Hot Trends in Horticulture

What do blueberries, figs, sleek metallic pots, recycled coconut husks, hollyhocks and hydrangeas have in common? They're all part of the hot trends in gardening you'll be experiencing when you visit local gardening centers in 2009. Last fall at a Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis seminar, three of the area's most articulate garden center spokespersons each tried her hand at predicting the future for their green industry colleagues.

Jennifer Schamber, manager of Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, Ellen Barrado, horticultural manager of Bowood Farms, and Stephanie Littlefield, assistant manager and designer at Garden Heights Nursery, looked into their crystal balls for SLHL readers. Here's what they feel gardeners will be looking for when it's time to plant this spring.

BLENDED GARDENS
Once there were flower gardeners and vegetable gardeners. Now, “people want to blend edible ornamentals into their landscapes,” says Ellen. “Blueberry, strawberry and blackberry plants, along with small fruit trees, are being worked into gardens.”

“We're seeing an interest in vegetables coordinated with annuals both in the garden and in containers,” adds Jennifer. “I'm designing vegetable and herb gardens into the landscape.” In light of this trend, plant hybridizers are coming up with more decorative herbs, vegetables and fruits that can fill a dual purpose. One new entry is a variegated leaf basil marketed as ‘Pesto Perpetuo.'

“Yards are not just wasted space,” notes Stephanie. “They can also be productive.” Some homeowners and a number of restaurants are going so far as to install gardens to enable them to bring the freshest herbs, vegetables and fruits to the table. Condo and apartment dwellers are buying into the trend by incorporating small citrus and fig trees and pots of herbs into their décor.

SLEEK AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CONTAINERS 
Tall, sleek pots that take up less floor space; metallic and bright-colored finishes; and eco-friendly, biodegradable materials are trendsetters in the container gardening world. “A bright container can really show off a single house plant,” suggests Jennifer.

Stephanie adds, “People want pots made of lightweight materials that they can move from the outside to the inside.” A popular new material used for both industrial and decorative garden pots called coir comes from recycled coconut husks.

NATIVE PLANTS AND RAIN BARRELS 
With the environment in mind, plants native to the Missouri and Illinois landscape such as prairie drop seed and black-eyed Susans are gaining favor with gardeners because they are disease-resistant and thrive with less care and water. “Native and decorative serviceberry and fringe trees provide a good alternative to Japanese maples,” Jennifer suggests. In addition, rather than allowing water from downspouts and gutters to run off into streets and sewers, more and more homeowners are collecting it in rain barrels and recycling it in the garden.

SUCCULENT GARDENS 
Gardeners who want easy-to-care-for containers are turning to succulents. Once established, the plants need little care and only occasional watering. Homeowners can leave town for a two-week vacation without worrying who will water their plants. Succulents in a wide variety of colors and textures are increasingly available in response to the trend.

CLASSIC PLANTS
You've heard of comfort food, think of these as comfort plants. “The hollyhocks and sweet peas that your grandmother grew, all-white Victorian moon gardens and heirloom vegetables and fruits are literally bringing gardeners back to their roots,” notes Ellen. More gardeners are looking to seeds to recreate the gardens of yesteryear.

SEEDS
A desire to bring back classic flowers and vegetables is fueling a dramatic increase in gardeners starting plants from seed. For just a fraction of the cost of purchasing ready-to-bloom seedlings, gardeners can plant their own seeds and have exactly the color and variety of whatever perennials and annuals they choose. “There are whole lines of seeds just for containers,” says Stephanie.

NEW AND DIFFERENT 
“An easy-care shrub such as Virginia sweetspire (Itea) ‘Henry's Garnet' or ‘Little Henry,' which tolerates both sun and shade and features early summer flowers and brilliant fall color, are nice choices,” Jennifer suggests. Another plant to seek out this spring is hydrangea ‘Twist-n-Shout,' a season-long blooming, lace-cap variety that is a new addition to the ‘Endless Summer' mop-head hydrangea series.