Many people care about how their lives are perceived, particularly on social media. This can be seen in new research commissioned by M&S Bank, which has revealed that almost three-quarters of those polled say they wanted their garden or outside space to look summer-ready for their channels.
According to the poll, modern Brits spend as many as 14 days, and an average of £360 each spring, on plants and ornaments for their outside space, with those aged 18-29 investing the most (£451) on making their green space picture perfect. The survey shows that gardeners love to photograph their efforts, snapping an average of 14 pics a month of their green-fingered efforts and over half (56 per cent) will go on to share their snaps to their social media channels, according to the poll by M&S Home Insurance.
Gen Z captures the highest number of images, at 17 snaps a month, with four in ten (39 per cent) going a step further and admitting they take photos of their plants and gardens all the time.
Home-grown vegetables (39 per cent), enjoying a chilled drink in the garden (35 per cent), spring blossoms (34 per cent) and a selfie sniffing the flowers (30 per cent) garner the most likes on socials, along with wearing big sunnies in the garden (26 per cent) and flower beds in full bloom (23 per cent).
Six per cent say they even get likes on a picture of their compost heap.
A whopping 93 per cent say it makes them feel proud when their gardening generates likes and comments across their social media pages. Ninety-one (91) per cent believe that getting their hands dirty to take care of their plants also helps boost their overall happiness and well-being.
The passion for social media seems to be fuelling young Brits’ love for gardening, with 84 per cent agreeing it’s the reason they’re becoming more green-fingered.
Two in five (41 per cent) say they select their indoor and outdoor plants based on their social media feeds, and nearly a third (32 per cent) say they use social media to help them learn new gardening skills.
Neil Rogers, on behalf of M&S Home Insurance, said, “It’s clear that we’re a green-fingered nation, and it’s great that social media is inspiring even more people to have an interest in plants and gardening. Our research highlights that people often invest significant time and money into their gardens, viewing them as an extension of their living space, showing just how important these outdoor spaces are to us.
“The time and effort people spend on their outdoor spaces reaffirms the importance of protecting these special places by reviewing what is included within their home insurance policy to ensure they are covered, should the worst happen”.
The research also found that even though we love to show off our gardens, 31 per cent of people say their home insurance does not cover their garden, and 37 per cent are unsure whether they have cover in place. This is even though 28 per cent know people who have had items in their garden or garden shed stolen or damaged. One in six (14 per cent) say they have had items damaged or stolen themselves.
This research of 2,000 Britons was commissioned by M&S Bank and conducted by Perspectus Global in April 2024.
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