The Global Garden Report 2011 - Husqvarna Group

Russia
Passion pays off
Make your own profit
While gardening may mainly be a beloved
and popular hobby in most countries, for
Russians it is serious business. In last year’s
Global Garden Report we gathered from
garden enthusiast bloggers that gardening in
Russia seems to be on a far more professional
level than in other places in the world – Do it
yourself seemed to be the mantra for Russian
homeowners. This year’s study confirms this
observation. Out of all the countries examined
in this year’s report, the Russian homeowners
in our study (the majority being suburbanites)
spend the most time tending their gardens
– and they are happy to do so, reflecting
true Russian passion for gardening. And why
shouldn’t they be passionate about it? In this
year’s Global Garden Report, well-maintained
and well-designed landscaping raised the
perceived property value of a house by 16%.
The estimated Payback-If-Sold in Russia was 1.5
times the investment.
Work hard, Play hard
Beginning with the reign of Peter I, creator of
Peterhof – The Russian Versailles – in the 18th
century, the Russian relationship to landscaping
has always rested on two pillars. On the one
hand, gardens have always been intimately
associated with contemplation, relaxation
and beauty. On the other hand, landscaping
has also always been equated with basic
sustenance. Even today it is not unusual for
Russians to rely on their gardens to provide
them with their vegetables of choice, a fact that
goes a long way in explaining why kitchen and
organic gardening were identified as the top
trends in Russia last year.
However, despite heavy-maintenance tools
such as tillers making the Russian top five Most
Wanted Garden Tools lists, gardening in Russia
is far from all work and no play. The aesthetic
and contemplative qualities of the garden
have always been appreciated, and the social
element should also be added, more than eight
in ten Russians reported using their gardens
for social purposes, which is probably why an
inviting social area is at the top of the list of
property value enhancers as well.
Lucrative blend of
trend and tradition
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has
been a surge in interest in private gardening all
Russian Gardening In Numbers
Follow gardening trends 37%
Spend more than 20 hours tending to the
garden in a spring month
48%
Believe somebody in the neighborhood has a
more attractive garden
92%
Consider the garden an investment 50%
38