The old stereotype says it's sweet grannies in sun hats who are fussing over rose bushes. Gardening has traditionally been seen as "women's work," from victory gardens planted during wartime to gardening clubs and neighborhood beautification efforts. But times are changing. Gardening exploded during 2020’s pandemic isolation as a soothing and practical pastime, and its demographics haven’t stopped blooming. Most notably, guys in their 20s and 30s are now taking up the gloves and shears. Some of these new enthusiasts show off their produce and share tips on social media, while others just quietly fill their apartments with greenery, reveling in what they can bring forth. Come take a closer look.

Matt Denecke of Elkhorn, WI grew up gardening with his grandmother. Then in his thirties, working at a hectic job in the technology industry, he returned to growing things in his off time. “Gardening is a way to decompress,” he said, “it slows you down.” Also, homegrown food (the focus of his gardening) “just tastes better,” he said. 

As his hobby began expanding, friends and neighbors began asking for advice, and he started posting on social media with the goal of “helping people grow the food they eat.” Now he goes by @MattTheGardenGuy  where he has about 50,000 followers combined on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Denecke’s often munching homegrown microgreens and other produce on camera and shares stories of when his planting goes awry, aka “I messed up royally” confessions.

Denecke believes more men are taking up gardening as a hobby because so many interactions are virtual, while gardening, “is tangible. You’re touching real live stuff. You plant something, care for it, watch it grow,” he said. Gardening also helps people get outside, move their bodies and disconnect from technology: “It checks all the boxes.” 

It seems as if his peers would agree. A 2025 study found that Gen Z and Millennial gardeners and male gardeners reported the biggest increases in time and money spent on gardening. For example, 42.3% of male respondents said they spent more time gardening in 2024 than in 2023.

Gardening may appeal to younger men right now in a cultural moment that’s paying attention to the ways young men struggle with stress, society’s expectations, and economic pressures. Gardening may be a way to feel more purposeful. 

Terrence Bradshaw, who has more than a million followers of his Instagram account @xterrencebjr said, “Tending to my plants reminds me to slow down and take care of something outside of myself. There’s something really grounding about seeing growth happen because of consistency. It’s a quiet reminder that small actions add up.”

When offering advice and growing their social media followings, each bro gardener has his own vibe. Jonny Hincks, posting to 1.8M Instagram followers as @gardenwithjonny, is a handsome firefighter with a goofy side. He mixes practical tips, like how to spread mulch in your garden before the winter, with funny videos on other topics (air-frying cheese, listening to Al Green), showing that gardening fits seamlessly into his lifestyle. 

Nick Cutsumpas (@FarmerNick) includes “plant-based masculinity“ in his bio, and posts on topics like empathy along with personal stories (he just bought a home with its very own greenhouse) and planting how-to’s. He takes an eco-conscious approach to “caring for plants and the planet.” And it’s striking a nerve: He has 232K Instagram followers and has appeared on Netflix shows. 

Jonathan Paul Balchandani, better known as TheBeardedPlantaholic (yes, he has an enviable beard and a wardrobe of colorful headgear) posts philosophically about indoor plants and creating the life you want, to more than 500K followers on Instagram. “Plant your weirdness proudly and grow wild,” he advises.  

Beyond these influencers, young guys are being beckoned into the world of gardening in other ways. When Logan McVaughan, an acting dean at Harvey Mudd College, noticed the students there spent most of their time indoors, he set up a vegetable garden in an unused campus plot and invited students to help. “They’re at their computers a lot so they like the physicality of the work,” he said. “They’re also thinking about sustainability and how much less carbon it takes to grow a tomato right outside your door.” Some had never tasted a home-grown tomato and were amazed at how flavorful it was, he said. 

Nick Anderson, who works at Tilth, a Seattle-based nonprofit that manages community gardens, has noticed that students in the organization’s high-school internship program are less attached to gender norms these days and more interested in mental health. That brings in more boys, he said, eager to find meaningful ways to engage with the natural world.  

Others just enjoy living in green spaces and the creative outlet gardening provides. Gus VanNewkirk, 26, a software engineer, tends more than 40 plants in his studio apartment and on his balcony in San Francisco. “My greatest passion has been Australian tree ferns because they’re so majestic,” he said, “right now though, I’m really into orchids.” 

He even took a ceramics class to try to throw his own pots. “It’s partly about interior design,” he said, but the number of plants he has, “blows past that. It would look better if there were fewer, but I won’t take any out.” Indeed, greenery and gardening exert their pull — something all generations and genders can now revel in.