Effect of Perceived Importance according to the Visual Image of Tropicalesque Flower Landscape on the Loyalty of Horticulture Majors and Workers in Related Fields

Article information

J. People Plants Environ. 2023;26(3):191-205

Publication date (electronic) : 2023 June 30

doi : https://doi.org/10.11628/ksppe.2023.26.3.191

Hye Sook Jang ¹

, Jung Nam Suh ²^,

, Yun-Im Kang ³, Kyung Hye Seo ², Myung Suk Ahn ²

¹Postdoctoral Researcher, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju-gun, Jeolabuk-do 55365, Republic of Korea

²Researcher, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju-gun, Jeolabuk-do 55365, Republic of Korea

³Senior Researcher, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju-gun, Jeolabuk-do 55365, Republic of Korea

^*Corresponding author: Jung Nam Suh, suhjn@korea.kr

First author: Hye Sook Jang, jhs915@korea.kr

This study was supported by the 2023 Horticultural and Herbal Science Program of the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science of the Rural Development Administration (PJ01602401).

Received 2023 January 30; Revised 2023 March 17; Accepted 2023 April 13.

Abstract

Background and objective

Methods

A survey was conducted with 105 participants who attended a symposium on tropicalesque flower landscaping, and the results were analyzed.

Results

As a result of comparatively analyzing the psychological indices of plants in terms of the level of gardening activity (3 factors such as gardening experience, plant preference tendency, and plant-related event) between horticulture majors and workers in related fields and general people, it was found that horticulture majors and workers in related fields showed a higher level of gardening activity than general people, with gardening experience particularly showing statistical significance (p < .05). Preference for ‘Pretoria’ was the highest among four varieties of Canna × generalis. Preference for mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants was highest among three types of tropicalesque flower landscape. Preference for tropicalesque flower landscape was highest in the 50s among all age groups, and in the group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won, showing statistical significance. Among 6 factors of perceived importance of plants, esthetics and emotional relaxation for improved quality of life showed high scores in the survey measuring perceived importance of plants. As a result of conducting a regression analysis to examine the effect of the level of gardening activity, importance of plants, preference for tropicalesque flower landscape, and demographic variables (control variables) on loyalty, flower landscape preference was the most influential variable, followed by esthetics among the 6 factors of importance.

Conclusion

These results suggest that by increasing the formation of tropicalesque flower landscape, a natural landscape that can reduce negative factors such as increased stress and depression since the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be possible to reduce fatigue caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and improve the quality of life for citizens.

Keywords: emotional relaxation; esthetics; tropicalesque roadside flower bed

Introduction

The development of green landscapes in urban areas not only has the function of reducing various disasters and environmental pollution but also esthetic functions such as improving the urban landscape for the psychological stability of urban residents. This is due to the increasing demand for a better quality of life, pleasant urban environment and green space among citizens, as well as changes in the perspective towards urban landscapes (Lee, 2008). Humans are naturally attracted to natural elements, and if they are exposed to many plant leaves in their line of sight, they can experience the effect of emotional enhancement (Cimprich, 1993; Lee, 2006). Just seeing plants in everyday life relieves fatigue, provides mental and physical stability, and activates brain function (Song, 2004). Plants as living organisms provide humans with psychological functions such as stability and rest (Lee, 2014), and engaging in plant cultivation activities provides psychological satisfaction, increases interest and understanding of plants, as well as concentration and creativity, thereby promoting interest in plants and bringing positive effects and interest in plants (Kim, 2001; Shin et al., 2007).

Tropicalesque roadside flower beds recently being implemented by the Rural Development Administration refer to flower beds composed of flowering plants native to tropical and subtropical regions with vivid colors, rough textures, and bold shapes of leaves and flowers, resembling tropical flora in summer of temperate regions, and their refreshing and exotic mood offers comfort to people worn out by the COVID-19 pandemic (Kim, 2021). Citizens have made comments on urban glower landscapes such as “flower landscapes are highly necessary” and “flower landscapes are highly preferred”, which suggests that they have high expectations, interest, and appreciation for flowers used in urban landscapes (Yoon, 2021). Adopting flower streetscapes can increase the value of related industries such as flower farms and garden operators or improve the quality of life for citizens (Jang et al., 2022).

Rural Development Administration is using canna (Canna spp.), which is used in summer flower beds, as the main flower among test-cultivated plants for tropicalesque roadside flower beds in summer. Canna is a spring planting bulb that is the rhizome of Cannaceae native to South America and tropical Asia, and its optimum temperature for growth is 20–28°C, and it stops growing below 5°C and freezes to death below 0°C. Canna leaves and flowers can be viewed at the same time from June until frost, and it has a long flowering period and various flower colors, thereby suitable for flower beds in various areas such as roads and parks (RDA, 2018). In 2022, the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science used cannas as the main material for creating summer flower beds in Korea similar to tropical climates, that is, tropicalesque roadside flower beds, in public facilities such as museums, art galleries, and government buildings through a research project. However, related studies are insufficient, such as preference, importance, and loyalty related to tropicalesque flower landscapes using cannas. In particular, since vision receives more than 70% of information among the five human senses (Whang et al., 1997), it can be important in understanding how the visual image of plants is perceived by users as a visual environment (Lee and Bang, 1996).

