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As the holidays come to a close for 2021, it’s time to look forward to Spring 2022, and one place you can spice up your life is to make your landscape more trendy. One good resource for finding out what looks as though it’s trending this spring is the annual Garden Trends Report (GTR), published by the Green Media Group. This post is an overview of the 2022 report and, in upcoming posts, I’ll detail how you can implement some of the trends in your landscape.
As it has in the past few years, the first third of this report deals with social issues. Namely, how the pandemic and quarantine has influenced how we view our homes, and how that has changed since we are able to get out more and do more things. I’ll move beyond that and share ways in which Americans are going to enjoy their landscapes in the future.
Starting at the entrance, people are creating zones, both inside and out, and appointing them with plants and hard goods that are appropriate for the use to which that zone of the property has been designated. Start with the front yard’s curb appeal and move to the backyard where you can divide the area into zones for entertaining, playing, a secret or meditation garden or any other space that will make your backyard your special place.
Many people took a new interest in their landscapes during the pandemic. And this trend doesn’t seem to be diminishing as we emerge from quarantine and isolation. It’s estimated that 18.3 million Americans took up gardening for the first time. Their interest is across the board, but many are welcoming birds, pollinators and all sorts of wildlife to their properties. To this, I caution: be careful what you wish for. Butterflies and birds are fun to watch. It doesn’t take much to satisfy their basic needs and they seldom leave any damage behind. Mammals, especially deer, aren’t so considerate. They may look nice in your backyard until they begin dining on your plants. If you really want mammals to visit, consider planting their favorite plants in a far corner where the damage won’t detract as much from the landscape. Then, hope they get the message.
Fresh, cut flowers sales skyrocketed last year and don’t appear to be subsiding this year. You can conveniently enjoy cut flowers in your home for at least three seasons of the year by planting a cutting garden this spring. When discussing bringing fresh flowers inside, it should be noted that the tremendous interest in houseplants in 2019 was sustained in 2020 and continues into 2021, and there’s no reason to believe it will slow down in 2022.
One in five of the world’s plants are at risk of extinction. Of those, 4,400 are in the United States. The trends report outlines ways that landscape and related professionals can help their customers save plants from extinction. It also has information on ways we can help with biodiversity, increase use of native plants and serve the needs of rare plant collectors. If you’re interested in any of these areas, we’d like to hear from you.
Last but not least, remember the color of the year for 2022 is…GREEN.
