The Real Reason So Many Gardening Shows Have Been Canceled (2024)

If it feels like there's a lot more "H" than "G" in "HGTV" these days, it's not just your imagination. The success of home renovation shows—like Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, and Flip or Flop—and real estate franchises—think House Hunters and Bargain Hunt—on Home & Garden Television seems to have sparked a recent surge of similar new shows (including Home Town, My Flippin' Friends, and Listed Sisters).

But don't get us wrong—we're not complaining! We love the sweet satisfaction of watching those major makeovers unfold from start to finish. And we're just as crazy about Chip and Joanna as the next Fixer Upper fanatic (we are human, after all). But after reading some of the recent comments on our Facebook page, we had to wonder: Where has the "G" in "HGTV" gone? In our excitement over home renovation and real estate, are we leaving landscaping behind? We're talking TV shows like Urban Outsiders and The City Gardener, both hosted by British garden expert Matt James—and which have both been taken off the air. Amazing renos will always be a hit, but is too much of a good thing, well, too much?

Some of our readers certainly seem to think so. Every time CountryLiving.com reports on a new renovation or real estate show premiering on the Scripps Network, we get a flood of comments such as "All these shows are the same," "I can't handle any more flip shows," and "I wish they'd bring back some of the gardening and landscaping shows."

The complaints aren't necessarily unfounded. Of all the titles listed on HGTV's website, home renovation and real estate shows make up about 65 percent of the programming. The remainder is divvied up into categories including gardening, decorating and design, entertaining, construction, specials, and appraisals and salvage sales.

"The problem is HGTV's lack of imagination," reads one Instagram comment. "There are so many new ideas that can be made into shows. There are currently no shows about gardening or organization. I used to love the Design on a Dime concept, but that show went away. So while it's nice to watch flip shows hosted by sweet couples, the truth is I'll never flip a house. But... if HGTV provided shows about gardening, I would benefit from that. If HGTV offered programming with inexpensive decorating/design ideas, I would be so happy. If HGTV had a show with an organizing guru it would be a hit. I think people want to watch these type of shows but HGTV is not listening." But is it really fair to say that HGTV execs lack imagination, or that they're not listening to viewers? The answer might not be so simple.

Why HGTV Has So Many Reno Shows

In 2016, HGTV was the third most-watched cable network, beating out CNN and coming in behind Fox News and ESPN, Bloomberg reported in December. And renovation and real estate shows make up a majority of their top 25 highest-rated titles. So, the most simple answer seems to be: The current programming is working, so why fix what isn't broken?

"We've found that our viewers' appetite for real estate and renovation programming is virtually insatiable," said Steven Lerner, senior vice president, programing and development, HGTV and DIY Network, in a 2013 news release. "But we're committed to showcasing inventive series that give them what they want, while inspiring them to examine how they think about finding, buying, and renovating their own homes."

By 2014, Lerner still hadn't changed his tune: "With the continued success of the House Hunters franchise, Love It or List It, and Property Brothers, viewers seem to never tire of real estate, renovation, and peeking inside other people's homes."

The network has stayed consistent with this strategy. "We super-serve our viewer what she likes, and we give her more and more of it," Scripps chief programming officer Kathleen Finch explained to Bloomberg in 2016.

As for that "lack of imagination" claim? There's a good reason the network doesn't do too much experimenting in the $400 million it spends per year on original programming. "We're not going to surprise you," Scripps Chief Executive Officer Ken Lowe told Bloomberg. "We're not going to throw you a curve ball. It's not easy to create content that people are passionate about and somewhat addicted to that is somewhat repetitive."

The So-Called "Death of Television Garden Shows"

Paul James, former host of Gardening by the Yard, which ran for 13 years before it was canceled in 2009, has his own opinions about why his genre of television has faded. "Along the way, my ratings began to slide, in part because it seems fewer and fewer gardeners actually took the time to watch television, although I can't help wondering whether the lousy time slots had something to do with the ratings issue as well," James wrote in a 2009 blog post ominously titled, "The Death of Television Garden Shows."

"I still believe there's a market for good-old 'how-to' programming," James continued. "That's why I launched GGTV as part of my website, wherein I present gardening tips that I believe can be of benefit to all gardeners, regardless of their level of expertise. It cost a fair amount of money to produce the webisodes, but my hope is that as the website grows in popularity, advertising revenue will offset those costs."

Unfortunately, James's plan didn't seem to work out, considering the last GGTV videos were posted seven years ago.

James has been similarly inactive on his blog and Facebook page in recent years. "Okay, so I've done a lousy job of checking my FB page regularly," James wrote in a 2010 Facebook post. "Sorry about that. I've also been ignoring my website. The reasons? Well for one, I'm lazy. I'm also just not the type to spend a lot of time online. I'd rather sit under a tree and contemplate the meaning of life than stare at a computer screen." Perhaps would-be viewers of gardening shows are the same way, preferring to actually spend time outside rather than watch others garden on TV?

The Future of Gardening Shows

Still, there's still hope for a return to the good old days of garden programming. HGTV tells us new episodes of Yard Crashers, starring Matt Blashaw, are currently in production and set to premiere on DIY Network on Saturday, April 8. And the new DIY Network show Lawn and Order (which just might be the best name for a landscaping show we've ever heard) will follow experts Chris Lambton and Sara Bendrick as they beautify lawns and exteriors. You can catch the pilot when it re-airs, also on April 8. "We also air new episodes of America's Most Desperate Landscape with Jason Cameron on DIY Network," John Feld, Senior Vice President of Programming for HGTV, DIY Network, and Great American Country, told CountryLiving.com. Plus there's "Build It Like Bendrick, featuring Sara Bendrick from Lawn and Order. That pilot is scheduled to premiere this spring on DIY Network."

As for the ratings, Feld tell us, "Our spring lineup of landscaping shows perform on par with our renovation shows on DIY Network." So maybe the network is listening, after all.