The rise of ‘cardening’: Why people are growing plants in cars – and everywhere else

The pandemic planting craze continues apace, with cacti grown on dashboards. Not to mention the gardens springing up in fire stations and along railway sidings

Car gardens are the logical next step in a growing trend.

Name: Cardening.

Age: New, according to social media users who have been sharing pictures of it during the pandemic, but in-depth research by the Pass notes team has found a reference dating to 2007, when a man in Minneapolis recommended cardening as a way to combat road rage.

Appearance: A garden in your car – usually a plant pot on the dashboard but anywhere you like, really. Maybe not in the engine for obvious reasons.

Didn’t Volkswagen have this idea with the flower in a vase in the Beetle? 

Well remembered. The vase was indeed an optional extra on Beetles in the 1950s and became standard on the new model in the late 90s. The Beetle was inextricably linked to the “flower power” generation in the 60s.

So cardening is not completely new. 

There is nothing new under the sun. Some of the earliest cars in the 1900s were built with vases, so drivers could use flowers to mask engine smells and the aroma of unwashed passengers on long journeys. They were the original air fresheners.

We’ve gone full circle. 

Sort of. The pandemic has given a boost to all kinds of gardening. We’ve got time on our hands; we’re depressed; we want to be connected to life, growth, possibility.

So cardening is tapping into the zeitgeist. 

Indeed, everywhere you look people are planting. Gardens are popping up all over the place with people in apartments making use of window boxes and balconies.

Everyone’s gone potty. 

Car gardens are the logical next step in a growing trend.

What are the best plants to grow in cars? 

Cacti are favoured because they can withstand dramatic temperature changes, but what they might do to an airbag in the event of an accident doesn’t bear thinking about. 

Geraniums and lucky bamboo are also recommended. 

But maybe avoid Swiss cheese plants.

Not to be confused with: The Rules of the Road, which doesn’t exactly major on gardening advice.

"Under road traffic law if the driver’s view of the road and other traffic – either to the front or side of the vehicle is limited or distorted by an object that prevents them from driving safely it is illegal and should be removed," it insists.

Do say: “What a lovely idea. We need to do everything possible to brighten our benighted lives.” 

Don’t say: “Did you tell your insurance company your view was blocked by begonias?”

 - The Guardian