A new marketing campaign targeting 30-45-year-olds was officially launched this week at the HTA National Plant Show.

Titled ‘Love the Plot You’ve Got’, the project follows new research commissioned by the Garden Industry Marketing Board into what consumers in this age group want from their gardens.

People are looking for that ‘holiday feeling’ when relaxing in their outdoor space, according to GIMB project manager David Arnold in his presentation at the show. Sounds including birdsong, children laughing and music all contribute to this feeling, as well as relaxing with a cold drink outside. Why not create a ‘That holiday feeling at home’ feature in your garden centre?

The research showed that people are put off when they try to grow something and it goes wrong. Garden centres could appeal to these people by holding ‘reluctant gardeners’ events where they can get help with any issues in a friendly atmosphere.

Renting is a potential barrier to gardening as people don’t want to invest in plants that cannot be moved. Garden centres could create ‘Portable planting’ ideas – the more quirky and fun the better – to capture the customer’s imagination. With plants, the novel, intriguing and downright weird can engage people so there should be more examples of this in garden centres, the project suggests  ‘Outdoor living space’ is more appealing to 30-45 year olds than the words ‘garden’ or ‘gardening’, which do not resonate as much with them. David outlined the ‘Love the Plot You’ve Got’ campaign. which has been formulated around the research results, and urged all to get behind it so that the whole industry can benefit.