This study focuses on the motivations of white-collar workers toward garden and gardening culture. The aim of the study is to identify the fundamental reasons for interest in gardening among white-collar workers. Today, significant recent changes in the dynamics of white-collar workers’ working lives indicate a need for their perspectives on gardening. The research is designed using a qualitative method to explore the experiences of white-collar professionals with gardening and gardening culture. In this study, which employed a phenomenological design, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants, including 8 women and 7 men, using purposive and snowball sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as the data collection tool, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis in Maxqda 2024. Based on the analysis of garden and gardening culture, three themes were identified: “the meaning of being white-collar and the garden,” “motivation for turning to the garden,” and “garden and gardening culture.” According to research findings, the impact of the interaction of various factors, such as health motivation, investment potential, mutual aid networks, and the development of belonging, as well as the dynamics of working life, on the appearance of garden culture has been understood. It was concluded that the gardening activities, initiated to escape the density of the city center, were a unique experience with economic, social, spatial, and psychological dimensions.
This study focuses on the motivations of white-collar workers toward garden and gardening culture. The aim of the study is to identify the fundamental reasons for interest in gardening among white-collar workers. Today, significant recent changes in the dynamics of white-collar workers’ working lives indicate a need for their perspectives on gardening. The research is designed using a qualitative method to explore the experiences of white-collar professionals with gardening and gardening culture. In this study, which employed a phenomenological design, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants, including 8 women and 7 men, using purposive and snowball sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as the data collection tool, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis in Maxqda 2024. Based on the analysis of garden and gardening culture, three themes were identified: “the meaning of being white-collar and the garden,” “motivation for turning to the garden,” and “garden and gardening culture.” According to research findings, the impact of the interaction of various factors, such as health motivation, investment potential, mutual aid networks, and the development of belonging, as well as the dynamics of working life, on the appearance of garden culture has been understood. It was concluded that the gardening activities, initiated to escape the density of the city center, were a unique experience with economic, social, spatial, and psychological dimensions.
