2006 Gardening Trends Revealed

Outdoor living continues to be the big trend in gardening with homeowners spending more than $62.5 billion on outdoor living products and services in 2004, according to Unity Marketing. And the report showed that plants accounted for only one-third of the sales, reflecting hardscapes’ growing place in the landscape.

“For homeowners today, it is now ‘in’ to be ‘out,’” says Stacey Pierson, IMPACT Marketing and PR, Garden Media Group, Chadds Ford, Pa. “Outside that is … cooking, entertaining, reading, relaxing and even working in the great outdoors.”

For landscape contractors, this could mean increased spending on creating, improving and renovating outdoor living spaces, Pierson says, adding higher fuel prices will further drive this trend as homeowners continue to stay closer to home for entertainment and relaxation. “Now the homeowner’s focus is on decorating the outside of the home on the deck, the patio and all around their property,” she says.

According to Susan McCoy, president of the Garden Media Group, who has predicted outdoor living trends for the past five years, lived-in gardens are taking center stage over showplace gardens in 2006. “Homeowners want easy and simple gardens that are low maintenance and full of color,” she explains.

Gardening in small spaces, including on patios, decks and rooftops and in containers, is also growing in popularity among consumers. Plant Breeder Raymond Evison calls it vertical gardening, growing either up or down from balconies or patios, and says contractors will see more dwarf-sized annuals, perennials and shrubs being specifically bred for these minute spaces.

While container gardening is still popular among nearly half of the consumers surveyed by the Garden Writers Association, the trend has now stepped off the back porch and patio and moved out into the landscape, showing up in beds and borders. Busy homeowners find decorating their yard with “spots of pots” an easy way to splash color throughout the yard, McCoy says.

When choosing plants to incorporate into their landscape designs, contractors may also notice customers asking for plants with large leaves that create striking foliage in addition to eye-catching blooms. Some examples of plants with this architecture include Summer Chocolate mimosa, Blazin’ Rose iresine and Kong coleus. The colors clients will be requesting in 2006 include red, purple and gold, says Steve Hutton, president, The Conard-Pyle Co.

Well-mixed containers are not completely out, but as Elvin McDonald, garden editor of Better Homes & Gardens, says, “Plants in too many colors and textures look as tasteless as wearing plaids, stripes and prints together.  Plant several of one variety per container or several different varieties, all in one color family, per pot. Then group colorful containers together to create an avalanche of copious color.”

Finally, McCoy says incorporating sound, motion and water in the garden via water features and fountains continues to remain trendy.

For more gardening trends, visit www.gardenmediagroup.com.