When I’m out and about, people frequently ask gardening questions. The No. 1 question is how to prune trees and shrubs. This seems to be one of the more complicated aspects of landscaping. New plants and different gardening styles have changed over the years with different aspects of how new information is provided. One aspect is landscape maintenance companies. When I arrived in the early ’80s, there were only three landscape maintenance companies. Now there are over 100 companies providing needed landscape service. Below is a study by This Old House about current gardening trends:

• The average household spent $616 on lawn and gardening activities in 2022, based on the 2023 National Gardening Survey.
• Tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, beans and carrots are the top five homegrown vegetables.
• Millennials and Gen Z plan to spend more money and time on gardening compared to older generations in 2023.
• A market report indicates that the most popular gardening trends for 2023 will be creating veggie gardens, planting flower shrubs and growing new types of fruits and vegetables.
• Gardeners now learn the most about new plants through podcasts and webinars.
• The most popular social media platform gardeners used to learn about new plants and gardening supplies was YouTube

Special thanks to Charlotte Glen, N.C. State Extension Master Gardener program manager with N.C. State University.

 Darrell Blackwelder is the retired horticulture agent and director with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County. Contact him at deblackw@ncsu.edu.