From Decorative Lawns to Living Pantries
While the massive pandemic-era gardening boom has officially cooled off (overall search volumes dropped ~12% since 2022), the plants that survived the cut reveal a much more pragmatic, ROI-driven American gardener.
The Inflation-Proof Pantry
Gardeners are no longer wasting yard space on cheap root veggies. While standard supermarket staples like Potatoes (-13.9%) and Carrots (+0.4%) flatlined, home cooks are planting premium, high-cost ingredients to fight grocery inflation. Expensive culinary additions like Saffron (+20.7%), Watercress (+74.9%), and specialty herbs like Shiso (up to +173.8%) saw massive multi-year surges.
The Heatwave-Proof Yard
With hotter summers and longer dry spells, gardeners are ditching delicate greens that turn bitter and bolt when temperatures spike. Fast-bolting crops like Chinese Cabbage (-43.2%), Broccoli (-25.0%), and Cilantro (-24.1%) saw steep national drops. In their place, heat-loving Sweet Potatoes (+35.0%), Chayote (+57.0%), and sun-tough blooms like Bearded Iris (+41.9%) and African Marigolds surged as growers chose plants that survive blistering summer sun without constant watering.
The TikTok Hype Hangover
The online fad of growing finicky, high-maintenance "aesthetic" plants has officially worn off. Sprouting windowsill Avocado Trees (-54.1%), countertop Microgreens (-46.9%), moody Fiddle Leaf Figs (-45.4%), and cut flowers like Baby’s Breath (-93.8%) saw steep multi-year drops. In their place, people are pivoting to indestructible survivors, led by the famously unkillable Zz Plant, which surged +68.7% nationally.
Top 10 Most Popular Plants
"Nationwide, Garlic led U.S. planting demand and Watercress saw the largest multi-year surge (+74.9%), while Avocado Trees suffered the sharpest decline (-54.1%)."
Fastest Growing Plants
Sharpest Declines
Data Citation & Methodology
Attribution & Source Link
When referencing this dataset or findings in articles and reports, please attribute to John Cho, Founder of My Cozy Plant with a link to:
https://www.mycozyplant.com/us-gardening-trends/
Study Methodology
Methodology Note: This study analyzed normalized Google search query volume specifically targeting high-intent gardening queries (e.g., "how to grow [plant]") across 150+ edible crops, flowers, and houseplants across all 50 states over a 4-year period (August 2022 – July 2026). Rankings reflect total relative demand during the 2025–2026 planting cycle. 1-Yr YoY compares the 2025–2026 cycle against the 2024–2025 cycle. 4-Yr Trend represents the multi-year shift against the 2022–2023 baseline. To prevent distortion from low-volume terms, breakout metrics require a verified baseline query threshold to eliminate micro-sample variance.
— John Cho, Founder & Gardening Specialist at My Cozy Plant