Why do old people like plants more than young people?

Question

I have always wanted to know why as we get older it seems that older people like to play in the garden. Is it evolution or what the heck is it?

Answer 1

As people get older, they may start to lose control of things in life (their health, empty nest, loneliness). Working with plants can be therapeutic in that people can have a sense of control. Plants live, die, and flower depending on how we water them and care for them.

Answer 2

There are any number of reasons, and I'm sure they vary widely. I would speculate that older people have developed more patience over the years and gardening is definitely a pastime that requires a certain level of patience.

Also, it is an activity that brings its rewards out over time. Young people often want immediate gratification.

From a purely sociological point of view, it could be posited that older people were more likely to have come from a more agrarian way of life, and as they get older, gardening is a way of getting back to their roots. As time goes on and our society becomes more urbanized, gardening may get less popular.

Answer 3

It isn't necessarily an age thing, but as you get older you do tend to cherish the small things.... the beauty of the sky and trees, the flowers and birds; and having a garden and maintaining a garden gives the older person something (else) to be proud of as well as bring beauty to their surroundings. It can also be theraputic. When you tend to a garden, you let go of all the things going on in your life that brings you sadness or problems. Gardening is very calming for lots of people (young and old).

Answer 4

I don't think that is necessarily true, though maybe for 'gift giving.' I used to like to go out in the field when the wind was blowing and listen to whipping through the tall grass and singing in the trees. I used to love to follow the creek with it's forest, shrubs and bushes, following it along on a sunny day, stopping to admire and drink it in. Maybe it is that young people like their plants 'free' and not potted, for their spirits are youthful and their connection to nature wants to run wilder than the orderliness of a stationary plant in a container.

Answer 5

Simple. Plants are beautiful. They respond to tender loving care by becoming more beautiful, unlike some young people. They do not tell old people how silly they are. They are always there to be touched and appreciated. They never ask for money they do not deserve. They rarely tie up the telephone or play ugly rap music.

Answer 6

Older people have more time to garden.
Older people come from a generation that grew up gardening
Gardening is relaxing.
Its a matter of pride, eating something that you grew in your garden.
It is healthy, you know what pesticides were used or NOT.

Answer 7

perhaps as people grow older they begin to face their own mortality. plants are a way of seeing the cycle of life, viewing the seasons and taking pleasure in the miracle and beauty of nature.

Answer 8

As one becomes older, you appreciate more even the simplest order of life......and desire to care for that life. Gardening is a very rewarding endeavor.....as it often appeals to an individual's spirituality......and sense of meaning.

Answer 9

older people spent have their lives raising children...tending to young ones, tending to grandchildren...maybe they just want a friggin break!
if you had to listen to kids running around you all day long screaming "i want that. look at me. pick me up. I'm hungry. i wanna play with that. he hit me! make her stop! why? WHY? WHY???????????"
you would enjoy the silence of a plant!

respect your elders!

Answer 10

Because older people didn't have time when they were younger. They were too busy raising their kids and working.