Goodbye, 2020, and hello 2021! Thankfully, the new year is shaping up to be a bright one for the gardening world. Here are a few highlights of what’s to come.
More Gardeners
Experts report more than 20 million new growers took up their trowels in response to the pandemic. The nation went from 42 million gardeners to 63 million in the past year. And following the Black Lives Matter movement, the green industry is working to become more supportive and inclusive. Check out Black Girls With Gardens and Walter Hood’s new book, Black Landscapes Matter.
More Gardens
Public gardens are reporting record attendance figures with as much as a 300 percent boost in a pandemic year. Luckily, more public gardens are slated to open in 2021. Head to Detroit to see the Oudolf Garden Detroit opening this summer at Belle Isle. Last August, more than 26,000 plants were installed on the 2.6-acre site designed by internationally renowned Piet Oudolf in front of the Anne Scripps Witcomb Conservatory. Visit Waterfront Botanical Gardens, a 23-acre urban garden being developed on a former landfill along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville. The visitor center, its surrounding gardens and Beargrass Creek Pathway are now open. Future plans include a Japanese garden, children’s garden, biopond, pollinator meadow and conservatory. Also, plan a trip to Kingwood Center, a historic garden in Mansfield, Ohio, to see the new visitor center and Gateway Gardens by Austin Eischeid, an Oudolf protege. While the matrix planting will take three years to reach its full potential, the new garden should be quite lovely by June.
New matrix plantings at Ouldolf Garden Detroit on Belle Isle; Image by Ryan Southern Photography
Every 17 years, a large brood of cicadas emerge in the Midwest and make big buzz – reaching up to 100 decibels — for five to six weeks. The brood will return this year in May. While there’s no need to spray chemicals, you may want to cover or delay planting new fruit trees this year. The stems are vulnerable spots for cicadas’ egg laying. In 2021, also be on the lookout for spotted lanternflies and viburnum leaf beetles.
Cicada Photo by Michael Kropiewnicki on Pexels.com
More New Plants
Gardeners will find new plants at the garden center this spring. A few favorites include:
Better Boxwoods:NewGen™ boxwoods are promising higher resistance to boxwood blight and leafminers. In addition, Gem Box® inkberry holly by Proven Winners is a tougher native alternative to boxwood.
No-So-Basic Houseplants: No more simple snakeplants and pothos. This year’s houseplant darlings include tropical calatheas, sculptural mangaves and bold alocasias.
Super Veggies: Pack more nutrients and flavor in your garden crops with smart seed selections and soil amendments. See this article and video for more tips.
Color-Charged Annuals: Consumers can add instant eye candy to their landscapes with brilliant new annuals like Marvel II pom-pom marigolds, Double Delight begonias, Roller Coaster impatiens and Surprise Sparkle petunias.
Pollinator Favorites: The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden trials pollinator plants each year and posts its favorite annuals, perennials and shrubs.
Sombrero Coneflower
Surprise Sparkle Petunia
Mangave Freckles and Speckles by Walters Gardens
Strongbox Inkberry by ProvenWinners
Marvel II Gold African Marigold
Color Code: 7409c
PAS Kieft 2021
Bloom, Seed
06.12.19 Venhuizen, Mark Widhalm
Marvel2Gold_01.JPG
MAR19-25577.JPG
NewGen Boxwood
For more pandemic trends, see our post on trend-spotting from the green industry’s trade show –Cultivate 2020.
Trade Show Reveals New Plants and Gardening’s Future
By Teresa Woodard
If there’s a silver lining to COVID for the green industry, it’s the 16 million new gardeners that discovered plants during the stay-at-home orders. At last month’s Cultivate virtual show for horticulture pros, Heartland Gardening got a sneak peek at trends from the Garden Trends Report 2020 and preview of new plants to entice both new and long-time gardeners.
New plants: Plant breeders continue to find ways to make plants tougher, more compact for smaller spaces and more varied in colors. Standouts include coneflowers (Sombrero® and Artisan™ series) in new ombre sunset hues, larger Marvel II™ African marigolds, dwarf Fire Light Tidbit™ panicle hydrangeas (2-3’), a new ‘Primavera’ Spanish lavender, Zesty zinnias and Whispurr™ catmints. Wave petunias celebrates their 25thyear with new Shock Wave® Purple Tie Dye and Pink Passion cultivars.
