Gardening is one sector of the leisure industry that appears to be flourishing in the economic downturn, especially with people making more use of their gardens by growing their own produce.

That is the view of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) as visitors flocked to the Chelsea Flower Show this week. “We saw no slow down in ticket sales,” said Bob Sweet, Head of Shows Development at the RHS. “In fact, the show sold out along its normal timescales.”

Buoyed by the success at Chelsea, the RHS is predicting a similar outcome for The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, which takes place from July 7-12, reporting that there has been a “significant uplift” in ticket booking for Hampton Court.

Feedback has also been very favourable from exhibitors at Chelsea. An RHS spokesperson reported that one grower had said that “they had sold more plants in one day than the whole of the week last year” and that the interest in plants had been unprecedented.

So are people really turning to plants and their gardens as a tonic to the recession?

The Society’s optimism comes on the back of figures released last week by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) which showed that garden centre and nursery sales were up 42 per cent on this Easter’s trading weekend, compared to 2008, while annual trading had risen by eight per cent for the year ending April 2009.

The HTA's Garden Industry Monitor report also showed a rise in people spending more time on their gardens, with 25-34 year olds most likely not only to spend more time but also to spend more money on garden products.

Of particular note was a 30 per cent rise in the sales of vegetable seeds and young edible plants for 2008 - a clear indication that 'growing your own' is becoming much more popular. And that trend is likely to continue with data from the HTA's Garden Intentions 2009 survey showing that 22 per cent of gardeners intend to grow more fruit and vegetables.

It is no wonder that the RHS sees the flower show at Hampton Court Palace as a major opportunity to maintain this momentum. The central theme for the show will be encouraging more people to grow food crops for themselves.

‘Growing Tastes’, consisting of 14 exhibits, will take visitors from plot to plate with growers displaying giant garlic bulbs, herbs from around the world and a variety of English and exotic fruits and vegetables. The centrepiece of the feature is a family allotment.

“The nation is hungry to grow fruit and vegetables for health, economic and taste reasons; at Hampton court, expert and beginners can find ideas and take home everything they need to grow great tasting food,” said Mandy Almond, RHS show manager for Hampton Court.

Specialist exhibits will include British fruits from the Blackmore Estate near Malvern, Dorset blueberries, oriental vegetables and beans and herbs used in Indian and Mediterranean cooking. There will also be a Cookery Theatre that features chefs demonstrating the use of seasonal produce.

Another link with this year’s Chelsea success will be located in a new “Gardening Energy” feature, designed by Gold medal-winning designer, Sarah Eberle. Her three credit crunch small gardens that won a Silver-Gilt (The Banker’s Garden) and two Silver medals (The Overdrawn Artist’s Garden and The Off-Shore Garden) at Chelsea are to be recycled in this garden.

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