Garden and Green

28/06/08

Over the years gardens have gone through various trends and fashions as new plants and products come onto the market. Garden trends can also vary according to regions, with house types, weather and finances all playing a role in determining whats hot and whats not.

In the seventies vegetable gardening was popular but this gave way as yuppies in the eighties prefered to keep their lawns perfect with neat borders, in keeping with their shoulder pads and pin striped suits. The nineties saw 'outdoor living' becoming a buzz word, with the TV full of shows using MDF and Decking to create the ideal outdoor dining area, the noughties has seen a move away from design led makeover gardens to a renewed interest in 'grow your own' as food prices rise and the interest in the environment becomes more of a concern.

This has led to other 'green' trends such as making the garden more wildlife friendly and the use of solar power to provide energy to garden lighting, pond pumps and water features. Water has also become a concern and more people are buying rainwater harvesting kits and opting for plants that thrive in drier conditions.

We asked three garden centre's around the country if they had noticed any trends this years. Here are their comments;

Nick Canham, St Austell Garden Centre, Cornwall
"Noticably younger customers coming in interested in vegetable gardening, tomatoes and peppers are particulary popular. Gravel is a strong seller as many older people are buying it to make looking after their garden easier. Plantwise, we're selling a lot of bedding plants this year for instant colour. Also selling a lot of Roses and Dahlias, we find if it's a good product at a good price, it will sell."
www.staustellgardencentre.co.uk

James Lotery, Worlds End Nurseries, Kings Road, Chelsea, London
"London can be a very different market to the rest of the UK. Customers want big plants in big pots for an instant garden and privacy from neighbours. This year we're selling more containers, but terracotta is out and containers that are black or silver that are modern and contemporary are in. Arid plants suited to drier weather and requiring less watering are becoming more popular. such as Olives and Cordyline . We've been selling more irrigation systems for window boxes and gardens this year. In terms of bedding plants, Geraniums are a bread and butter seller as they're tolerant of both sun and shade. After selling to gardeners here in Chelsea for 35 years you learn to go with the flow!"
www.worldsendnurseries.com

Riverbank Nursery & Garden Centre, Dingwall, Highlands, Scotland
We sell a lot of plants to the trade and we have noticed this year herbaceous plants, such as Pinks are definately in vogue. Bedding plants are also very popular this year, with a nice May we sold a lot of Violas although Lobelia and Busy Lizzies don't seem to be as popular this year. We're selling a lot less conifers than in past years and roses haven't been quite as popular.
Tel. 01349 861720

.Worlds End Nurseries in the heart of Chelsea is a green Oasis packed with plants
ideal for city gardens. Photo Credit: Worlds Ends Nurseries