BT Toronto Blogs

2010 Top Five Garden Trends

Number 10: Bright and Bolds: 

2010 is the year to express happiness in the garden via bright and bold colours.  Watch out for orange, purple and punchy pinks to ring in the new garden season.

Number 9:  Container Gardening and Patio Pot Water Gardens:

Condo’s and smaller residential properties makes Container gardening still a popular trend for 2010.  A growing potted pleasure: portable water gardens in pots.  Just pop in the plants, fill with water and pop in a gold fish for mosquito larvae control and presto your own little aquatic heaven.

Number 8:  Chemical Free

Earth Day 2009 a complete ban of cosmetic pesticide use in Ontario and it currently looks like other provinces will follow suit.  Chemical free gardens the only choice and the right one.

Number 7:  Outdoor Entertaining:

Outdoor Kitchens, pizza ovens, tv’s and couches the outdoor living room will grow into many landscapes this year.

Number 6:  Water-wise Gardening:

Canada is the second largest user of water per capita.  We have no choice but to use our water wisely!!

Number 5 GREEN is still Growing:

Plant the pot vegetables, bio-degradable plant tags, green roofs and VOC outdoor paints green is groovy in 2010.  According to National Marketing Institute, four out of five people say they’re still buying green products and services today–which sometimes cost more–even in the midst of a US recession. More than two thirds say they will select green over traditional– “if it works”.

Number 4 Proven plants that work:

Perennials with long bloom periods all season garden interest and disease and insect resistance.

Number 3 Slow Gardening – Enjoying nature

Seed starting and enjoying the process of plants and their harvest.

According to LOHAS –Lifestyle of Health and Sustain ability seed

sales are up 30-50% and canning saw a whopping 45% increase.

Number 2 Community Gardens:

Produce sharing with community-supported agricultural farms and produce exchanges are

springing up throughout urban and suburban and rural communities. The take-home message is: urban farming is cool; urban wastelands are not.

Number 1 Vegetable Gardening

From Tomatoes to acorn squash, potage gardens to square foot gardening.  Vegetable gardens are growing at a rapid rate.  A recent survey by the National Gardening Association shows a 19 percent burst of new hobby country farms and urban edible gardens over last year.

(SOURCES: www.gardenmediagroup.com/pressroom/trends10.pdf)