Irish people are turning into gardeners and last year bought six and a half million outdoor plants and flowers, according to research carried out for An Bord Bia.
Results of the research, commissioned as part of the Bloom 2007 garden festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, also found that the rose is still the most popular flower in Ireland.
The TNS mrbi survey found that 71 per cent of people surveyed had visited a florist or garden centre at some stage in the previous 12 months, women being more frequent visitors than men.
The consumer spend in independent garden centres has doubled in the last four years to an estimated €1 billion a year, including the sale of 6.5 million flowers and outdoor plants.
One in three people surveyed said roses were their favourite flowers. Daffodils and lilies tied for second place, and the tulip came in fourth.
Gardening was something to be enjoyed rather than endured, according to the research, and 44 per cent of those surveyed said they found gardening to be fun.
Just being in the presence of flowers was enough to make 70 per cent of those surveyed happy and one in five said they considered their garden to be an extra room.
For those who believe that the garden is for more mature people, the survey found that its appeal extends to younger people too.