What's in, what's out in gardens and yards for 2006
Higher fuel costs are expected to drive these 2006 trends, as more of us stay closer to home on weekends and for vacations, according to industry experts. Also, laptop computers let us work wherever we choose, even while we catch a few rays of sunshine.
"Our back yards and patios now serve as playgrounds, living rooms, kitchens, home offices and havens," says Susan McCoy, president of the Garden Media Group, which annually tracks gardening trends.
"The walls of the home seem to have come tumbling down and now the homeowner's focus is on decorating the outside of the home on the deck, the patio and all around their property."
Now, before you say, "I don't want to take care of a big yard and a lot of flowers," you should read on and realize that getting outdoors isn't about pushing the lawn mower all morning and weeding the flower beds all afternoon.
Gardening is about getting smarter with your choices and chores. Shop for "self-cleaning" plants that don't need fading flowers removed, and think twice about maintaining a lot of grass.
"The trend is toward less square footage in lawns and more mixed beds that are easier to maintain," says Les Parks, nursery manager at Smithfield Gardens in Suffolk, Va.
And, if big trees are not your thing because you have a small yard or worry about a hurricane toppling them, take comfort in knowing that shrubs are replacing trees in space-challenged yards.
"We are definitely seeing gardening trends leaning toward small spaces, including vertical gardening," says Bruce Barton at The Flower Pot in Yorktown, Va. "Lots of climbers, vines and trellis shapes."
So, sit back and daydream about spring, sketch out some ideas for an easy-do look in your yard and take note of what's in, what's out for living the good life:
Create a lived-in garden. Showplace gardens are fine for picture books, but not for real-life living. To kick back at home, put up an entertainment tent or gazebo, fire up the grill and pipe the music outdoors. You may even want to hook up your flat-screen TV outdoors in some location where it's protected from the weather. "I know a man who takes his flat-screen TV outside, plugs it in and watches football in the hot tub," says McCoy.
You'll also read more about "outdoor bedrooms" joining the likes of outdoor kitchens and living rooms, letting you stay past dark and watch the stars twinkle overhead.
Realize less is still more. Minimalism continues to be trendy indoors and outdoors. Skip buying every knickknack you see, and, instead, concentrate on a few quality eye-catching items. In other words, resist the plastic and look for fashionable materials in pots and sculpture, including ceramic, terracotta, finished concrete, marble and even bronze. In the end, you have simple elegance without the fussy look of clutter.
Get boom without bloom. If your lot is the size of a postage stamp, you can still pack a lot of power into your garden. Avoid using just flowers to give you pizzazz. Look for double-duty plants, meaning shrubs, perennials and groundcovers that feature variegated, puckered and fine-textured foliage before and after the bloom time, says Parks. One example is PeeDee Gold Ingot liriope, a groundcover that emerges yellow in spring and matures to a deep gold and produces the traditional purple-spiked flowers. Sun Goddess hydrangea with its golden foliage and pink flowers is a wonderful double-duty shrub.
Try "pot-scaping." The one-dimensional look of containers lined or clustered along the deck or patio moves into "pot-scaping" for the entire landscape. Pots of plants are showing up in beds and borders, or standing alone like an eye-catching exclamation point. Busy homeowners find decorating their yard with "spots of pots" is an easy way to splash color throughout the yard. Try tucking a few pots of colorful annuals and tropicals among evergreens and you'll love the look. Small trees and shrubs, as well as annuals and perennials, thrive in pots as long as the containers are suitable in size and offer good drainage.
But, take care when creating your pots. "Plants in too many colors and textures look as tasteless as wearing plaids, stripes and prints together," says Elvin McDonald, garden editor at Better Homes & Gardens. Plant several of one variety per container, or several different varieties, all in one color family, per pot. Then, group the colorful containers together for an avalanche of color.
... read the full article
"Our back yards and patios now serve as playgrounds, living rooms, kitchens, home offices and havens," says Susan McCoy, president of the Garden Media Group, which annually tracks gardening trends.
"The walls of the home seem to have come tumbling down and now the homeowner's focus is on decorating the outside of the home on the deck, the patio and all around their property."
Now, before you say, "I don't want to take care of a big yard and a lot of flowers," you should read on and realize that getting outdoors isn't about pushing the lawn mower all morning and weeding the flower beds all afternoon.
Gardening is about getting smarter with your choices and chores. Shop for "self-cleaning" plants that don't need fading flowers removed, and think twice about maintaining a lot of grass.
"The trend is toward less square footage in lawns and more mixed beds that are easier to maintain," says Les Parks, nursery manager at Smithfield Gardens in Suffolk, Va.
And, if big trees are not your thing because you have a small yard or worry about a hurricane toppling them, take comfort in knowing that shrubs are replacing trees in space-challenged yards.
"We are definitely seeing gardening trends leaning toward small spaces, including vertical gardening," says Bruce Barton at The Flower Pot in Yorktown, Va. "Lots of climbers, vines and trellis shapes."
So, sit back and daydream about spring, sketch out some ideas for an easy-do look in your yard and take note of what's in, what's out for living the good life:
Create a lived-in garden. Showplace gardens are fine for picture books, but not for real-life living. To kick back at home, put up an entertainment tent or gazebo, fire up the grill and pipe the music outdoors. You may even want to hook up your flat-screen TV outdoors in some location where it's protected from the weather. "I know a man who takes his flat-screen TV outside, plugs it in and watches football in the hot tub," says McCoy.
You'll also read more about "outdoor bedrooms" joining the likes of outdoor kitchens and living rooms, letting you stay past dark and watch the stars twinkle overhead.
Realize less is still more. Minimalism continues to be trendy indoors and outdoors. Skip buying every knickknack you see, and, instead, concentrate on a few quality eye-catching items. In other words, resist the plastic and look for fashionable materials in pots and sculpture, including ceramic, terracotta, finished concrete, marble and even bronze. In the end, you have simple elegance without the fussy look of clutter.
Get boom without bloom. If your lot is the size of a postage stamp, you can still pack a lot of power into your garden. Avoid using just flowers to give you pizzazz. Look for double-duty plants, meaning shrubs, perennials and groundcovers that feature variegated, puckered and fine-textured foliage before and after the bloom time, says Parks. One example is PeeDee Gold Ingot liriope, a groundcover that emerges yellow in spring and matures to a deep gold and produces the traditional purple-spiked flowers. Sun Goddess hydrangea with its golden foliage and pink flowers is a wonderful double-duty shrub.
Try "pot-scaping." The one-dimensional look of containers lined or clustered along the deck or patio moves into "pot-scaping" for the entire landscape. Pots of plants are showing up in beds and borders, or standing alone like an eye-catching exclamation point. Busy homeowners find decorating their yard with "spots of pots" is an easy way to splash color throughout the yard. Try tucking a few pots of colorful annuals and tropicals among evergreens and you'll love the look. Small trees and shrubs, as well as annuals and perennials, thrive in pots as long as the containers are suitable in size and offer good drainage.
But, take care when creating your pots. "Plants in too many colors and textures look as tasteless as wearing plaids, stripes and prints together," says Elvin McDonald, garden editor at Better Homes & Gardens. Plant several of one variety per container, or several different varieties, all in one color family, per pot. Then, group the colorful containers together for an avalanche of color.
... read the full article
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Monday, January 09, 2006