Therefore, this study investigated and analyzed how preferences for tropicalesque flower landscape materials and forms as well as importance of plants affect loyalty by surveying not the general public, but horticulture experts such as floriculture professors and researchers who attended the tropicalesque flower landscape symposium hosted by National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, undergraduate and graduate students majoring in horticulture, staff at local agricultural technology centers, and those involved in landscaping services. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to provide positive data that can contribute to improving the quality of life for citizens, promoting consumption of landscape flowers, and increasing agricultural household income by applying forms of flower landscape that blend in with the characteristics of local space from the perspective of horticulture majors and workers in related fields.

Research Methods

Demographic characteristics of respondents

A survey was conducted on 114 participants of the tropicalesque flower landscape symposium (horticulture experts and workers in related fields), and 105 copies of the questionnaire were analyzed excluding 9 copies with insincere responses (Table 1). The average age of all respondents was 37.5 ± 13.1, and there were 48 male (45.7%) and 57 female respondents (54.3%), most of whom were in their 20s (41.0%), followed by 40s (20.0%), 30s (17.1%), 50s (16.2%), and 60s or older (5.7%). As for educational attainment, 39.0% were university graduates (including students), 58.1% were graduate school alumni (including students), and 2.9% were high school graduates. For average monthly household income, most earned less than 2 million won per month (30.8%), followed by 2.01–3 million won per month (26.0%), 3.01–4 million won per month and at least 5.01 million won per month (16.3% each), and 4.01–5 million won per month (10.6%). By occupation, 16.0% were company employees, 27.6% were experts, 10.5% had other jobs, 29.5% were students, 14.3% were in agriculture/forestry/fishery, and 2.9% were self-employed. As for the residential area, 53.4% lived in cities, followed by 18.1% living in metropolitan cities (including Sejong-si, Jeju), 15.2% in Seoul, and 13.3% in towns or smaller regional units.

Table 1

Characteristics of survey respondents (N = 105)

Analysis of psychological characteristics of respondents

Psychological characteristics were assessed using measures such as the level of gardening activity, importance of plant function and value, and the semantic differential (SD) scale.

Level of gardening activity

To determine the level of respondents’ plant-related experience or perception, we examined the level of gardening activity. Here, we comparatively analyzed the level of gardening activity of the horticulture experts and workers in related fields surveyed in this study as well as general people (using the level of gardening activity analysis results from four papers published in 2019–2022). The level of gardening activity scale consists of total 12 items in 3 sub-domains, 4 items in each subdomain related to gardening experience, plant preference tendency, and plant-related event (RDA, 2017). The items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 point: most negative – 7 points: most positive), with higher scores indicating higher levels of gardening experience or perception. In previous research, Cronbach's α was 0.890 in the online survey and 0.947 in the offline survey. Cronbach's α of the gardening activity level scale used in this study was 0.913, and Cronbach's α of the three subdomains was 0.870 for gardening experience, 0.791 for plant preference tendency, and 0.830 for plant-related event.

Perceived importance of plant function and value

Perceived importance of plant function and value was measured based on related studies (Kwak, 2004), and in this study, we used the scale consisting of 22 items and 6 subdomains used by Jang et al. (2011) by adjusting it into 21 items to better fit this study. Each of the items was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Cronbach's α in previous research was 0.882, and Cronbach's α of the tool consisting of 6 factors of importance in this study was 0.731. We clearly classified total 21 variables developed to measure the perceived importance of plant function and value into the same concept group and used the varimax rotation emphasizing mutual independence of factors to reduce the number of variables at the same time, thereby reconstructing the factors based on the eigenvalue of 1.0. The results are as shown in Table 2. Thus, the perceived importance scale used in this study consists of 6 factors explaining all variables by 69.8%. The extracted factors of importance are as follows. Factor 1 is emotional relaxation at the emotional level where one feels stable and comfortable through plants. Factor 2 is cover that may cause stuffiness due to excessive index of greenness or plants blocking light. Factor 3 is esthetics at that can soften the artificial environment. Factor 4 is the naturalistic factor that can be felt in terms of type, shape, or texture of plants. Factor 5 is the distinct factor in terms of seasonal changes in plants. Factor 6 is the environmental factor such as the pleasant space that can be obtained from plants and the control of temperature and humidity.

