Our local school has a gardening club which I know is very well attended. The children have grown vegetables which they've looked after, harvested and then eaten with their lunches.
Our village has two big allotment plots and there's a huge waiting list I believe. I think the cost of living has encouraged a lot more people to start growing their own. I'm 42 and never considered myself a gardener - still don't in many ways as my knowledge is very limited but I've had to learn as my house came with a fairly large garden!! I think there's maybe been a shift in people's attitudes as the benefits of being outdoors are focused on more for mental health and wellbeing and perhaps it's been one positive from the strange world of lockdowns.
One of the issues might be that to garden, you need a garden! Much more renting for young people than buying these days, I wonder if this gets in the way? Will you invest time and money in a plot that you might only have for a few seasons? We bought a house in our twenties and tended the extremely small garden there! We were 37 when we bought this house I think and this is the first garden of a decent size that we have owned.
I feel like maybe we need to influence the programming of mainstream channels at this point because LOADS of us take pleasure in gardening but perhaps it goes against societies main message of earn more, buy more repeat... the economy works in a different way if we slow down earlier in life?
I also love Tap o North on YouTube too - Dave did his permaculture training there. 🌱
Thanks for helping me to think about this more Claire! ✨❤️✨
Over 50 ancient person over here 🤣 I've always liked to look at a garden rather than do much as I never really know what to do. I have mainly got a container garden now which is perfect for me ... less to go wrong! Really enjoy pottering about with them though. It all got a bit of a state in the winter with me not being able to do anything due to my accident but in the last 2 weeks have been tidying up and it's amazing how much has actually survived. Just ordered some more big bamboos and herbs - looking forward to them all arriving. 🌾
To really answer your question any form of gardening was pretty low priority when the kids were younger, I just never got the time to do much. Now they're grown up I'm enjoying doing a bit more. Very therapeutic too. 🌿
My toddler loves gardening with me! I think the idea gardening is for "old" people is mostly about pace of life. So many "young" people are rushing around and don't have time for it. (I didn't in my early 20s.) I do see more people and more people in slow living spaces gardening at all ages. And I always love driving past a school with a garden, but I would say it's not a focus of the American school system.
I've noticed a lot of friends my age didn't get much gardening experience growing up. So we find the whole process of growing something from seed to be magical! It will be interesting to see what our kids take from it.
Our local school has a gardening club which I know is very well attended. The children have grown vegetables which they've looked after, harvested and then eaten with their lunches.
Our village has two big allotment plots and there's a huge waiting list I believe. I think the cost of living has encouraged a lot more people to start growing their own. I'm 42 and never considered myself a gardener - still don't in many ways as my knowledge is very limited but I've had to learn as my house came with a fairly large garden!! I think there's maybe been a shift in people's attitudes as the benefits of being outdoors are focused on more for mental health and wellbeing and perhaps it's been one positive from the strange world of lockdowns.
At 39 you’re just a young whippersnapper! 😀
One of the issues might be that to garden, you need a garden! Much more renting for young people than buying these days, I wonder if this gets in the way? Will you invest time and money in a plot that you might only have for a few seasons? We bought a house in our twenties and tended the extremely small garden there! We were 37 when we bought this house I think and this is the first garden of a decent size that we have owned.
I feel like I have so much to say but I need to think... I’m just back from potting up seeds - one beginning with a Z and some cosmos!
I’ve been really influenced by Katrina over at Homegrown Garden who I first found over on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@homegrowngarden
I feel like maybe we need to influence the programming of mainstream channels at this point because LOADS of us take pleasure in gardening but perhaps it goes against societies main message of earn more, buy more repeat... the economy works in a different way if we slow down earlier in life?
I also love Tap o North on YouTube too - Dave did his permaculture training there. 🌱
Thanks for helping me to think about this more Claire! ✨❤️✨
Over 50 ancient person over here 🤣 I've always liked to look at a garden rather than do much as I never really know what to do. I have mainly got a container garden now which is perfect for me ... less to go wrong! Really enjoy pottering about with them though. It all got a bit of a state in the winter with me not being able to do anything due to my accident but in the last 2 weeks have been tidying up and it's amazing how much has actually survived. Just ordered some more big bamboos and herbs - looking forward to them all arriving. 🌾
To really answer your question any form of gardening was pretty low priority when the kids were younger, I just never got the time to do much. Now they're grown up I'm enjoying doing a bit more. Very therapeutic too. 🌿
My toddler loves gardening with me! I think the idea gardening is for "old" people is mostly about pace of life. So many "young" people are rushing around and don't have time for it. (I didn't in my early 20s.) I do see more people and more people in slow living spaces gardening at all ages. And I always love driving past a school with a garden, but I would say it's not a focus of the American school system.
I've noticed a lot of friends my age didn't get much gardening experience growing up. So we find the whole process of growing something from seed to be magical! It will be interesting to see what our kids take from it.