Gardening in Europe – who plants, harvests and grooms the most?

Trimming hedges, sowing seeds, tying up beans, scarifying the lawn, picking berries – there’s always something to do in a garden. And it seems people find it rewarding, three out of four people living in the in the DACH countries, Italy and France regularly do gardening work. In Austria, it’s even eight out of ten people. These are the findings of a representative survey conducted by market researcher YouGov on behalf of online retailer Galaxus. Almost 2,600 people were surveyed.

In four out of ten cases, the garden is right outside the persons’s front door, while one in ten has transformed their balcony or terrace into a green space. The popularity of allotment gardens depends on the country. In Germany and Austria, 12% of the population rent a garden plot. In France and Italy, it’s only 3%.

People in Germany and Austria also spend the most time in their gardens – at least three hours per week between March and October. In Switzerland, only 18 per cent of respondents spend this much time gardening.

There are hardly any differences between men and women, but there is when it comes to age groups. According to the survey, age correlates with how much time people spend in their garden.

People in Austria invest the most money in their gardens. More than a third are likely to spend more than 200 euros on soil, plants, tools and the like this season, with 13 per cent spending more than 500 euros. And while the Swiss are reluctant to invest time, they’re all the more generous when it comes to money. The least is spent on gardens in Italy and France. There’s hardly any gender disparity when it comes to how much money people spend on gardening, but there are differences between the age groups. 40- to 59-year-olds are most likely to treat their gardens to a new scarifier or a fresh blueberry bush this year.

The most popular garden plants in Europe are flowers and shrubs. These grow in three out of four gardens, delighting people and bees with their colours, scents and nectar. Herbs are also popular with amateur gardeners. They’re quick to sow, often easy to look after, take up little space and are quite expensive in supermarkets. At the bottom of the popularity rankings are berry bushes and lettuce – both of which grow in one in three gardens.

When asked what they’re starting to grow this season, most people answered fresh herbs, followed by vegetable plants, flowers and shrubs. New fruit trees or berry bushes are only planted in one in ten gardens this year.

Gardening serves primarily to provide us with a source of rest and relaxation, as almost 6 out of 10 respondents replied. This is closely followed by the fun factor. This is particularly important for French gardeners. Austria, on the other hand, stands out with the highest self-sufficiency rate. People in Italy and Switzerland are the least enthusiastic about gardening, while Germany and France are somewhere in the middle.

What garden projects are you tackling this season? What do you enjoy most? What gardening tips would you like to share with the Community? Let us know in the comments!