On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA August-September 2016 | Page 10

F O O D CO LU M N

DEE NASH

10 STEPS TO START MILLENNIALS ON
THE PATH TO GARDEN HAPPINESS

HERE ARE 10 STEPS TO GET THEM
GROWING.
• Attract them like bees to nectar. They are
interested in yoga and mindfulness. Remind
them gardening is a meditative practice that
gets them outdoors and rewards them with
excellent vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit.
• Backyard to table movement. Millennials
are often urban foodies, spending money
on craft beer and good local restaurants. We
10

GWA members need to show millennials that the freshest food is grown in their own backyards.

need to show them that the freshest food is
grown in their own backyards. Because they
love convenience, millennials enjoy container
gardening on balconies, patios and decks.
• K.I.S.S. Keep it simple (and small) sweetie. Don’t assume that every millennial knows
gardening basics, but don’t talk down to
them either. Often called the best-educated
generation in history, they just have less
hands-on experience. Encourage them to
start small.
• Get to know them. Make friends and invite
them to garden happenings. They are open
and eager to learn. Most journalists who
interview me are millennials. I ask them
about themselves. Many later come to my
talks. I also invite them to message me with
questions. I’ve made great friendships, and
I’m also planting seeds.

• Communicate like the natives. Learn to
text and Facebook message. I can’t stress this
enough. Millennials text. They don’t like to
talk on the phone. Learn to use voice dictation. It isn’t perfect, but it gets better as you
use it. Also, if you have Apple products, you
can use iMessage over multiple devices. Get
on social media, too. Millennials especially
enjoy Instagram, and it’s an easy one to learn.
• Celebrate the beauty and joy of gardening. This one is easy. We are all passionate
about gardening, or we wouldn’t be in this
business. Pass on your love, but also listen.
This generation needs mentors.
• Encourage them to ask for help. At the
very least, invite them to text, message, or
email questions. Also, invite them to send
you photos of problems and their successes.
Photos are essential to getting to the bottom
of a problem.

PHOTO COURTESY DEE NASH

People are often
stumped by the
millennial generation,
and who can blame
them? Millennials’ goals
seem very different
from those of the baby
boomers and even their
own parents. Although
millennials care deeply about the earth, other
generations accuse them of not wanting to
get their hands dirty. As a group, they’re less
interested in owning things, but they love
experiences. Younger millennials are digital
natives. They learn differently and aren’t as
easily impressed by technology as their parents.
They also have screen fatigue, and the biggest
challenge is to get everyone outside.
First, let’s try to define who millennials are.
The U.S. Census Bureau classifies them as being
born between 1982 and 2000, but these dates
can fluctuate a few years in either direction,
according to other sources. For my book, The
20-30 Something Garden Guide, we focused on
people in their 20s and 30s. I’ll keep that definition for this article.
We know that some millennials are gardening because they’re growing food. According
to the National Gardening Association, “Young
people, particularly millennials (ages 18-34),
are the fastest growing population segment of
food gardeners.”
In a world beset by information and technology, how can we attract millennials even
more to gardening and perhaps, to horticultural
careers?