Internet is satisfying gardeners? demand for gardening advice, says survey

Gardeners are increasingly turning to the internet for garden inspiration and plant advice, according to a study.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is reporting a 22 per cent increase in internet use among gardeners since 2007.
Now, 74 per cent of gardeners are on the web, almost matching the national average of 76 per cent of adults, who have internet access at home, work or a place of education. In 2007, that figure stood at 62 per cent.
The HTA’s report stated: “While marginal [beginner] gardeners continue to have the greatest access to the internet, usage among the over 65s is rising.”

Eight out of 10 gardeners use the internet to get information about their hobbies and interests while seven out of 10 surf the web to find out more about garden products and services.
HTA marketing director Andrew Maxted said there was a growing expectation among consumers that they should be able to find information on the web before venturing off to a garden centre.
Philip Voice, editor of web-based horticulture industry magazine Landscape Juice, agreed that the internet was of increasing importance to gardeners.

Philip told AG: “The internet’s meteoric rise in use in gardeners’ lives is down to one thing – the search engine. Getting hold of information, advice and ideas has never been easier.
“Nobody now has to manually flick through indexes or books to find the answer to a gardening query. Landscape Juice is built around the search engine concept, with 84 per cent of its traffic coming from internet searches – from people looking for a particular subject, and not because they knew the site existed beforehand.”

* News article supplied by Amateur Gardening Magazine