Gardening Column: 5 Trends That Are Sprouting for '13
Posted by Unknown in Flower, Gardening, Vegetable, Vertical Gardening on Wednesday 8 May 2013
Color, vertical gardening hot in '13
sctimes.com
With lows
lingering in the 20s, it’s hard to imagine that in a few weeks tulips
and daffodils will be blooming and it will be time to set out the
tomatoes. Spring is Minnesota’s most fickle season as well as its
shortest one. But it will come, and garden centers and nurseries will be
overflowing with gorgeous plants and garden ideas.
Here are five trends you can expect to see in 2013.
1 Small plants for small yards. More
and more gardeners are growing ornamental and edible plants in smaller
spaces, even in containers. This year, you will see down-sized shrubs,
such as the new Bobo hydrangea that tops out at 3 feet tall or Show Off
Sugar Baby forsythia, a spring-bloomer that stays less than 2 feet tall.
You’ll also see more vegetables identified with the code word “patio,”
meaning they are perfect for growing in pots.
2 Vertical gardening.
Garden shows this winter have been full of gadgets that let you grow
plants vertically — hanging pockets, wall-like dividers with troughs for
growing lettuce or other plants, planters for succulents that look like
picture frames and can be hung on a wall. The cool factor is very high
with these devices, but pay attention to how much soil the plants are
given. If it’s not much, expect to water and fertilize often.
3 Bright colors.
After this winter, we need color and there will be plenty of it in the
garden centers. You’ll see more bright hues of orange, yellow and red in
annuals as well as lots of bright, crayon-like colors in containers and
garden accessories. One of my favorite new annuals is Superbells Lemon
Slice calibrachoa, a two-toned calibrachoa flowers abundantly and will
bring a smile to anyone who sees it in a hanging basket or container.
4 Mixing edibles and ornamentals.
The trend toward including edible plants in ornamental gardens is
continuing, and you may see examples at nurseries and garden centers of
ways to add greens and other vegetables to flower or shrub beds. Swiss
chard is often used in ornamental beds, but peppers, purple cabbage or a
garden teepee covered in green beans can add beauty to any space.
5 Paint-by-numbers gardens.
Many new gardeners aren’t sure what to plant or how to combine plants,
and the green industry is figuring out how to guide these new gardeners.
For example, Garden Artistry (www.gardenartistryinspires.com) has
created four sets of plant combinations that grow well together,
encourage beneficial insects and look gorgeous. Unfortunately, the
prepackaged plants are only available in the Chicago area now, but I
think this idea will catch on, giving young gardeners just the right
information to create beautiful spaces. Check out the website and pick
up your own set of plants based on the suggested designs.
For new
vegetable gardeners, a program called the 5-by-5 Challenge
(www.5x5challenge.com) has been launched by ChiotsRun.com, an organic
vegetable garden blogger, to give recommendations of what to plant and
how to grow vegetables in a small (5-by-5 foot) bed. The website
recommends varieties and garden layouts for a simple 5-by-5-foot raised
bed and offers discussion forums and other ways to get advice from more
experienced gardeners. This trend is one of my favorites of the year
because it really helps people start gardening.
This is the opinion of Mary Lahr Schier, editor of Northern Gardener magazine. She blogs at blog.northerngardener.org and mynortherngarden.com.
