Studies have been conducted on the preferences and opinions of individuals for garden and landscape spaces with varying amounts of plants (Zheng et al., 2011). However, little data exists on the perceptions individuals hold about the gardeners that grow these garden spaces. An online survey was created containing images that represent three outdoor spaces with three different amounts of plant material and complexity. The images with different amounts of plant material were created with artificial intelligence assisted software to modify the identical base backgrounds. Participants were asked a variety of questions about each space, then about the “gardener” who created the space. The survey contained twenty short answer questions and eighteen sliding scale questions to provide a diverse data set. Participants in the survey were undergraduate students in an introductory horticulture class, high school students in agriculture education classes, and adults training to be Master Gardeners. Data from undergraduate students reveals there was a positive correlation between the amounts of plant material and the respondent’s opinions on the gardener’s level of education, age, socioeconomic status, and gardening experience. Less plant material corresponded to a perception of lower levels of education, age, status, and experience. Thus, respondents consider areas with the highest amount of plant material to be created by more highly educated, older individuals with higher socioeconomic status and more gardening experience. These results allow us to better understand the public’s perception of gardens and gardeners, assisting us in creating more applicable materials for classes and facilitating more productive interactions with the public.
