JJ Lane
It feels wrong to use the words "garden" and "trend" in the same sentence. One of gardening's most appealing attributes, after all, is its timelessness. It is, for the most part, impenetrable to anything other than the soil, the climate, and its keeper's hands.
Yet even in its perfect purity, gardening can't completely escape outside influence. Whether you're aware of it or not, magazines, TV shows, garden events, design, architecture, and even the economy conspire to shape your plot and your approach to it.
You yourself may resist trends, but not so the nursery where you buy your pots or the catalog from which you order your seeds.
Pulling from a combination of studies, editorial observation, and opinions of local experts, we've forecast some of the biggest trends in 2009 and beyond.
RAIN GARDENS
What it is: A more evolved version of the rain barrel, a rain garden is a landscaped garden feature that captures storm-water runoff from your gutters and hardscaped property and diverts it into a small pool. Over subsequent days, that pool irrigates your garden.
Why it's big: Rain gardens not only conserve water by utilizing rain, but also provide a community service by keeping that water out of overtaxed sewers. "In a place like St. Louis, where our sewer system is a very aged, combined system, everything gets overwhelmed very quickly," says Jean Ponzi, green resources manager at the EarthWays Center (earthwayscenter.org).
Because they are used to bouncing from the extremes of drought to floods in a matter of days, native plantings thrive in rain garden conditions.
How you can get a piece: "Right now in St. Louis, it's rain gardens, rain gardens, rain gardens," says Scott Woodbury, curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. Get out to Whitmire to see its rain garden in action, and while you're there, pick up a $5 copy of its Rain Garden and Storm Water Guide (also available online for free at shawnature.org).
INTERNATIONAL INDOORS
What it is: Tropicals, succulents, and other nonnative plantings are now sprouting inside the home.
Why it's big: Call it a reaction to the native-planting trend going on outside; gardeners are getting their exotic fix indoors. "Tropicals provide a drama that you don't get with native plants," says landscape designer Rand Rosenthal. Mr. Rosenthal keeps potted tropicals in his greenhouse during the colder months and then moves them outside come summer. "I love bromeliads inside in wintertime. They give you this great burst of color in the darkest months."
While the plants themselves may be exotic, the way they are displayed is not. "I'm seeing a lot of single, large-specimen palms or bananas planted very simply in one elegant pot," says Ellen Barredo, horicultural manager at Bowood Farms (bowoodfarms.com). "Single, tightly planted succulents are also extremely popular."
How you can get a piece: "Lowe's is a great source for bromeliads," Mr. Rosenthal says.
For tropicals, he recommends the following cultivars, all of which can thrive in an indoor container:
- Sago palms
- Pygmy date palms
- Elephant ears
NATIVE INTELLIGENCE
What it is: Imagine the vegetation that carpeted the Midwest's prairie landscape 1,000 years ago. Now you have a picture of native plantings. "In Missouri, you'd find coneflowers and tall grasses, berry-bearing shrubs, and a whole lot of wildflowers," says Ms. Ponzi.
Why it's big: Native plantings' noninvasive nature means they're on friendly terms with the earth. Their wild-growing tendencies mean they're on friendly terms with you. "They're naturally drought-resistant and pestresistant," Ms. Ponzi says. "They're habitat creators. They diversify the landscape and greatly reduce the amount of mowing and watering needed.They need minimal to no herbicides and pesticides."
"The old way of gardening is slowly being replaced by this," says Mr. Woodbury. "Turf and roses are on their way out, and low-maintenance native grasses and wildflowers are in."
How you can get a piece: Start by getting to know your roots. Ms. Ponzi says Missouri's Grow Native! program is one of the best in the country. Its website (grownative.org) lists native plantings according to the type of growing conditions they prefer.
The Missouri Botanical Garden's annual Plants of Merit list was released this February. Many of the list's 50-plus stars are either bona fide native plantings or plantings that share many of the same characteristics as Missouri natives.
St. Louis' chapter of the national group Wild Ones (shawnature.org/nativeland/wildones/stlwildones.aspx) connects people, events, products, and information pertaining to native landscaping.
ANTIQUE FINISHES, MODERN SHAPES
What it is: All the patinaed, crackly, aged finishes of years past are still here. Instead of appearing on similarly crusty vessels, however, they now appear on smooth, sleek, modern shapes.
Why it's big: It's a variation on the nouveau country trend happening in interiors, whereby the layers, patterns, and colors of 1980s American country are back—this time with a streamlined twist. "Containers are sleek, simple, and elegant, but in a wide range of earthy colors," Ms. Barredo says. "Oranges and ambers, browns, blacks, grays and greens, plums and reds. Rough, muted, or matted finishes are a huge trend."
Like tropical plants, this fad could also be seen as a way of infusing some old-world character into an otherwise all-Missouri garden.
How you can get a piece: Mr. Rosenthal loves Sandstone Gardens' reproduction concrete pots (www.sandstonegardens.com). For crackly, glazed finishes, go to Crate & Barrel (crateandbarrel.com) and Garden Heights Nursery (gardenheights.com); Bowood Farms stocks sleek vessels in earthy, old-world colors (bowoodfarms.com).
FOOD AND FLOWERS
What it is: Increasingly, planting schemes place vegetables and herbs alongside nonvegetables in edible and floral harmony.
Why it's big: Home vegetable gardens have been enjoying a renaissance for some time. A recent National Gardening Association survey reported that more than half of American gardeners planted vegetables this year. Meanwhile, seed sales doubled. Toss in urban living and the cranky economy, and the trend stands to evolve even more. "Many yards do not have the space to create a designated vegetable or herb garden or orchard," says Ms. Barredo. "But blending edibles into existing beds does not require redoing the landscape design."
How you can get a piece: Mix and match in your existing garden plots, whether they be in beds, along paths, or in containers. Ms. Barredo suggests several perfect pairings:
- Blueberry shrubs such as Vaccinium 'Patriot' plus foundation plantings. These multiseason bearers of fruit (in summer) and gorgeous color (in fall) should make good neighbors to existing plantings. (Note that blueberries require acid soil, so you may need to alter the soil pH.)
- Blackberry shrubs such as thornless 'Triple Crown' plus perennials. Create a living fence by training the berry bushes along simple wire fencing. In front of the bushes, plant colorful perennials to conceal the bare stems.
- Kale, cabbage, and/or Swiss chard plus pansies. Perfect for a fall container planting. The combo should last well into November.
- Malabar spinach plus flowering vines and annuals. Bowood Farms featured this combination in its window-box displays this spring.
For a full list of Missouri's plants of Merit—including varieties added for 2009—go to mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/merit.asp.
