What's hot in gardening this year? We asked top local and overseas landscapers, garden designers and trend spotters for their views on the trends that will shape gardening in 2009.
Eco awareness
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The top trend for 2009 is definitely eco-conscious gardening. Eco-consciousness encompasses both green gardening (as in recycling, using solar power for garden lights, harvesting rainwater and embracing organic gardening) and being aware of our environment in terms of butterflies, bees, birds, bats and other creatures.
"I believe the trend towards sustainable, water wise, indigenous gardening will gain further momentum in 2009," says Terry van der Riet of Real Landscapes. "There has been significant attention given to 'green buildings' in the architectural and engineering professions and this will continue to spill over into the gardening industry with initiatives to reduce the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides and to find ways of creating sustainable landscapes that require minimal intensive maintenance and have as little negative effects and most positive effects on the surrounding environment," he adds.
Award-winning British garden designer Chris Beardshaw, agrees. "I think 2009 will see an increase in more wildlife friendly and environmentally conscious gardens. It has been a growing interest over the last few years as people realise the importance of our gardens not just as a pleasure space for us humans but as a resource in which to grow our own food, and to create feeding stations and habitats for our friendly wildlife, many of whom are seriously threatened. Personally, I want to dispel the myth that wildlife friendly gardens have to be messy, as I believe it is possible to create a garden that suits our needs as well as the needs of our residing or visiting creatures, while also being a beautiful retreat. Watching wildlife in the garden has become something the whole family can enjoy doing together."
TOP TIP!
Be uber trendy and install an owl box or bat house in your garden!
* To find your nearest stockist of owl boxes contact the Endangered Wildlife Trust on tel: 011-486-1102, email:
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, or visit: www.ewt.org.za
* To obtain a bat house or for plans to make your own, contact Claire Paterson on 011-486-1102, email:
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Indigenous and water smart
Being environmentally aware also means that water wise gardening is of paramount importance. Replace water guzzlers with water smart plants such as succulents, and plant local indigenous flora. Deon van Eeden of Vula Environmental Services says: "Gardening is going green! Once we were considered a bit offbeat, almost exclusively using local indigenous plant material but now it is acknowledged as being a sustainable and ecologically friendly approach. During the past few years, the public's vocabulary of beauty has been augmented. We now appreciate summer dormant fynbos in a garden setting even if it is not as obvious as a flowering 'Iceberg' rose. 2009 will see not only the increase in availability of more unusual and never-before-used local plants, but the growth in our knowledge will lead to incorporating ecology into gardens in a greater and more deliberate way."
Gordon Stuart of McDonald Stuart Landscaping agrees. "Indigenous is ever increasingly popular, and our clients are a lot more specific in the design style, describing specific climatic zones or habitat types that they want their garden to emulate. They are more sophisticated in their plant knowledge. Agapanthus and strelitzias no longer suffice to create an indigenous garden. They know their plant material and the birds and wildlife they attract and are increasingly specific in what they want in their garden," he says.
Recycling and using solar power
High on the eco-conscious agenda will be the trend towards recycling. This doesn't just mean we should be building compost heaps in our gardens, but also recycling water in our water scarce country. Wasting water is out and conserving it is in.
Colin Thompson of Green by Nature says, "A significant development is the use of grey water. This involves the use of large 5 000 or 10 000 litre tanks to capture grey water, or rainwater, and this is then connected to an irrigation system via a pump. When the water runs out it then kicks over to the municipal water. Not only is this economical, but rainwater is very good for the garden as opposed to municipal water. Rain carries many nutrients and is structured differently to municipal water which has been processed and cleaned so much that plants get much less nutrition. Look at the garden after a good thunderstorm. It is so much greener."
Adam Pasco, editor of a top British gardening magazine agrees, "Rainwater harvesting systems can be installed under patios and grey water filters are available to allow bath water to be re-used rather than poured down the drain." He adds that gardeners must look seriously at converting to the use of solar power in the gardens. "As solar panels improve in efficiency and reduce in price gardeners will see them available for many more uses, in addition to garden and shed lighting and powering pumps in water features."
Gordon Stuart adds, "Water tanks are the status symbol of the day and provision for their inclusion is often a requirement in our client's brief. And they definitely do not need to be obscured or hidden. Softened yes, hidden no. Provision for making compost is also trendy and clients are also looking to reuse grey water on site."
TOP TIP!
Install a water tank in your garden to collect rainwater. Contact Jojo Tanks on 013-262-3021 or visit www.jojotanks.co.za; Stewarts & Lloyds on 011-553-8500 or visit www.stewartsandlloyds.co.za
Grow your own
Linked to this trend of sustainable gardening is the 'grow your own' movement. With rising food prices showing no sign of abating, gardeners in 2009 will be growing their own herbs, vegetables and fruit. They will also be including edible plants in ornamental flower borders. Edibles include pansies, nasturtiums and some varieties of lavender and many vegetables and herbs can be grown in the herbaceous border. Think of 'Bright Lights' Swiss chard with its attractive coloured stems in shades of yellow, purple and red. Chilli plants also look great amongst perennials and annuals.
Irish TV gardening celebrity, Diarmuid Gavin says, "The homegrown food movement in Britain is huge. Sales of vegetable seeds are soaring. My friend is a TV director in Birmingham and wants to give up his career and grow vegetables and teach organic gardening, which is reflective of the trend."
