Well, it’s not about saving money for some people, anyway—like the folks who pay $2,000 for someone else to build raised beds in their yard, and drop another $20 a pop for someone to come and yank weeds and collect the harvest.
The LA Times reports on the rise of homeowners outsourcing their backyard gardening chores to companies that specialize in the planting, weeding, and so on. While the recession inspired a renewed interest in a garden of one’s own, apparently the reality of tending to the veggies out back is too much trouble for a lot of people who literally don’t want to get their hands dirty.
But they don’t want to give up on their gardens either—even if they wind up being money losers in the long run. So if this isn’t about saving money, what’s it all about? From the story:
“The reality is, in most cases, you can go to Safeway or Whole Foods and buy organic produce for less,” said Jeremy Oldfield, 27, co-founder of Freelance Farmers. “So we focus on the intangibles of this: the joy of picking a tomato in the afternoon that’s still warm from the sun, or having a dinner party and being able to point out to your guests that most of the meal came out of your backyard.”
Ah, the intangible joy of bragging rights, along with tasting the fruit of someone else’s labor.