Table 2

The importance structure obtained by the factor-analysis

Semantic differential (SD) scale

The semantic differential (SD) scale is widely used to evaluate the landscape, a factor that is easily changed in terms of value depending on subjective taste and preference of individuals as well as a factor that is difficult to quantify. The SD scale was developed by Osgood et al. (1952) as a method of measuring human psychological states using adjectives that express human emotions, and is widely used in landscape or emotional evaluation. In this study, we used image adjectives for landscape evaluation (Im, 2009) and three pairs of emotional vocabulary that can be related to plants, such as ‘unpleasant-pleasant’, ‘artificial-natural’, and ‘excited-calm’, which were to be rated on a 7-point Likert scale (most negative 1, most positive 7) by the respondents depending on how close they feel (Park, 2010; Kim, 2012). In this study, Cronbach’s α of the three pairs of emotional vocabulary was 0.746.

Preference and loyalty of respondents

Preference for tropicalesque flower landscape and canna varieties

To examine the preference for tropicalesque flower landscape and canna varieties, we photographed 2 sets of tropicalesque roadside flower pots using Canna × generalis, Begonia semperflorens ‘Big Green Pink’ and ‘Dragon Wing Red’, Coleus scutellarioides, Alternanthera brasiliana, Ipomoea batatas, and Hibiscus acetosella ‘Mahogany Splendor’ at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science and Yongin Agriculture Theme Park, 1 roadside flower bed, and 4 types of cannas used as the main flowers (C. × generalis, ‘Cleopatra,’ ‘Musaefolia,’ ‘Phasion,’ and ‘Pretoria’), after which we provided the photos in the questionnaire and had the respondents rate their preference on a 5-point Likert scale (Fig. 1). Cronbach’s α of the preference for tropicalesque roadside flower beds in this study was 0.634, and Cronbach’s α of the preference for canna varieties was 0.628.

Fig. 1

Experimental plant used in the survey. Canna × generalis (A) ‘Cleopatra,’ (B) ‘Musaefolia,’ (C) ‘Phasion,’ (D) ‘Pretoria,’ (E) mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants, (F) single planting of tropicalesque plants, and (G) tropicalesque roadside flower bed.

Loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape

Loyalty used in this study is expressed as consumers’ desire to repurchase, defined as consumers’ commitment, and can be classified into emotional, cognitive, and behavioral loyalty (Oliver, 1999). Customers who have such emotional or cognitive loyalty by encountering tropicalesque flower landscapes or plants also tend to have repurchase intention and recommend to people they know (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The loyalty scale used in this study consists of 3 items on loyalty based on the customer loyalty scale used by Gremler (1995), which was readjusted according to the tropicalesque flower landscape and plants. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1: negative – 5: positive) (Zeisel, 1981). Cronbach’s α of loyalty in this study was 0.908.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis of this study was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 25.0. Reliability analysis of measurement tools was conducted by calculating Cronbach's α. Factor analysis, one-way ANOVA, the level of gardening activity, and the SD scale were used to analyze the importance of plants. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the preference for tropicalesque flower landscapes and 4 canna varieties. Tukey's multiple range test was used as the post-hoc test. An independent t-test was used to compare the level of gardening activity between horticulture majors and workers in related fields and general people, and Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlation between loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape and key variables. A chi-square test was conducted to test the difference in loyalty depending on the general background, and a frequency analysis was conducted to analyze the ratio of loyalty among respondents for tropicalesque flower landscape and plants. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effect of demographic variables and key variables such as the level of gardening activity on loyalty. Since gender, age, education, occupation, and place of residence were examined as nominal scales in the survey of demographic characteristics, they were used as dummy variables in the regression analysis.

Results and Discussion

Analysis of psychological characteristics of respondents

Plant-related experience and perception of respondents

As a result of comparing the difference in plant-related experience and perception between general people and horticulture experts and workers in related fields who attended the tropicalesque flower landscape symposium (Table 3), horticulture experts and workers in related fields showed highest scores in gardening experience (5.69 ± 1.13) among the three factors, followed by plant-related event (5.47 ± 1.27) and plant preference tendency (4.92 ± 1.23). As a result of examining the mean of plant-related experience and perception of four previous studies on the general public (Jang et al., 2019, 2020a, 2020b, 2022), plant-related event (4.49 ± 0.08) was the highest, followed by gardening experience (4.41 ± 0.62) and plant preference tendency (4.32 ± 0.59), showing a statistical significance in gardening experience between horticulture majors and workers in related fields and general people (p < .05). The average level of gardening activity of horticulture majors and workers in related fields was high because horticulture majors and workers in related fields have more chance to encounter plants than general people, and thus not only gardening experience but also plant preference tendency and plant-related event also showed high scores. Gardening activity gives psychological satisfaction and increases interest and understanding of plants, as well as concentration and creativity, thereby promoting interest in plants and bringing positive effects (Kim, 2001; Shin et al., 2007). Therefore, continuous efforts must be made by creating flower landscapes or gardens so that people can easily encounter plants in everyday life without having to try finding plants.