Zesty™ Zinnia Mix Ball Horticultre
Shock Wave® Purple Tie Dye Petunia (Ball Hort)
Marvel II™ Gold African Marigold (Ball Hort)
Mini Houseplants: While houseplants remain hot, collectors are running out of space to grow them. The solution . . . focus on mini houseplants to squeeze more plants in tighter spaces. Look for String of Pearls succulents or mini African violets.
Community gardening: In 2020, the power of collective action has never been stronger whether protesting #BlackLivesMatter or wearing face masks to flatten the COVID curve. Community gardens also appreciate collectivity of attracting diverse groups to sustain neighbors with fresh food, plus build community. Check out how in this New York Times piece covering ways community gardens are adapting with social distancing.
Growing food: Victory gardens are making a comeback amid fears of food shortages just like those inspired by WWII food rations. No doubt this spring, seed companies saw a spike in vegetable seed sales and sold out of many varieties.
Embracing nature: During lock-down, the outdoors has been one place people can still go. Instead of working out at the gym, neighbors met to walk or run at social distances. Visitors flocked to hike at local, state and national parks. Others took on backyard projects and embraced outdoor hobbies like bird watching and gardening. This renewed interest in nature is spilling over into more pollinator gardens and abundant landscapes to support wildlife.
Hello 2019! It’s an exciting time for the plant world as the horticulture industry experiences a renaissance. According to the 2019 Garden Trends Report by the Garden Media Group, American gardeners set a record $47.8 billion in lawn on garden retail sales (from bulbs to outdoor furniture), and the average household set a spending record of $503 up nearly $100 over the previous year. And 18-34 year-olds are spending more than ever.
Indoors is the new outdoors for the “Indoor Generation” that averages 22 hours inside a day. Apartment dwellers appreciate the physical and mental health benefits of plants.
Houseplants Craze: In Nov. 2018, the New York Times reported plant influencers in their twenties and thirties are fueling a new generation’s obsession with houseplants that’s growing faster and more tenaciously than English ivy. Horticulture stars of Instagram, like Houseplantclub, now have book deals, sponsors and hundreds of thousands of followers. In addition, a host of highly curated houseplant stores including Midwestern ones like Stump, Fern, Darling Botanical, Art Terrarium and Mod Gen are cleverly promoting plants such as pilea, fiddleleaf fig, succulents and Monstera (#MonsteraMonday).
Mangave ‘Inkblot’ (Walters Gardens)
Gomphrena ‘Truffula Pink’
Allium ‘Millenium’ (Perennial Plant Assn)
New Plant Performers: Today’s newest annuals and perennials are more than pretty. To make it past tough trial garden managers, these new introductions also must appeal to pollinators and stand up to the Midwest’s weather extremes. This year’s standouts include Allium ‘Millenium,’ Agastache rugosa ‘Little Adder,’ Vinca Tattoo series, Celosia argentea ‘Asian Garden,’ Mangave ‘Inkblot,’ Portulaca ColorBlast Double Magenta, and Gomphrena ‘Truffula Pink.’ Check out the complete list of trial managers’ favorites.
‘Stem to Root’ Edibles: While plant-based diets remain hot, it’s no surprise the trend spills over into vegetable gardening and support for local growers. One theme that is gaining momentum is the stem to root concept. Advocated by Ohio chefs like Jamie Simpson of the Culinary Vegetable Institute and Cara Mangini, author of The Vegetable Butcher, they teach ways to use all parts of a vegetable. For example, Jamie showed me how to make an asparagus salad sautéing the tips, shaving ribbons of the stalks and pressing the stem ends into a juice for a dressing.
Plants As Social Change Agents: More and more communities are recognizing the power of plants as catalysts for social change. Downtowns are carving out more green spaces for public parks. Urban neighborhoods are planting community gardens to bring nutritious produce to food deserts. Streetscapes are being redesigned with more plants to attract consumers and create an environment for increased spending. All over the country, gardens are being planted to engage veterans, convicts, at-risk teens, recovering addicts, women’s shelter residents, cancer patients, college students, immigrant families and more.
‘Iceberry Peach’ Coral Bells
‘Orange Peach’ cockscomb (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co.)
Are there fewer dragonflies, fireflies, Monarchs, praying Mantis and ladybugs, today?
