Potential analysis and public relations work Garden horizons From the Coast to the Harz Mountains - Survey on the Expectations of Trade Visitors and Interested Laymen for Garden Sites in Lower Saxony

A state-wide potential analysis was carried out for the Garden Horizons network in Lower Saxony in order to gain insights into the utilisation of the horticultural, cultural and tourist potential of Lower Saxony's garden culture. The focus is increasingly directed towards the horticultural places and offers, which have so far been less perceived by the public, but which can represent important impulse generators, especially for rural areas. Owners of garden cultural places and offers receive action-oriented hints on how these places and offers can be valorised with regard to possible visitor expectations. For the intended network formation, the potential analysis provides recommendations for action for the Lower Saxony-wide dissemination of information. The garden cultural potential determined within the framework of the study was compared with visitor expectations, which were surveyed in a non-representative survey. The quantitative primary survey resulted, among other things, in 682 data sets in nine selected parks on the core topics of visiting and information behaviour, awareness of gardens in Lower Saxony, interest in garden cultural aspects, expectations of garden visits and the quality of the selected gardens.

People use gardens and parks not only as places of recreation and leisure to find peace and quiet and a mental and physical balance. Already today, many people visit garden cultural facilities in the course of cultural, educational and recreational trips. Gardens and parks also provide the right ambience for garden festivals, concerts and festivals. In addition to their importance for garden culture and their recreational function, gardens and parks are also becoming increasingly interesting from an economic point of view. Garden shows attract millions of visitors, and for some years now there has been a noticeable increase in tourist offers in connection with gardens and parks. In addition, garden culture is supported by a high degree of private civic involvement, which is reflected in the widespread initiatives of "Open Gates".
The interests and expectations of people who visit parks and gardens are just as diverse as the garden culture on offer. The garden visitor is therefore often regarded as an "unknown entity" when it comes to developing concepts and measures to bring garden cultural values closer to people.
The task of assessing the wide-ranging potential of garden culture in an area such as Lower Saxony is correspondingly complex if the heterogeneous expectations of visitors are to be taken into account. The visitor-oriented approach was chosen in Lower Saxony in the development of the state initiative Garden Horizons in order to open up as broad a perspective as possible on the possibilities for valorising Lower Saxony's garden culture. Accordingly, instead of gardens and parks, all garden cultural places and offers are taken into consideration. In addition to gardens and parks, they also include other open spaces, references to the surrounding cultural landscapes as well as garden-related events and educational offers or the production and sale of typical regional garden-related products.
For the valorisation, recommendations and approaches to measures have been developed at local, regional and state-wide level in Lower Saxony. On the local level, there is the direct possibility of increasing the quality and awareness of garden-cultural places and offers, if this becomes necessary as a result of a separate case-by-case assessment carried out with owners and experts. A classification and recording form has been developed to provide assistance in the evaluation of one's own facilities, to enable classification into the garden horizon categories and at the same time to provide the basic information necessary for the nationwide recording. The survey also provides recommendations for measures to be taken to provide local information and to develop the design and infrastructure of the gardens.
The high level of interest shown in the special landscape and cultural features in the vicinity of the gardens and the great willingness of visitors to travel to the gardens, as described above, suggest that networked regional offers should be developed and communicated at regional level.
In the context of nationwide valorisation, the communication of information can contribute to strengthening the social and political relevance of garden culture, which ultimately benefits the garden cultural sites. To this end, the dimensions of natural space, action space, content, organization, personnel and media have been identified and supported with initial recommendations for action.