Table 3

Differences in the level of gardening activity by subjects

As a result of conducting Tukey's post-hoc analysis to test the statistical significance of plant-related experience and perception by education (Table 4), there was a statistically significant result between high school graduates and graduate school alumni for gardening experience, and between university graduates and graduate school alumni for plant-related event (p < .05). As a result of examining plant-related experience and perception by occupation (Table 5), company employees showed the lowest mean at 4.94/7 and experts showed the highest mean at 6.22/7 for gardening experience, followed by agriculture/forestry/fishery and students, showing statistically significant results among groups (p < .01). This result was similar to the study by Jang et al. (2020b) on the level of gardening activity of garden visitors, reporting that the level of gardening activity was highest in those working in agriculture/forestry/fishery compared to other jobs. This study conducted the survey on participants of the tropicalesque flower landscape symposium and thus most were experts and students specializing in horticulture. Accordingly, compared to the survey on general people, graduate school alumni showed high means in gardening experience by education, and horticulture experts or agriculture/forestry/fishery workers showed high means by occupation.

Table 4

Difference in level of gardening activity by education of subjects

Table 5

Difference in level of gardening activity by occupation of subjects

Respondent preference for 4 canna varieties and 3 flower landscapes

As a result of examining respondent preference for 4 canna varieties (Table 6), F-value was 10.784 and p-value was .001, indicating that there was a statistically significant difference in the respondent preference for 4 canna varieties. Preference was highest at 4.03 for C. × generalis, ‘Pretoria’, followed by ‘Phasion’, ‘Musaefolia’, and ‘Cleopatra’. ‘Pretoria’ that showed the highest preference has big leaves with light green and green stripes that may display a cool mood in hot summer.

Table 6

The preference of four cultivars of Canna × generalis and three forms of tropicalesque flower landscape plants

As a result of examining the difference in preference for 3 types of tropicalesque flower landscape (Table 6), F-value was 4.470 and p-value was .05. Out of the three types of landscapes such as mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants, single planting of tropicalesque plants, and tropicalesque roadside flower beds, the preference for mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants (3.98 ± 0.78) was the highest, followed by single planting of tropicalesque plants (3.71 ± 1.02) and tropicalesque roadside flower beds (3.63 ± 0.87), showing a statistically significant difference.

As a result of conducting Tukey's post-hoc analysis to test the statistical significance of preference for tropicalesque flower landscape according to demographic variables, there was a statistical significance among groups by age and average monthly income, whereas there was no statistical significance among groups by gender, education, occupation, and place of residence. The preference for 3 types of tropicalesque flower landscape by age showed statistically significant results between the 60s or older and the 50s for mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants and between the 20s and the 50s for tropicalesque roadside flower beds (p < .001), with the 50s showing the highest average preference for tropicalesque flower landscape among all age groups (Table 7). As a result of examining the preference for 3 types of tropicalesque flower landscape by average monthly income (Table 8), the group with the average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won showed the highest mean at 4.36/5 for tropicalesque roadside flower beds, while the group with the income of 2 million won or lower showed the lowest mean at 3.34/5, showing statistically significant results among groups (p < .01).

Table 7

Difference in level of preference by age of subjects

Table 8

Difference in level of preference by monthly income (Korean won) of subjects

Perceived importance of plant function and value

As a result of examining perceived importance of plant function and value (Table 9), three factors such as esthetics (4.38 ± 0.54), emotional relaxation (4.11 ± 0.76), and environmental (4.01 ± 0.61) showed high importance with the mean higher than 4/5, followed by naturalistic, distinct, and cover. In a study by Jang et al. (2018) on the perceived importance according to the visual elements of foliage plants, the importance was highest in environmental, followed by esthetics and emotional relaxation, whereas this study showed a difference in perceived importance, which was highest in esthetics, followed by emotional relaxation and environmental. In 2018 before the outbreak of COVID-19, environmental factors such as fine dust or pollution were perceived as important, but the anxiety and depression caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 for more than 3 years since the end of 2019 may have highlighted the importance of esthetics and emotional relaxation. Moreover, the usefulness of plants is supported by Yoo (2013) who reported in a study on the expectations for indoor landscaping in terms of psychological, cognitive, and environmental functions that the expectations were highest for psychological functions followed by environmental functions, as well as by Ulrich (1979, 2002) proving that just looking at a well-designed landscape with plants had the effect of stress relief.

Table 9

The importance of the six factors of plants

As a result of conducting Tukey's post-hoc analysis to test the statistical significance of the perceived importance of plant function and value according to demographic variables (Tables 10 and 11), there was statistical significance among groups by age and average monthly income, whereas there was no statistical significance among groups by gender, education, occupation, and place of residence. By age, the 50s showed higher perceived importance for cover than the 40s, showing a statistically significant difference. The group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won showed higher perceived importance for the distinct factor than the group with an income of 3 million won or less, showing a statistically significant difference. In particular, although there was no statistical significance, esthetics that was perceived as most important among the 6 factors was highest in the 30s group and the group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won. Moreover, not only esthetics but also perceived importance of plants was highest in the group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won among other groups. The fact that the 30s perceive esthetics as most important is supported by Jang et al. (2018) who reported in a study on the importance of indoor foliage plants according to visual elements that the 2–30s group attach most importance to esthetics, which includes items such as ‘arranging plants so that they blend in with the space’, as well as by Jeong and Yang (2022) who reported in a study on the importance of indoor garden plants that the 2–30s consider mood control important. Therefore, considering the characteristics of the subjects is considered highly important in creating landscapes using plants.