Insect Apocalypse: The plight of pollinators and Monarchs has been in the news for several years, but a German study on insect decline is drawing attention to threats on the broader insect population. Personally, I’ve been tracking dragonfly counts as a part of the Ohio Odonoata Survey, and the experience is giving me a new appreciation for the role habitat plays in supporting healthy insect populations. In the gardening world, gardeners can help curb insect decline by creating healthy habitats and by learning responsible pest control practices such as IPM (Integrated Pest Management). Joe Lamp’l of Growing A Greener World does a great job of explaining IPM for home gardeners.
Plastic Waste in Gardening: Last year, plastic straws were on the hot seat as communities began to ban them and food service companies like Starbucks and McDonalds announced plans to phase them out. National Geographic coverage of floating plastic masses in the Pacific Ocean spurred further conservations about plastic pollution and the need to reduce single-use plastics. The gardening world is taking positive steps by organizing plastic pot recycling events and developing compostable containers.
Plant
Spotlights: Each year, several garden groups
select a plant to promote. For 2019, the National Garden Bureau selected
one annual (snapdragon), one perennial (salvia remosa), one bulb (dahlia) and
one edible (pumpkin). The Perennial Plant
Association named Stachys
‘Hummelo’ as the perennial plant of the
year. The American
Hosta Growers Association named ‘Lakeside
Paisley Print’ as the hosta of the year. And
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show named ‘Starlight
Symphony’ as the rose of the year.
Last week, the green industry met in Columbus, Ohio for Cultivate 2018 – a massive trade show in which 10,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors from 18 countries converged for a four-day event! Here, bulb companies from the Netherlands, seed companies from Japan and plant breeders, marketers and growers across the United States showcased their new plants and products.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khH9NejeGvY&w=560&h=315]
Across the tradeshow floor, it was evident excitement is building in the horticulture industry as more and more people value the power of plants in our backyards, workplaces, health care institutions, schools, universities and downtown communities.
According to National Institute of Consumer Horticulture, the industry contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs. The industry is fueling consumers’ hunger for more plants with many new varieties. Here’s a sneak peak at 10 up-and-comers:
Edibles: Two show winners include Amazel™ basil, a game-changing, mildew-resistant Italian sweet basil by Proven Winners, and Hort Couture’s Edibliss kales which combine sweet, soft edible leaves with the more flamboyant colors of ornamental kale. All-American Selections mini bell peppers (Pepper Chili Pie and Sweetie Pie) also grabbed attention for their snackable size.
Mangaves: Talk about a statement plant for containers! This succulent cross between an agave and manfreda was turning heads at the Walters Gardens booth.
Expanded fall plant palette: Tiring of mums for your fall displays? Look for ornamental Corn Pink Zebra (a dwarf corn for containers) and new Sneezeweed hybrids (Helenium autumnale ‘Salud Embers’).
Black-eyed vincas: In the Vinca Tatoo™ series, each vinca bloom is inkedwith a dark center. Colors include papaya, black cherry, tangerine and raspberry.
Must-have gomphrena: ‘Truffula Pink’ was a Proven Winners standout with its heavy flower coverage, pollinator appeal and toughness in extreme heat and humidity. Plant it in mass in flower borders or containers.
More mandevillas: Suntory is introducing two new giant Sun Parasol® mandevillas: 1) Giant Dark Pink with changing shades of coral pink and white blooms and 2) Giant Marbled Crimson with variegated foliage and red blooms. Columbus, Ohio gardener Paul Schrader trials many varieties in his eye-catching garden on City Park Ave. in German Village.
Canary wing begonia: Jared Hughes, 30-year-old plant breeder from central Ohio, is overwhelmed with the response to his first nationally released plant introduction with Ball Ingenuity. It’s a standout in shade gardens with its chartreuse angel-wing leaves and non-stop red blooms. The plant won the 2018 Retailers’ Choice Award at the trade show.
Scented modern rose: Suntory has reintroduced perfume to disease-resistant shrub roses with its line of repeat-blooming Brindabella™ roses in red, pink, apricot, salmon, blush, white and purple.
If there was a fashion week for the garden world, it would be this first full week of March as lifestyle magazines roll out the season’s latest plants and garden trends. Some of the themes that dominated 2016 – edible landscapes and bee-friendly gardens – are still growing and climbing to new levels. Here are ten trends curated from the latest issues of Better Homes & Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Southern Living, Country Gardens, Garden Design and the UK’s Gardens Illustrated.
