What Type Of Gardener Are You?

By Moira Chisholm

Britain is a nation of garden lovers, but new research has revealed that there are only eight types of gardener – so which one are you? A study by the UK’s leading manufacturer and retailer of garden sheds, BillyOh.com, found that from the enthusiastic Eager Weeder to the neglectful Let It Grower, green fingered Brits can be divided into just eight broad categories.

And because we use our gardens for different reasons, many gardeners have different priorities with some insisting on perfection to impress garden party guests and others preferring a muddy play area for the kids.

A spokesman for BillyOh.com said: “Having your own outside space is like owning a little bit of the UK all to yourself. But how people choose to treat their little parcel of land says a great deal about them.

“We found that despite massively differing gardening priorities, Britain’s army of green fingered gardeners fall largely into only eight key categories.”

The 8 Types Of Gardener Are:

The Perfect Striper

This gardener is obsessed with having the perfect lawn and will spend hours every weekend making sure their grass stripes are just right. Their garden is mainly laid to grass with perhaps a few flowering shrubs planted in the borders. But for this gardener it’s all about having a lawn as perfect as the hallowed turf at Wembley or Wimbledon.

The Eager Weeder

Also known as The Over Waterer, this tinkerer just doesn’t know when to stop messing about in the garden. They kid themselves that they’ve got green fingers but wonder why some plants don’t thrive. The reality is they are killing them with kindness by obsessively pruning and constant watering.

The Player

These parents can’t see much point in looking after a garden when their young children would rather run amok with footballs and garden toys. As a result, their outside space resembles a park’s play area with slides, swings, trampolines and goal posts all vying for position. Whatever plant life there once might have been soon withers and dies under the shade of the equipment and the pressure of little booted feet running around all day.

The Let It Grower

This householder just doesn’t see much point in having a garden. It’s too much responsibility for them so they prefer to just let it grow. A nightmare neighbour – if you’re lucky they might chop their jungle back once every three years or so. This is one garden owner who can seriously damage the value of neighbouring properties.

The Garden Partier

Under Mexican Skies garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2017

In contrast, the garden partier treats their outside space as an extension of their home. Their gardens have to be perfect to impress their friends during their constant summer entertaining. Expect to see perfectly laid out flower beds and a selection of exotic shrubs. This gardener is obsessed with the Chelsea Flower Show and is the one most likely to have professional help to make their garden perfect. Hugely competitive, they need to have the very best garden in the street, so don’t try to take them on because you’re bound to lose.

The Shed Lover

For this garden lover, it really is all about the shed. What happens outside in the actual garden is secondary to the fun to be found inside the garden buildings – from elaborate Man Caves to super She Sheds. The garden itself will usually be fairly low maintenance with a manageable lawn and a few flowering plants and shrubs. But for this person the garden really is just a place to put their lovely shed.

The Grow Your Own

When it comes to choosing what to plant there really is no contest for this green fingered gardener. Forget flowers, it’s all about the veggies with carrots and spuds more likely to feature than tulips and daffodils. For this householder, the garden is all about utility rather than decoration. Why waste all that soil on pretty flowers when you can use it to save cash and grow your own food?

The Manic Street Paver

Not really a gardener at all. This householder views any outside space as an opportunity to park a car. Totally uninterested in tending a garden, the most they can manage is a couple of flowering pots either side of the front door. They can’t wait to slab their entire lawn and their mantra is ultra-low maintenance.

Susie’s Garden is back in our April 7 issue. Don’t miss it for expert gardening advice every week!