It's an interesting dilemma because most people haven't the foggiest idea of what they're doing in the garden. Interesting because it provides opportunities for those of us who love to help other gardeners, especially those whose green thumbs are most likely to be a shade of brown rather than green.

In the above article, Ellen Simon wrote;

While some vegetables, like salad greens, are nearly effortless, others, like celery, present a challenge. New gardeners often don't what it takes for a plant to survive, said Ryan Schmitt, greenhouse manager at The Flower Bin in Longmont, Colo. "Most people get the water thing, but sun and food, they often forget."

New vegetable gardeners are packing classes from Skillins Greenhouses in Falmouth, Maine to Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond, Calif.

"If I think of a name of a class, I'll give it and people will come," said Cynthia Sandberg, owner of Love Apple Farm. "People will drive three hours for these classes. It's not because of me, it's because they want to learn."

Burpee's eight-person horticulturist hotline at the company's Warminster, Penn. headquarters has been overwhelmed with calls from gardeners trying to learn the basics of soil acidity and seed starting. Absolute beginners visiting nurseries occasionally ask questions like, "Oh, tomatoes are a plant?" said Schmitt at the Flower Bin. "That's usually followed by, 'Oh, I can grow that?' "

"It's a teaching moment," Schmitt said. "I can fill them with the right information."

The circle of life for many of these gardeners would go something like this;

While the growth of gardening as a hobby may give some gardeners warm-fuzzies and fill nursery checkouts for a time, it seems that many who start will inevitably add it to the many things they've tried and given up on. It will be no surprise to find the garden hoe in the same closet as the Tupperware sales kit and the aerobic AirWalker.

The challenge is how do we help people become successful gardeners? And should we even be responsible for their success?

My take on this is that we ought to somehow find ways to invest in these gardening newbies. Their success is inevitably ours. The more gardeners on the scene, the more interesting plant options we're likely to see in the future. Plant growers are likely to take more risks if the financial benefits are plausible plus they might become more accountable to producing higher quality plants.

Plus, the knowledge pool increases as more and more gardeners attempt new methods and processes and invent better ways of doing things. This can only be a good thing for our gardening hobby.