In America it's the same. Susan McCoy, trend spotter and president of America's Garden Media Group says, "2009 will see a resurgence of gardening for the greater good - for the earth and our wallets. People craving authenticity and fretting over a bleak economy have reinvigorated the trend to grow-it-yourself. From blueberries to houseplants, 'grow it yourself' is the new mantra as folks turn 'back to the future' to simplify their lives while gardening for the greener good."
Yellow is the colour
Bright colours are just what people need to lift their spirits amid the doom and gloom of tough economic times in 2009, and what better colour than yellow. All our experts concur that yellow is the colour for this year. "The colour yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute.
Sunshine yellow, that is deep yellow, is a colour that can be used to great effect in the garden. Remember too, that some plants have deep yellow foliage, such as Abelia x grandiflora 'Francis Mason', Cuphea hyssopifolia 'Cocktail', Coleonema pulchrum 'Sunset Gold' and Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold'. There are also many plants with variegated green and gold foliage, such as Eleagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge', Euonymus japonicus 'Ovatus Aureus', Euonymus fortunei 'Sheridan Gold', Yucca flaccida 'Garland Gold', Coprosma 'Painters Palette' and Ilex aquifolium 'Golden Queen'.
Yellow plants for the garden
Try these yellow beauties in your garden this year:
Trees: Sweet thorn*, Natal laburnum*, weeping wattle*, round-leafed teak*, Transvaal teak*.
Shrubs: Coulter bush*, Mickey Mouse bush*, Jerusalem sage, forsythia, hibiscus, roses such as 'Germiston Gold', 'All Gold', Kerria japonica, cotton lavender.
Climbers: Bougainvillea 'Lady Mary Baring', climbing bell*, Canary creeper*, winter jasmine, Carolina jasmine.
Perennials: Achillea, Alstroemeria 'Sussex Gold', golden marguerite, Arctotis 'Gold Cup'*, coreopsis, Clanwillian daisy*, Crocosmia 'Golden Fleece', gazania*, day lily, bearded irises such as 'Gold Ring' and 'Temple Gold', Louisiana iris, gloriosa daisy, solidago, yellow arum*, Lysimachia procumbens 'Sunburst', vygies*, everlastings* and gazania*.
Bulbs: Dahlia, daffodil, ranunculus, Lilium hybrids.
Annuals: African marigolds, dwarf French marigolds, Namaqualand daisies*, sunflowers, nasturtiums, pansies, zinnias.
Key: * = Indigenous
Corners for children
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Gardening for children is another top trend for 2009. Children should be encouraged to have their own space in the garden, where they can experiment with easy-to-grow plants such as bean sprouts, nasturtiums and pumpkins. The latter two have big seeds that are easy to handle, and all three of these plants grow easily, providing quick rewards. Not only will children learn that gardening is fun, but that it also provides you with food. Container gardens are also ideal for children as they are small 'areas' for small hands and can be moved around with ease.
Eco awareness can also be encouraged in children. Their gardens should include flowers that attract beneficial insects, and they can help you plant up a garden that lures butterflies. Give them a bird bath for their garden and hang a bird feeder to attract birds.
Diarmuid Gavin says, "I like designing gardens with children in mind. Now that I have a daughter, I am always thinking about what she would like, but even before that I would indulge my inner kid, re-creating a garden fantasy world. Kids love dens, secret passages and hideaways. I have just designed a public garden in Donegal in Ireland; I asked lots of schoolchildren what they wanted and they asked for dens, pink tents and texting circles, which I thought was quite forward-thinking."
Low maintenance design
With people always being short of time, low maintenance gardens are trendy. Debbie Smit of Foxgloves says: "Ease of maintenance to suit a busy lifestyle is key. The garden is an extension of the home. It is the room or rooms outside. Urban gardens are becoming smaller, yet the pressure for them to facilitate the user's lifestyle is greater than ever. For this reason I believe that an holistic approach to gardening is essential. Organic, indigenous, water wise and biodynamic gardening play a key role in gardening today, yet style must not be sacrificed. Attention to detail is especially important in a modern garden. I also always try to bring nature into the urban environment."
Colin Thompson agrees: "A big change is how plants are being used in combinations. Not many people still want the cottage look as a designed garden, although these can be stunning if planting is careful and precise. However, they require more maintenance and do require a more full time garden. As people have less time on their hands these are not going to be the most popular type of garden in terms of maintenance. The cleaner, streamlined garden with fewer plant combinations is becoming more popular. With smaller properties there is less space for busy gardens," he says.
"Economy of design is very important to reduce the cost of installation and maintenance thereafter.
Most of our clients want their gardens to look spectacular with the minimum amount of input. As a designer this means we have to create the atmosphere and appearance of their specified style with a lot less material than before," says Gordon Stuart. "The final trend we are finding is the move away from gardens looking manicured and over the top. The look is more unfussed and relaxed. Mixed herbaceous borders are out, blocks of colour are more accepted," he says.
"Understated elegance is the order of the day. Gardeners want economy of style and specification. Even irrigation systems are seen as over the top. The gardens need to be low impact on both budget and the environment. This dovetails in with the whole eco friendly movement," he concludes.
Sources:
www.sali.co.za
www.branchsmithtypepad.com
www.shedblog.co.uk
www.azcentral.com
www.thebirdgardenusa.com
Contacts
Colin Thompson, Green by Nature, 082-801-1811
Jan Blok, Blok Designs Landscaping, 031-765-6404
Terry van der Riet, Real Landscapes, 031-266-0206
Gordon Stuart, McDonald Stuart Landscaping, 033-394-3218
Deon van Eeden, Vula Environmental Services, 022-766-1106
Debbie Smit, Foxgloves, 083-449-7048