Shades of Greenery – Named the 2017 Color of the Year by the Pantone Institute, greenery couldn’t be more fitting for the gardening world. While there are varying shades of green foliage, there are also plenty of green flowers to update your outdoor spaces. Try Bells of Ireland, ‘Green Envy’ Zinnia, ‘Sophistica Lime Green’ petunias, hellebores, orchids, ‘Green Flutter’ daylilies , ‘Green Star’ gladiolas, ‘Spring Green’ tulips and ‘Pistachio’ daffodils. Also, try spray-painting a bench green or adding green throw pillow for a fresh look.
Shrubs Go Small – For low maintenance and small spaces, dwarf shrubs are the answer. At two-feet in size, try planting these shrubs in multiples or in a space where you don’t want to have to keep pruning to maintain a small size. Among the hydrangeas, look for ‘Tiny Tuff Stuff,’ ‘Bobo’ and ‘Little Quick Fire.” Also try ‘Green Velvet’ boxwood.
Updated Classics — Hardwood trees are in short supply in areas of the country where ash trees have fallen to the ash borer. Top replacements include Accolade elm, State Street miyabei maple, Exclamation London planetree, Autumn Gold ginkgo, Fall Fiesta sugar maple and Shawnee Brave bald cypress.
Pollinator Party — Gardeners are inviting pollinators to their backyards with flowers like monarda, butterfly weed, lantana, aster, liatris, lavender and borage. They’re also luring bees with trees like lindens, crabapples, redbuds, locusts and serviceberries.
Bee on aster
Urban Wild – Driven by high profile urban landscapes like Chicago’s Lurie Gardens and NYC’s High Line, the wild design is gaining ground in residential outdoor spaces. Inspired designers are bringing high design to naturalized spaces. For inspiration, check out recently released books such as Wild By Design, Garden Revolution and Planting in a Post-wild World.
Succulents Mania – Succulents were BIG at the winter plant trade shows, both in terms of variety (some look like rosettes while other look like sea creatures) and in terms of popularity (vendors showed them in containers, wall displays, framed and even suspended in macramé hangers).
Elevated Edibles – Edibles aren’t just relegated to raised beds hidden along the ugly side of the house anymore. They’re now tucked in perennial borders, grown in pots and climbing sculptural supports. Check out recent magazines for new varieties (American Gardener), petite sizes (Country Gardens), hops (Horticulture), design ideas (Better Homes & Gardens), edible flowers (Southern Living) and a beginner’s guide (Martha Stewart Living).
Fit for Extreme Weather – From heat waves to flooding, weather extremes are becoming the norm, and recent magazines are offering plenty of inspiration. See Country Gardens for a boggy backyard garden and Better Homes & Gardens for an arid one.
Primroses in a bog garden featured in Country Gardens (spring 2017)
Uber Local Flowers – The locavore movement is stretching beyond foods to flowers as local flowers farms offer fresh blooms as an alternative to those shipped from faraway countries. Backyard gardeners can take this one step further with their own cutting garden. See the March issue of Better Homes & Gardens for tips from Floret Farm.
Millennial Appeal – Cashing in on the so-called Experience Economy, many savvy garden stores, yoga studios, floral farms and even clothing stores like Anthropologie are offering a host of workshops from flower arrangements to succulent containers to origami blooms. Check out the latest issue of Magnolia Journal for a floral workshop hosted by Joanna Gaines.
“Flora Workshop” in The Magnolia Journal Spring 2017
I didn’t expect to have a garden moment in the subway of the Atlanta airport, but it happened.
Shunning the train to get in some needed walking en route to my gate, I passed several pieces of sculpture by African artists in one of the connecting tunnels between concourses. The greenish color of some of the stones, the serene faces and fluid lines suggested life outdoors and fresh air. I coveted several as focal points in my landscape.
Among my favorites were Galactic Dancer by Tapfuma Gutsa, Woman Showing Traditional Salute by Edronce Rukodzi, and Caring Mother, by Lameck Bonjisi.
“Galactic Dancer” by Tapfuma Gutsa
“Woman Showing Traditional Salute” by Edronce Rukodzi
“Caring Mother” by Lameck Bonjisi
Adding further outdoor ambience was a colorful installation suggesting a leafy canopy running the entire length of another connecting tunnel. Recorded tweets and trills of bird songs added to the fantastical effect of being deep in a whimsical, shaded garden.
Had I known my flight would be delayed by nearly an hour, I’d have hoofed it through the rest of the tunnels to see what was on exhibit. Or backtracked to look more closely at the photo exhibit and permanent exhibit of Atlanta’s history.
By Teresa Woodard
According to 
Art brings garden feel to subway tunnel
