2006 Summer Gardening Trends Research Report

The Garden Writers Association Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the 2006 Summer Gardening Trends Research Report with some very
interesting insights on this year's consumer gardening attitudes and expectations for the current spring months:

1.    In response to the high cost of gasoline, almost half (47%) of
American households plan to decrease summer travel and spend more time on
home and garden projects.

2.    Consumers planning to use only organic pest control methods increased
by 10% over 2005 and 13% over 2004.

3.    Using chemicals to control weeds is planned by 28% of households while
24% plan to use more mulch and 54% plan to weed by hand.

4.    Limited time is the most common reason cited for not gardening more
(44%).

5.    More than half of American consumers (52%) plan to use their gardens
for relaxation or as a spiritual retreat.

6.    Almost half of households (43%) do some form of container gardening
with outdoor decoration as the leading reason (25%).

The 2006 Summer Gardening Trends Research Report was conducted in June and
covers consumer expectations and attitudes for activities and purchases
planned for the next few months. The survey was conducted by TechnoMetrica
Market Intelligence, a national consumer polling organization, and
statistically represents the attitudes of 110 million households with an
accuracy of 95% (+/- 3.1 percentage points).

The 2006 Summer Gardening Trends Research Report is the third of four
national consumer surveys planned by the GWA Foundation for 2006.

For additional details, contact the VNLA Office info@vnla.org