Table 10

Difference in level of importance by age of subjects

Table 11

Difference in level of importance by monthly income (Korean won) of subjects

Validation of the loyalty of respondents for tropicalesque flower landscape and the difference in loyalty according to demographic variables

As a result of examining the loyalty of respondents for tropicalesque flower landscape, for Loyalty 1 (“I can talk positively about growing tropicalesque flower plants to others”), there was more that 80% of positive responses such as ‘Somewhat agree’ and ‘Strongly agree’. For Loyalty 2 (“I intend to invest more in installing tropicalesque flower landscape”) and Loyalty 3 (“I strongly recommend installing tropicalesque flower landscape to relatives or friends”), the percentage of positive responses was about 53–58% (Table 12).

Table 12

The participants repeat purchase intention in tropicalesque flower landscape

As a result of examining the difference in loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape by age using a chi-square test (Table 13), Loyalty 1 (“I can talk positively about growing tropicalesque flower plants to others”) showed p-value .03 (χ² = 27.556) at significance level α = .05, and Loyalty 3 (“I strongly recommend installing tropicalesque flower landscape to relatives or friends”) showed p-value .04 (χ² = 27.452) at significance level α = .05, indicating that there is a difference in Loyalty 1 and Loyalty 3 by age. For Loyalty 1 (“I can talk positively about growing tropicalesque flower plants to others”), the ratio of ‘Strongly agree’ was highest in the 50s. For Loyalty 3 (“I strongly recommend installing tropicalesque flower landscape to relatives or friends”), the ratio of ‘Strongly agree’ was highest in the 20s (49%). Total loyalty was highest in the 50s (4.06±0.56), followed by the 40s, 20s, 30s, and 60s or above (p < .05). Loyalty was the lowest in the 60s possibly because the result was biased with only 6 participants in the group.

Table 13

Cross-correlation analysis of loyalty to tropicalesque flower landscape according to age

As reported by Kim (2006) that loyalty has significance in evaluating the Agriculture Technology Exhibition and can be a key variable in demand increase, high loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape may be an important variable in securing the flower consumption market that may be reduced in summer. Moreover, as reported by Jang et al. (2020b) in a study on the effect of visitors’ positive emotions on loyalty according to perceived restorativeness of healing gardens that there was an effect on Loyalty 1 (“I can talk positively about growing plants to others”) according to education and age, considering the demographic variables of subjects by region is an important part of creating flower landscapes, which may increase loyalty for plants, and this increased loyalty will promote use and consumption of plants.

Correlation between key variables and loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape

Correlation between key variables and loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape ranged from .26 to .57, and there was a relevance between each variable. Level of gardening activity, importance of plants, preference, pleasant, natural, and calm showed a positive correlation with loyalty, which was statistically significant. This indicates that higher values of key variables such as importance, preference, pleasant, natural, and calm lead to higher loyalty. In particular, there was a high positive correlation over .56 between loyalty and preference for tropicalesque flower landscape and between natural and calm (Table 14). The result of this study that there was a high positive correlation between loyalty and preference for plants is supported by Yoon (2021) in a study on the need and preference for urban flower landscape, which reported that there was a high ratio of opinions such as ‘flower landscape is highly necessary’ and ‘flower landscape is highly preferred’, indicating that citizens have high expectations, interest, and likability for the role of flowers as urban landscape. In particular, the need to create tropicalesque flower landscape as claimed by this study is supported by Yoon (2021) reporting that the need for streetscape was ranked 4^th and the preference for place was highest among the 8 places provided in the survey of the need and preference for places to apply flower landscapes, which was conducted among horticulture and landscape experts, and also that the respondents preferred flower landscape they can encounter anytime in everyday life such as streets or residence.

Table 14

Correlation between emotional words and three styles of tropicalesque flower landscapes of subjects

Effect of respondents’ key variables and demographic variables on loyalty

Multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of key variables such as level of gardening activity, importance of plant function and value, preference, and demographic variables on the loyalty of survey respondents (Table 15). There was no multicollinearity because the correlation between independent variables was low, and there was no autocorrelation since Durbin-Watson was close to 2 (data not shown). As a result of conducting a regression analysis to examine the effect of the level of gardening activity (3 factors: gardening experience, plant preference tendency, and plant-related event), importance of plants (6 factors: emotional relaxation, cover, esthetics, naturalistic, distinct, and environmental), preference for tropicalesque flower landscape, and demographic variables (control variables) on loyalty, flower landscape preference and esthetics among the 6 factors of importance turned out to be the variables affecting loyalty. In other words, higher flower landscape preference and esthetics led to higher loyalty. Demographic variables such as gender and education, which were control variables of the respondents, did not affect loyalty.

