A whole generation has missed out on gardening, according to results from a survey.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), have found that parents are lagging behind when it comes to gardening knowledge; with children and grandparents leading the way.
Five hundred parents, grandparents and primary school-aged children were about their gardening habits.
The survey found that fewer than 1% of parents were taught to garden while at school, compared to 55% of grandparents and 40% of children.
Sue Biggs, Director General of the RHS said, “These findings suggest that today’s parents, who attended school during the 1980s and 90s, missed out on a huge opportunity, especially as gardening dropped off the agenda.
“When children learn to garden it is a skill that stays with them for life, something they will use and fall back on as they grow up.
“This is evident from the grandparents we surveyed, among whom nearly 80% say they like to garden, and more than a third of them grow their own fruit and vegetables.”
Get Your Grown-ups Growing (GYGG)
The RHS is seeking to get more grown-ups gardening throughout October.
Get Your Grown-ups Growing (GYGG) is open to all schools registered to the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.
Schools are asked to hold an event during the month, encouraging their local parents and other adults to come along and get gardening. For more information and to register for a free activity pack visit www.rhs.org.uk/gygg
“Through Get Your Grown-ups Growing,’ Sue said, “we want to see more parents and other grown-ups helping out in school gardens, to ensure these brilliant resources get the support they need.
The wonderful thing is that gardening is not a hard skill to learn, and any parent who does go along to one of our GYGG events will come away with a new skill.”