On 2 Mar, 23:37, "Neil Tonks" wrote:
There's been an active interest in gardening in the UK for a LOT longer than
15 years!!!!!!

I think what Mike means is that with the increase in population, the
needs to build more housing, the change in our cities, the huge
redevelopments of our inner cities and the awareness of our
environment, in the food we eat, its provenance and its ethics, in the
way we live and bring our kids up, means that gardening has taken a
new role in our lives, and that in every part of our society, not only
for those with acres of land/gardens, or in leafy suburbs.

Combine this with the change in our planning policies, the rise of
housing prices, education, transport, the aspiration to have a bit of
land to cultivate, to be in touch with nature has contributed to the
rise of gardening programmes on tv and access to resources for all via
gardening centres sprouting up everywhere and not only for a minority
of people, not only for one class of people. The rat race, the stuffy
office life many leads and the increasing pressures of work have
contributed to the creation of giving more choices to people - to
reconsider the way they live, the way they work, and given them the
choice to change careers and spend their time outside these pressures,
bringing with them their knowledge of business, hence the 'garden
business' that has increased in the last 15 years.