Table 15

The effect of importance, preference, and demographic variables on loyalty

These variables explain about 35% of loyalty, and flower landscape preference has the most explanatory power at 32%, which increases by 3% to total 35% explanatory power when esthetics is added among the 6 factors of importance. Moreover, the F-value 26.92 was significant at p < .001, showing that the regression model of this study is adequate. Therefore, in the relative explanatory power of the independent variables that affect the loyalty of respondents, flower landscape preference and esthetics had the greatest effect, especially flower landscape preference that turned out to be the most influential variable. This suggests that loyalty is most affected by esthetics, such as creating a spatial mood or landscape using plants that are known to help relieve stress, give emotional stability, and promote health (Kwak, 2004; Lee, 2006) and finding preference and beauty for plant landscape that offers a feeling of nature such as plant leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits.

Conclusion

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the psychological effect of the visual image of tropicalesque flower landscape and the preference for plants, and the effect of the importance of plants on loyalty. A survey was conducted on 105 participants of the tropicalesque flower landscape symposium (horticulture majors and workers in related fields). The average age of the respondents was 37.49 ± 13.05, and there were 48 male and 57 female respondents. As a result of comparatively analyzing the psychological indices of plants in terms of the level of gardening activity (3 factors such as gardening experience, plant preference tendency, and plant-related event) between horticulture majors and workers in related fields and general people, it was found that horticulture majors and workers in related fields showed a higher level of gardening activity than general people, with gardening experience particularly showing statistical significance (p < .05). Moreover, as a result of examining plant-related experience and perception by occupation, it was found that experts showed a higher mean (6.22) for gardening experience than company employees. Preference for ‘Pretoria’ was highest among 4 canna varieties (C. × generalis), and preference for mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants was highest among 3 types of tropicalesque flower landscape. Preference for tropicalesque flower landscape was highest in the 50s among all age groups, and in the group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won, showing statistical significance.

Among 6 factors of perceived importance of plants, esthetics and emotional relaxation for improved quality of life showed high scores. In 2018 before the outbreak of COVID-19, environmental factors such as fine dust or pollution were perceived as important, but the anxiety and depression caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 for more than 3 years since the end of 2019 may have highlighted the importance of esthetics and emotional relaxation. In particular, the group with an average monthly income of 4.01–5 million won considered the distinct factor important, which included ‘provides a place to have conversations’ and ‘can feel the change of seasons’, showing a statistically significant difference. As a result of examining the loyalty of respondents for tropicalesque flower landscape, for Loyalty 1 (“I can talk positively about growing tropicalesque flower plants to others”), there was more that 80% of positive responses such as ‘Somewhat agree’ and ‘Strongly agree’, indicating the high interest in plants among horticulture majors and workers in related fields. By age, loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape was highest in the 50s. Loyalty for tropicalesque flower landscape showed high positive correlation with key variables such as level of gardening activity, importance of plants, and preference, indicating that higher values of key variables such as importance of plants, preference, pleasant, natural, and calm led to higher loyalty. As a result of conducting a regression analysis to examine the effect of the level of gardening activity, importance of plants, preference for tropicalesque flower landscape, and demographic variables (control variables) on loyalty, flower landscape preference was the most influential variable, followed by esthetics among the 6 factors of importance. These results suggest that by increasing the formation of tropicalesque flower landscape, a natural landscape that can reduce negative factors such as increased stress and depression since the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be possible to reduce fatigue caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and improve the quality of life for citizens. In particular, the use of cannas as tropicalesque landscape flowers, which were easily seen on the streets in the hot summer days and quickly grown and looked cool, may be able to remind the middle-aged and the elderly in their 5–60s of good memories related to plants. In particular, the result that there was higher preference and loyalty of horticulture majors and workers in related fields for tropicalesque roadside flower pots or beds using multiple plants than single plants can be a driving force for enjoyable research or jobs related to horticulture. This driving force will have a positive effect on not only horticulture majors and workers in related fields but also the general public. It is also important to increase consumption of plants through continuous research on plant resources, management, and landscape model development that can be used for tropicalesque roadside flower pot sets or flower beds. Moreover, through further research, a roadside flower bed landscaping model can be proposed so that flowers can be seen continuously from spring to fall in South Korea with four distinct seasons.

