Gardening Trends - Who Sets Them?

At a recent trade show for the gardening industry, I attended a panel discussion on trends in gardening and the impact of the media on influencing these trends. The panels, whose members included Liz Primeau and Mark Cullen, agreed that the media helped promote trends. But they also felt it was consumer demand which was the real determining factor.

For instance, people have busy lives and their requirement for low maintenance gardening causes them to look for plants with certain qualities. The trend to drought-tolerant gardens is largely the result of climate change and not due to the influence of some gardening guru.

No matter how they come about, there are definite trends in gardening today. Perhaps the most noticeable to me is the interest in container gardening. Gardeners are using containers to plant herb gardens, grow vegetables, create water gardens, and design beautiful plantings which resemble flower arrangements. I have also seen rather large containers used to plant alpines.

The use of containers is not just for those who have little or no garden space. In fact, they can be used to bring the garden closer to the house. Vertical planting, whether in a container or in the garden bed, is both a good use of space and a way to add visual interest to the garden. This too is a recent trend in gardening.

Other trends include the use of rocks in the landscape. This is often combined with ornamental grasses - a trend which has been with us for a while. And on the topic of landscaping, eliminating the grass at the front of the house and planting a garden in its place is definitely on the increase. In fact, this is a project which I hope to undertake this year.

The trends in landscape design are due, in part, to the interest in "environmental gardening". This interest can even be linked to garden statuary. Found objects - recycling are making their way into the garden. Bathroom sinks used as water features and old bathtubs used to hold beautiful water gardens were shown at the Philadelphia Garden Show last year. Old iron gates can be transformed into beautiful trellises and just about anything can be used to create an interesting container.

The impact of all these trends is that every garden is different. Gardeners now have gained the confidence to take ownership of their garden and not be at the mercy of gardening professionals. In the past, you could drive through neighbourhoods and pick out which company installed which garden. Today, these professionals are providing an array of options as opposed to standard solutions.

The important thing about garden trends is not whether they are good or bad. Rather they serve to push the gardening industry into new directions. And remember, that change can be exciting for all of us.

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