The world needs more gardens

Q: We heard your recent presentation, “The World Needs More Gardens.” What inspired that title?

A: I didn’t think of the title, but I think it’s a brilliant title. Because when you think about all the things that gardens do for people across the world – and it doesn’t matter how old you are, what your race is, what your sex is or where you’re from, there are benefits to gardens.

And for the people who actually do the gardening, they have specific things they derive from benefit-wise, and yet you don’t have to be a gardener to get value out of being in a garden. When you think about all the good that it does, plus the fact that it educates people – for example, it’s a classroom without walls for children, and it’s where our fresh food comes from – so why wouldn’t we want more gardens?

The challenge is, though, that we’re competing with all these demands on our time, and where you put a garden these days, because there’s only so much real estate – so we have plenty of challenges. So, I’ve given myself the task of helping to educate the world on why we need more gardens. I think it’s the perfect topic.

Q: Are there fewer people or more people gardening than five years ago?

A. Well, it’s pretty flat, actually. And I feel so sad about that because I think, for the reasons I just said, we should see this steady growth. Compared to, for example, the food industry. That industry [has grown] in the last 10 years, largely in part to The Food Network and all the media around escalating all these chefs into rock-star status. And who doesn’t love a good meal? It’s fun to make a great meal. But there are a lot of similarities between gardening and the food industry. And I just feel like we don’t get the attention that they get, because advertisers are sort of dictating in many ways what shows get aired on the big networks. And so the food industry pulls a lot of big-money advertising from a lot of companies [on television], whereas gardening, not so much. Unless it’s a big makeover show, and not so many of us can relate to that as your typical homeowner. Until we can turn that around, and we will, we’re going to see a fairly flat line of growth. But I think we’re going to definitely see that improve in the near future.

Q: Speaking of the foodies, how can an independent garden center grab that attention and show customers how to incorporate edibles with ornamentals?

A. No question about it, when you think about all of the things that come out of a kitchen that you eat, most of those come from the ground at some point, so why wouldn’t you want the ultimate in freshness – growing the food you eat right in your own backyard. If you like to cook and you like the project nature of that – the do-it-yourself aspect of cooking, and certainly the great flavors, then it seems to me that you’d want to expand your palate of how that all comes about by doing it yourself in the garden. And that is an area where we see growth. In fact, that’s one of the biggest areas of growth in gardening as it relates to food, people growing food, because they want to have that connection.

Q: How do you educate gardeners about which plants work best in different growing zones?

A. My role in the national media is not so much as a specialist in any one place. But it’s to equip people with the tools to understand how to garden. When it comes to specifically picking the plants, I leave that up to the local experts, such as the people at the IGCs. These are the people who are very familiar with their area and they know their customers better than I would ever know them.

But I can give them the information and equip them so they can walk into any garden center with confidence and know what they want, and they just need help picking those particular plants. It’s a group effort or a joint effort.

Q: How can IGCs do a better job educating the consumer and help simplify the process?

A. One of my favorite expressions is that people buy differences, not similarities. And IGCs can be different than any other place where people go to buy plants. By providing that extra service and that education and by demystifying gardening, the customer is going to see that and see that difference immediately. People, in general, shop for convenience and price. But if you can provide such great service that you differentiate yourself in such a strong way, I think you trump price and convenience all day long. Because who would not want to come to a place like and IGC where it’s beautiful to begin with, and feel like you’re being understood and you’re getting educated information and they’re sort-of taking you by the hand. And you feel like now you have a place you can come back to and build on that with the same people who have been working here for years. Unlike some of the other places we go buy plants. So IGCs can easily differentiate themselves through their service and their expertise, and just getting to know their customer and catering to their customer’s needs.

Q: Switching gears a little bit, your television show is called, “Growing a Greener World.” How can people have a more sustainable, greener garden?

A. By paying attention to the things that go into their garden and how they take care of them. One of the things that people don’t give enough consideration to, is that Mother Nature is really very good at taking care of our plants and gardens for us if we’ll just give her the chance. But we want to love our plants to death – we want to speed up the process. We’re all in such a hurry these days and we want everything to happen faster. So we feel like if we put extra fertilizer down or if we spray with this thing or that thing, we’re going to help the situation. But in many cases, as we beautify our landscapes and our gardens, we do some not-so-pretty things in the process. So, through “Growing a Greener World,” we help people see that you can have a beautiful, healthy landscape and work with Mother Nature at the same time, and back off on the chemicals. Feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants. It’s all about creating healthy soil. If you can do that one thing, and put the right plant in the right place, 95 percent of your problems are gone. Plus now you’ve got the pollinators and the birds and the animals and the wildlife that you’re now promoting rather than potentially harming, and you don’t even know it. It’s a learning curve, a learning process, but we’re working on it.

About Joe: Joe Lamp’l is also known as joe gardener [SIC]. He’s devoted to environmentally responsible gardening and sustainable outdoor living. Besides spreading the gardening word on his PBS series, Lamp’l also writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column. He recently released a book, “The Green Gardener’s Guide,” which provides simple actions to protect and preserve the planet.

He’s also a champion of the independent garden center. Later this year, he’ll introduce his viewers to several IGCs across the country and how they can help consumers be a more successful gardener.

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