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Article information Continued

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Factor	Variable	Component (factor)

		1	2	3	4	5	6
Emotion relaxation	Ease the stress.	.900	−.114	.117	.005	.155	.059
	Increase happiness.	.896	−.247	.030	.066	.052	.124
	Stabilize emotion.	.878	−.169	.136	.075	.124	.001
	Influence health care.	.584	.111	.165	−.001	.310	.242

Covers	Hard to view outside, because of plants.	−.087	.850	−.053	.077	.119	−.166
	Too crowded, because of plants.	−.179	.844	.034	.077	−.125	.098
	Sun light blocked by indoor plants.	−.009	.835	−.154	.007	.107	−.178
	Messy, with plants.	−.154	.807	−.095	−.011	−.220	.045

Esthetics	The shape of entire plants.	.008	−.016	.796	.022	.052	.160
	Arrangement of plants related to the atmosphere of the space.	.193	−.097	.771	−.033	.135	.093
	The colors of leaves, stems, flowers and fruits.	.070	−.141	.761	.091	−.111	.051

Naturalistic	Existence or nonexistence of flowers.	−.024	.124	−.054	.752	−.230	−.089
	The quantity of plants.	.024	.077	.072	.725	.172	.077
	The diversity of type of plants.	.037	−.258	−.142	.643	.454	.096
	The entire size of plants.	.126	.093	.404	.565	−.375	.075
	The difference of touch among plants.	.194	.041	.379	.498	.319	−.065

Distinct	Being feasible to feel the changes of seasons.	.270	−.024	.064	.006	.791	.010
Distinct	Offering the place of conversation.	.380	−.033	.034	.136	.645	.349

Environmental	The rate of difficult to grow.	−.026	−.032	.235	.086	.196	.749
	Freshness of space by the plant.	.291	−.122	.129	−.114	−.085	.748
	Helping control of temperature and humidity.	.440	−.105	−.163	.357	.227	.459

Extraction value	Eigen value	5.312	2.811	2.189	1.852	1.328	1.160
	Contribution rate	25.297	13.384	10.424	8.820	6.323	5.522
	Cumulative contribution rate	25.297	38.681	49.105	57.925	64.248	69.770

Factor	Horticultural person	General person	t	p-value
Gardening experience	5.69 ± 1.13^z	4.41 ± 0.71	−2.241	.027^*
Plant preference tendency	4.92 ± 1.27	4.32 ± 0.68	−0.937	.351^NS
Plant-related event	5.47 ± 1.23	4.49 ± 0.90	−1.585	.116^NS

Factor	High school	University	Graduate school	F	p
Gardening experience	4.75 ± 0.25a^y	5.27 ± 1.31a	6.02 ± 0.89b	7.138	.001^***
Plant preference tendency	4.58 ± 0.29a	4.63 ± 1.36a	5.12 ± 1.21a	1.948	.148^NS
Plant-related event	5.58 ± 1.23ab	5.06 ± 1.33a	5.75 ± 1.09b	4.060	.020^*

Factor	D^z	E	F	G	H	I	F	p
Gardening experience	5.08 ± 2.16^yab^x	6.22 ± 0.84b	5.63 ± 1.05ab	4.94 ± 1.03a	5.92 ± 1.05ab	5.43 ± 1.42ab	6.500	.006^**
Plant preference tendency	4.83 ± 1.94a	5.38 ± 0.91a	4.77 ± 1.23a	4.72 ± 1.17a	5.10 ± 1.54a	4.18 ± 1.57a	1.793	.121^NS
Plant-related event	5.83 ± 1.42a	5.85 ± 0.86a	5.48 ± 1.18a	5.08 ± 1.32a	5.48 ± 1.30a	4.91 ± 1.71a	1.436	.218^NS

Cultivar	N	Preference	F-value	p-value
‘Cleopatra’	104	3.37 ± 0.91^za^y	10.784	.001^***
‘Musaefolia’	104	3.51 ± 0.88ab
‘Phasion’	105	3.78 ± 0.98bc
‘Pretoria’	105	4.03 ± 0.88c

Form

Tropicalesque roadside flower bed	104	3.63 ± 0.87^za^y	4.470	.012^*
Single planting of tropicalesque plants	105	3.71 ± 1.02ab
Mixed planting of tropicalesque and indoor foliage plants	105	3.98 ± 0.78^zb^y

Variable	Categories	Frequency	Percent (%)
Gender	Male	48	45.7
Gender	Female	57	54.3

Age	20s	43	41.0
	30s	18	17.1
	40s	21	20.0
	50s	17	16.2
	Over 60s	6	5.7

Education	High school	3	2.9
	University	41	39.0
	Graduate school	61	58.1

Monthly income (won)	≤ 2,000,000	32	30.8
	2,010,000 – 3,000,000	27	26.0
	3,010,000 – 4,000,000	17	16.3
	4,010,000 – 5,000,000	11	10.6
	≥ 5,010,000	17	16.3

Occupation	Self-employed	3	2.9
	Professional	29	27.6
	Student	31	29.5
	Company employee	16	15.2
	Agriculture and forestry	15	14.3
	The others	11	10.5

Living area	Seoul	16	15.2
	Metropolitan cities (including Sejong-si, Jeju)	19	18.1
	Cities	56	53.4
	Towns	14	13.3

