First, I read Garden Media Group’s analysis of the gardening trends they see for 2018. One of the things it seems to show is that the trend toward a less cultivated style of gardening is growing. I think we have Piet Oudolf and the new perennial garden movement to thank for that. A few weeds are OK, leave some things standing for the birds and keep nature in mind.
Then, as I was walking out the door on a very foggy morning, I snapped a quick picture of the patio garden, which is looking quite nice for this time of year. Like a lot of gardeners, I take a lot of closeup photos, often at the expense of the larger view (a forest for the trees, situation, if you will). So it was sort of nice to force myself to see this area in a photo and be generally pleased with what I saw.
So I started thinking about the garden trends I had just read about. Granted, this report is created with the garden industry in mind. It’s meant to help people in the business better target their customers wants and needs and to help garden media understand what kinds of things consumers are interested in. Still, I can’t imagine a major change in my overall gardening style happening at this point.
This was the first garden I “developed” when we bought the house and I’ve shared a lot of the failures and successes in it on this blog. I’d say there have been a lot more disappointments than pleasant surprises in this garden, a factor of my inexperience in its original creation and an unwillingness to start from scratch.
There are still challenges, but I think this is as good as this part of the garden has looked. I’m onto something—finally—and no amount of trend following is going to change that.
Of course I could always use that report to feel a little better about the fact that there is always a weed lurking in there. And there is, perhaps, one other advantage to embracing that report, as it relates to my garden. Earlier this year, when I shared a less flattering photo of this garden on Facebook, one reader told me, “Sorry, it just looks like a bunch of weeds.” If I had known then what I know now, I could have told her I was just embracing a trend.
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5 Responses
That part of the garden looks terrific. I can't believe someone made that weed remark. Clearly not a gardener. I really hate trend stories no matter the subject. I love Piet but I think you need a lot of space for his type of planting and then some big open spaces for contrast. Doesn't work for most of us. Just saw a piece on spring bulbs on Garden Design magazine's newsletter: 7 out of 18 plants won't grow in our zone and I think they had another one with Z5 that is 6 or more. Get sick of so much stuff geared to the coasts and coolness and money.
Wow, I think your patio garden is fabulous. So much color. I don't follow trends. Oh yes, I pick a choose something from them that catches my eye but to totally follow…Umm, I have never been a very good follower. By all means a person should please themselves. I mean, who looks at your garden the most? Your own self. I agree with Linda's last sentence. Often too much $$ thrown at a garden and no personality.
Your patio garden is really quite beautiful! Before I became a blogger and just read blogs, I always wondered why gardeners didn't share more of the "larger view" of their gardens. As a reader, I enjoy looking at the bigger picture or at least a small vignette, even though as a blogger I know it's not always feasible. Happy gardening!
I love love this photo- so very nice! Do you have the purple fountain grass in a container to make it so high? What is the purple plant in front between the sedum and verbena bonariensis? Is that a limelight hydrangea? I grew Nicotiana alata for the first time and like yours next to the Amsonia. I really can appreciate Piet and the meadows but I do love all the colors of cottage gardens!
Ha! I wish my weeds looked so good.