I wanted to post the following comment left at my blog post, "Adapt or die" It's from Chad, a self-described generation x who say's he is passionate about gardening. His comment explains why he won't be visiting any flower shows any time soon. If you would like, substitute the terms "garden center" or "nursery" for "flower show." We keep hearing about how generation x and y are not into gardening. They must not be interested in gardening because they are not coming into our garden centers or flower shows. New's flash! They are interested in gardening and getting dirty, they are just not coming into your garden center, or flower show.
Here is his comment:
"I don’t own a small business and I don’t work in this field. I don’t attend flower shows either. But I wanted to respond anyway.
I am a Generation X customer who is passionate about gardening and that includes growing some of my own food, composting, general landscaping, and collecting cultivars that intrigue me.
In spite of my passion, I can’t convince myself to put up with the hassle of fighting traffic and paying to park, wandering around a fluorescently-lit convention center for a few hours only to leave empty handed and disspirited because I couldn't find anything that I wanted to buy or could afford.
My flower show is the Internet. On the Internet I can learn about plants, I can stop and pause to think about how those plants might fit into my plan, and I can choose just the plants I want. And the blogging/discussion forum communities fulfill a lot of my desire to rub elbows with like-minded individuals so I don’t even feel as much need to go and physically rub elbows with other gardeners.
I’m not opposed to going to a flower show, but what’s the draw compared to what I can experience online?"
There you go, the future of gardening is talking to anyone who will listen. Chad is not necessarily buying stuff online, he is researching and being entertained online. He likely would come into your store if he knew you existed (online), and you gave him a compelling reason to check you out. It may seem as if this a generational thing yet I can totally relate to Chad, and I am not a generation X. It may seem to be a generational thing, but it's starting to look more like a lifestyle thing.