[QUOTE

Nobody said it should. However, many offspring go through a stage
where they feel obliged to ignore/escape their parents influence,

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They do the birds, I do the insects.
Suppose it comes from years of being dragged round places all over the country.
It is just the way I am, but I usually like the more unusual things anyway.
Birds are too common anyway ;-)
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IME,
enthusiasm for gardening usually lies dormant until the younger
generation is old enough to have left home and find their own small
patch of bare earth to potter in.

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I always help in the garden weeding and just generally tidying things up.
Having bought some pot plants and Bonsais, I am not interested in their upkeep.
No doubt I'll expand my activities in the future.
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Schools surely still get children involved with growing mustard and cress at
least,

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Yes, we grew cress once or twice
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or working on a wildlife garden in the grounds ?

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Are you kidding?, although my area isn't all that bad, I can still see it being destroyed by groups of neds, which is a real shame.
We wouldn't really have anywhere to put it anyway.
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This might be
partly why some younger people get involved later

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I was a late developer........

(Well, ok, starting to get into entemology when I was 19 is hardly late, but it simplifies things).