Upper Middle’s “Gardening Survey,” which collected dirt on Upper Middle azalea artisans, found that interest in gardening was correlated with wealth and income, but time spent gardening was not. America’s major metros are full of frustrated gardeners tending potted tomatoes. 

Our study also found that gardening practices are regional, not cultural (read: they don’t map to political boundaries). In the east, gardeners favor traditional European-style gardens and plants; in the middle of the country, gardeners favor plantings – decorative patches set in lawns[3] – over true gardens; in the west, gardeners favor veggies and pots. Except among the very wealthy ($2.5M+), gardening practices flow from water, not aspiration.

But of course it’s not as simple as that….

The Upper Middle audience skews 65% millennial with an average age of 37. The median subscriber has a net worth just short of $1M, a household income in excess of $200K, and lives close to a major city. 

Dream Gardens

  1. Formal Gardens

  2. Natural Gardens

  3. Productive Gardens

  1. Landscape Plantings

  2. Privacy Gardens

  3. Container Gardens

Though only a handful of respondents (mostly from Connecticut) reported having formal gardens – “English” for BritBox subscribers – these geometric installations were almost universally believed to signal both wealth and taste. Interestingly, natural gardens were perceived to signal wealth, but not taste and productive gardens were perceived to signal taste, but not wealth. Container gardens, the most popular (and probably only) option for city dwellers were perceived to signal their caretakers’ interest in gardening and nothing else.

Tomato People

Self-reported gardening competence was highly correlated with interest in tomatoes across all geographies. In cities – notably NYC – competent gardeners with container gardens were highly likely to grow cherry tomatoes. Outside of cities, competent gardeners with productive gardens were highly likely to grow heirloom tomatoes. 

Having bounced back from the early 2000s blight, tomatoes seem to have become the de facto way for Upper Middle gardeners to prove their competence. Not coincidentally, bruschetta is a top 20 Italian dish in the U.S. (according to YouGov data) and one of only a few dishes consumed mostly seasonally. Tomato people serve their friends tomatoes.

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