The typical adult doesn’t get the hang of gardening until they are 40, a survey revealed today.
Millions of Brits admit they are clueless about gardening throughout their twenties and thirties and have a complete lack of confidence when it comes to basic tasks.
But researchers found 70 per cent of the adults polled said settling down and starting a family kick starts an interest in gardening.
Of those 46 per cent said it was because you become more focused on your home and garden than going out, the poll by Round-up found.
Over two thirds of those polled rated their gardening ability as average or poor and just one in twenty of the 2,000 adults aged 20-50 rated themselves as ‘excellent’.
Before hitting the big four – 0 six out of ten of those polled regularly stood at the kitchen window on a weekend and watch mum or dad toiling away at lawns or flowerbeds.
One in ten said they are happy to delegate gardening duties to their parents simply because they are better at it.
Roundup spokesman Gary Philpotts said: “Having children and settling down is bound to impact on your interest in gardening. It’s only natural that you want a safe environment for your kids to play.
“The poll found that once adults gained in confidence and could identify a weed from a flower they enjoyed their garden that bit more.
“It’s like everything – if you are inexperienced and a bit clueless you tend to shy away from tackling it, but once you know the basics you can start to flourish.”
The study also found that a quarter of those who get help from parents muck in too but leave mum and dad in charge.
Although a more laid back 16 per cent said they leave everything to their folks as they are happy to do it.
Only one in ten said their parents grumble about their lack of capabilities.
But two-thirds felt confident that their horticultural skills would improve with age.
Understandably the most the common chores that Brits draft in help for were listed as laying decking or a patio, building a shed or greenhouse and fixing fences.
But one in five say they need help with cutting the grass, weeding and even digging the flowers beds.
Bizarrely – one in twenty even need help arranging the garden ornaments.
In fact 17 per cent have even resorted to moving house because they couldn’t cope with the upkeep of a high maintenance garden.
Nearly one in five said they embraced gardening when starting a family so their back garden was a pleasant area for their kids to play in.
Gary Philpotts added: “It would seem that Britons are really relying on their parents to help keep their gardens in shape.
“It’s natural that people tend to get into gardening as they get older – its part and parcel of being a home owner.
“If the average first time buyer is in their mid-thirties it’s easy to see how up until then you have little experience of gardening,
“At first, we all make mistakes but slowly and surely you will pick things up – as long as you keep your lawn cut and tidy, the patio swept and keep on top of the weeds, you won’t go far wrong.
“The older generation are only more experienced at tending to their lawns and flower beds as they have had years of practice and the more you become interested the more you learn.”
