Welcome to my new blog! I want to open with a report direct from the floor of the Georgia Green Industry Association’s Wintergreen 2010 conference/trade show. I saw lots of old friends and made oodles of new ones, and while there I asked several people representing different aspects of our industry what they saw as trends for gardeners and horticulture overall.
I ran into Dave Hutsell and his enthusiastic comment was Youth! “I really think we should focus on involving the next generation of gardeners.” Without missing a beat he then listed courtyard gardens, container gardens and edible containers for decks and patios as part of the wave. Hutsell is Vice President/Sales for Greenleaf Nursery Company’s North Carolina Division. He had a boothful of beautiful plants, including some new introductions from the Garden Debut® consortium of plant breeders and growers. These are folks dedicated to the introduction of new and improved plant varieties for the landscape, the first of which will appear at Garden Centers this spring.
Garden Debut® booth
Next , I talked with Alan Shapiro, Owner of Grandiflora Wholesale Nursery. Shapiro will be named the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Robert McGee Balentine Horticulture Trophy at the Southeastern Flower Show on Preview night, recognizing his “significant contribution to the field of horticulture.” Shapiro spewed out a quick catalog of trends. “Edibles, edibles, edibles,” was his initial reaction, followed by rain gardens, green roofs and sedums, antiques in gardens and native plants. An insightful twist was that “tortured plants” (like corkscrews and topiary) will made from overstock, and he allowed as how he thought trends will be less meteoric but will increase at a more steady pace.
Antiques in Grandiflora’s booth (Alan’s not an antique)
Landscape Architect Paul Ozio, ASLA, noted that the continuing trend for lower maintenance remains strong and recognized natives and native cultivars as another trend.
Jim Darden representing Star Roses indicated the trend to smaller gardens would be well served by ‘Drift’ Groundcover Roses, with smaller size, continuous bloom nine months year and low maintenance.
Finally, there was a nod to the space-saving vertical gardening trend. Mobley Plant Farm had a wall of pansies growing in flats positioned nearly vertically.
Pansies displayed as vertical garden
So what do you see as trends in gardening and the green industry? Share your thoughts on comments.
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