property thing. From my experience, a lot of people don’t really get interested in planting until they have their own home to decorate. But the way the economy and housing market have been going, there’s a chance that none of us will get that motivation. As such, I think that all of you with children should try and see if you can get them to catch the planting bug now. The next time one of your kids wants some money for an ipod or one of those new fangled digital cameras, try and force ‘em to earn it by planting a boarder of marigolds or a row of tomatoes. Most of them will probably grumble about the extra chores, but I’d like to think that at least one or two will come to enjoy it. I mean seriously, if chess clubs can thrive then there’s got to be some way to get at least a few kids to enjoy gardening.
