Do men garden differently than women?
If they do, what do they like to grow?
Women are often attracted to growing flowers, with the softer shades being more appealing.
Men tend to prefer strong ‘hot colors’ like reds, oranges and yellows over pastels.
They also like bold, architectural plants like palms, bamboos, ornamental grasses and other ‘strappy plants.”
The “male garden” communicates in bold gestures where less is more.
Bigger, bolder plants that create an impact.
Men who grow vegetables often vie for the largest zucchini, tallest tomato plants and biggest pumpkins.
Yes, even gardening is competitive.
Favorite Plants to Grow
Men are focused mostly on growing edible plants – tomatoes, squash, carrots, cucumber, pumpkin, mushrooms and culinary herbs. Flowers don’t get as much attention, though older men like to grow flowers that they can enter in competitions along with vegetables.
If a man can tie growing plants into a favorite hobby, such as cooking, brewing or wine making. This makes the hobby even more interesting when men can see how plants like herbs enhance wine making or cooking.
Grunt Work
Men are often called on to do the grunt work in gardening – digging holes, constructing fences and trellises and building raised garden beds.
Designing a garden can be a fun and exciting venture to have it done exactly the way you want, and incorporating elements such as gazing balls, birdbaths, fountains or even a gazebo for a more spacious effect.
While this may give men a sense of accomplishment, they will derive a greater sense of accomplishment by growing their own fruits and vegetables to feed their family.
Garden Rooms
If there is enough space, a man might want to build a garden
room.
The structure options are numerous. You can choose anything from tented spaces,
glass boxes, mobile shepherd huts or fully constructed and insulated rooms. Your
usage should help you determine what kind of structure is best for your garden.
The size available in the garden can also be used in determining whether a mobile structure or a semi-permanent one is best. There are so many ready built solutions for garden rooms you can choose from but you can always have something unique built from scratch to match your personal preferences.
Whatever structure you choose, remember to consider the weather so you have a structure that remains functional during the seasons you need to use it the most.
Blend the room with the garden
Your aim when designing a garden room is to create a visual flow that is seamless between the room and the garden. Choose construction materials that compliment garden design and items that you could have in the garden.
Unpainted wood easily matches the outdoor settings, especially if you have trees and other shrubs. You can also make other choices to add definition to your structure without making it look overdone in any way.
Apart from blending, you can also add decorations to the room. Vivid bright colors and patterns can be very good outside, but you should choose the palette carefully.
Go for refined and relaxed colors, but be as bold and exciting as you wish to be. Other additions like fairy lights, lanterns or cushions lift up and set the mood in your garden room. There is just so much you can do to bring your garden room to life.