Factor	Ages					F	p

	20s	30s	40s	50s	Over 60s
A^z	3.68 ± 0.79^yab^x	4.06 ± 0.87ab	3.95 ± 0.74ab	4.41 ± 0.62b	3.33 ± 0.52a	2.681	.036^*
B	3.67 ± 0.99a	3.50 ± 1.20a	3.57 ± 0.93a	4.18 ± 1.07a	3.83 ± 0.41a	1.231	.303^NS
C	3.24 ± 0.79a	3.78 ± 0.73ab	3.76 ± 1.00ab	4.29 ± 0.59b	3.50 ± 0.84ab	5.765	.001^***

Factor	Monthly income(Korean won)					F	p

	≤ 2,000,000	2,010,000–3,000,000	3,010,000–4,000,000	4,010,000–5,000,000	≥ 5,010,000
A^z	3.84 ± 0.81^ya^x	4.07 ± 0.83a	4.06 ± 0.75a	3.91 ± 0.83a	4.12 ± 0.70a	0.524	.719^NS
B	3.66 ± 0.87a	3.48 ± 1.22a	3.65 ± 0.93a	4.09 ± 0.94a	4.00 ± 1.06a	1.107	.358^NS
C	3.34 ± 0.79a	3.50 ± 0.86ab	3.47 ± 0.72ab	4.36 ± 0.67b	4.00 ± 1.00ab	4.323	.003^**

Importance factor	Mean±SD	F	p
Covers	2.63 ± 0.98^za^y	66.476	.001^***
Distinct	3.69 ± 0.92b
Naturalistic	3.79 ± 0.66bc
Environmental	4.01 ± 0.61cd
Emotion relaxation	4.11 ± 0.76de
Esthetics	4.38 ± 0.54e

Factor	Ages					F	p

	20s	30s	40s	50s	Over 60s
Emotion relaxation	4.01 ± 0.73^za^y	4.10 ± 0.97a	4.35 ± 0.54a	4.15 ± 0.81a	3.96 ± 0.91a	0.741	.586^NS
Covers	2.78 ± 0.93ab	2.40 ± 1.07 ab	2.15 ± 0.80a	3.01 ± 1.14b	2.83 ± 0.34ab	2.636	.038^*
Esthetics	4.32 ± 0.56a	4.56 ± 0.44a	4.33 ± 0.67a	4.35 ± 0.43a	4.50 ± 0.46a	0.725	.577^NS
Naturalistic	3.86 ± 0.62a	3.61 ± 0.78a	3.67 ± 0.80a	3.92 ± 0.45a	3.87 ± 0.47a	0.807	.524^NS
Distinct	3.43 ± 1.02a	3.61 ± 1.01a	3.93 ± 0.68a	3.97 ± 0.76a	4.08 ± 0.66a	1.982	.103^NS
Environmental	3.91 ± 0.63a	4.15 ± 0.62a	4.06 ± 0.63a	3.98 ± 0.58a	4.17 ± 0.59a	0.666	.617^NS

Evaluation items	Extremely not		Not so		Normal		So		Extremely so

	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Loyalty 1^z	1	1.0	4	3.9	15	14.5	60	58.3	23	22.3
Loyalty 2	3	2.9	10	9.7	34	33.0	44	42.7	12	11.7
Loyalty 3	2	1.9	10	9.7	31	30.1	42	40.8	18	17.5

Loyalty^z	Categories	Extremely not	Not so	Normal	So	Extremely so	p	χ²
1	20s	0.0(%)	2.4(%)	16.7(%)	64.3(%)	16.7(%)	.036	27.556^*
	30s	0.0	0.0	11.1	61.1	27.8
	40s	4.8	4.8	19.0	47.6	23.8
	50s	0.0	0.0	0.0	68.8	31.3
	Over 60s	0.0	33.3	33.3	16.7	16.7

2	20s	0.0	11.9	33.3	42.9	11.9	.136	22.229^NS
	30s	0.0	5.6	44.4	33.3	16.7
	40s	4.8	9.5	38.1	33.3	14.3
	50s	6.3	0.0	12.5	75.0	6.3
	Over 60s	16.7	33.3	33.3	16.7	0.0

3	20s	0.0	7.1	13.7	37.3	49.0	.037	27.452^*
	30s	0.0	5.6	33.3	50.0	11.1
	40s	4.8	14.3	33.3	19.0	28.6
	50s	0.0	6.3	6.3	56.3	31.3
	Over 60s	16.7	33.3	16.7	33.3	0.0

Variance	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Loyalty	1
Level of plant gardening activity	.301^**	1
Importance	.163	.265^**	1
Preference	.563^***	.328^***	.262^**	1
Pleasant	.432^***	.255^**	.118		.417^***	1
Natural	.346^***	.136	.046	.458^***	.421^***	1

Calm	.472^***	.133	.014	.338^***	.521^***	.573^***	1

Independent variable	B	β	t	R²	Change in R²	F
(Constant)	−0.45			0.35		26.92^***
Preference	0.84	0.56	6.93^***		0.32
Aesthetic domain	0.24	0.16	2.02^*		0.03