Growing Garden Trends 2018

/in /by


As the growing season begins, let’s take a virtual look ahead at gardening trends on the horizon for 2018. Have a great gardening year and we hope to see whatever works for you in your landscape on Plants Map.

Tracy Blevins
Plantsmap.com: Connecting People With Plants
Featured in the cover photo: Viburnum prunifolium (Blackhaw viburnum) 

Ultra Violet 2018 Color of the Year from PANTONE – To begin our look at the year ahead in garden trends, I have to start with the 2018 PANTONE Color of the Year pick, Ultra Violet. I’m so happy to see this color as a trend that I’ve picked over 30 flowering plants that you can add to your landscape and added them in the journal Ultra Violet in the garden. 

Restoring Habitat at Home from Garden Design Magazine Top Garden Trends – We love that being mindful of your outdoor space as a shared habitat is now trending towards wildlife friendly gardening. I actually began gardening as a way to attract birds to my backyard so I believe this approach helps to bring it all back to nature.

From Plants Map:

Year of the Bird from the National Geographic Society – To mark the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Geographic Society and other partners have joined together to celebrate the “Year of the Bird” by sharing ways that can help protect birds and their habitats. Yearlong events are planned and be sure to look for the #BirdYourWorld hashtag on social media this year.

From Plants Map:

Nature’s RX for Mental Wellness from Garden Media Group’s Garden Trends Report– The overall theme from this year’s report was the desire to create a sense of well-being in our gardens. One way to incorporate this trend is through ‘imperfect gardening’ or what is known as Wabi-sabi gardening. The Japanese elements of Wabi-sabi (侘寂) accepts those things that are “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete” as beautiful. Relaxing thought isn’t it? That’s the point. The imperfect outdoor living space allows you to relax and enjoy nature. This concept also blends well with the previous two trends that focus on creating a more informal habit landscape.

 

 

From Plants Map:

 

Purple Reign Foods from Garden Media Group’s Garden Trends Report – Purple foods are the new color of healthy eating. They are packed with antioxidants that are reported to help protect your heart, reduce obesity and slow the aging process. So what tops the list of super purple foods to grow? Besides the well known choices of blueberries, blackberries, eggplant and cabbage try to seek out purple varieties of carrots, sweet potatoes and even cauliflower.

Top Food Trends for 2018 from Whole Foods Market – Root-to-stem cooking, which makes use of the entire fruit or vegetable, will continue to grow in popularity. Some recipes to try: pickled watermelon rinds, beet-green pesto and one of my favorites, broccoli-stem slaw. Other favorite food trends from Whole Foods includes more uses of floral flavors, mushroom body care and the use of Middle Eastern ingredients in recipes such as pomegranate, parsley, tahini, dried fruit and spices like harissa, cardamom and za’atar. Yes, I had to look those up.

Food Trends for the Foodie Garden from All-America Selections – Pak Choi, Candle Fire Okra, Green Tomatoes and Gold Watermelons are a few of the AAS Winners featured in this list that also includes recipes for vegetable entrees and souping.  

From Plants Map:  

2018 ‘Year of the’ campaigns from the National Garden Bureau – This year the NGB campaigns celebrate the year of the Beet, Tulips, Calibrachoa, Coreopsis.  

From Plants Map:

Trends we are seeing on Plantsmap.com – More and more corporate landscapes are seeking to educate and engage their staff and visitors about their campus trees, gardens or trails. Examples include Four Seasons Resorts Lana’i, CHICK-FIL-A Corporate Gardens, Google Kirkland Campus and more coming soon. Schools and university campuses are seeking to do the same with their students, faculty and visitors. We have seen an increase in nature center habitats using Plants Map to help identify an storify their plants for their visitors. Arboretum accreditation is another trend we see in community landscapes and parks.  

 

From Plants Map:

Gardening Trends 2018 from The Telegraph – While The Telegraph may be across the pond, I still believe many of our garden practices here actually take root in the U.K. and Europe first. So let’s see what they are up to: Seaweed and nematodes!!! Well they aren’t growing seaweed just yet, but they are using a lot of it. Overall there has been an increase in using natural products and seaweed appears to be the favorite. And what goes better with seaweed than nematodes? In an effort to use fewer chemicals, nature made pest control such beneficial nematodes are flying off the shelves… literally.  

Trends from the Horticulture Industry

Green and Growin 18

Cannabis grows and grows and grows – Ok, let’s talk about where there’s smoke there’s profit. I can’t leave out the Cannabis craze. Right now a lot of what will happen is still up in the air in the U.S. While there may be some setbacks for enthusiasts and the industry in 2018, I can’t help but believe as a country we are on track to legalize this medicinal herb. And if we don’t do it, other countries will beat us to it (or already have). And besides the health benefits, foodies are already widely adopting it as well.

Sign Up and Getting Started Tips