Prescription of Companion Plants for Weary Hearts... Home Gardening Demand Doubles Amid COVID-19

SSG.com Home Gardening Sales Up 97% in Last Month
Flower Pots, Seedlings, and Watering Cans Also Popular
Pet Plants Align with Plantery and Home Cafe Trends
"Finding Aesthetic Satisfaction on the Balcony Instead of Flower Viewing"

Gwanggyo Galleria Department Store 'Aqua Garden'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "We prescribe companion plants for your tired heart." (From the book 'Comfort of Plants')

Companion plants are gaining attention as a healing course that provides comfort to modern people exhausted by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to online mall SSG.com on the 21st, total home gardening sales increased by 96.6% compared to the previous year over the past month from March 13 to April 12. Soil such as potting soil grew by 85.4%, and seeds such as herbs and sunflowers increased by 65.2%. Gardening kits, especially 'mini pot growing' for beginners, are popular.

During the same period, flower pot sales on Gmarket increased by 40% compared to the same period last year. Sales of flower and vegetable seedlings (51%) and seeds and seedlings (21%) also increased. Gardening tools such as watering cans increased by 29%, pruning scissors by 20%, pot saucers by 27%, and display stands by 9%. As the COVID-19 situation prolongs, demand is increasing every month.

Popularity in March increased even more compared to February. According to the price comparison site Enuri.com, sales of air-purifying plants and succulents in March jumped 43% and 143% respectively compared to the previous month. Fertilizers, gardening supplies, also increased by 42%, flower pots and vases by 69%, gardening tools by 105%, sprayers and watering cans by 42%, and vegetable garden sets by 491%.

Companion plants are a recently emerging concept, a variation of pets. The core is long-term and steady emotional communication with plants. It has rapidly grown in conjunction with interior trends such as 'plantterior' (a compound of plant and interior) and the 'home cafe' trend. In fact, department stores are increasing various stores with plantterior concepts. The recently opened Aqua Garden at Gwanggyo Galleria Department Store is designed as a healing cafe concept where customers can enjoy drinks along with plantterior-related products.

Strong interest in companion plants has also been detected on social networking services (SNS). Dozens of videos have been uploaded on YouTube channels in the past month alone. Plant YouTubers such as 'Growing Plants to Be Happy Cynthia TV,' 'Banseok Flower Farm,' 'Danam Succulents,' 'Lovely Rose Succulents TV,' and 'JOY Joy TV,' who specialize in plants and living, have popular videos. It is also a favorite course for beginner YouTubers to try vlogs (V-logs). On Instagram, posts tagged with 'companion plants' have reached 322,000 as of the 16th. Popular Instagram celebrities include 'Lipi-Gardening' with 73,000 followers, 'The Plant Room' (15,000 followers), 'Grant Park' (2,823 followers), and 'Kkotchaewoon' (1,331 followers), all recording high follower counts.

An SSG.com official explained, "It seems that more people are expecting the aesthetic satisfaction effect by cultivating their own vegetable garden on the veranda instead of going out for flower viewing." A Gmarket official said, "As people have been under a lot of stress due to COVID-19, it appears that consumers are increasing who bring companion plants to find emotional stability," adding, "The fact that they can enjoy a spring mood inside their stuffy homes while expecting air purification effects seems to have fueled this phenomenon."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.