The 7 Hottest Home & Garden Trends of 2009

I saw some of these tendencies coming, but I didn't predict the extreme swing in home and garden trends for this year. Some trends were predictable and others came out of the blue. Many of these shifts are peoples' reactions to our slow economy; more of us staying home are finding ourselves with time to use differently, thereby creating the shifts the market is seeing.

As usual, a color - "Mimosa" was the big color announcement this year by Pantone, the global color wheel in fashion trending. Many of you ladies also might label this color "butter, sunflower, gold, illuminated vanilla, or orangey champagne"; as a guy I simply call it "yellow". Because my business carries so many of the new garden fashion items for both inside and outside the home, I closely follow design and fashion trends. As predicted, yellow is THE color this year for both home and garden.

The victory garden is back - Because of our economy I knew that we'd see increased sales of vegetables and herbs, but I never imagined they would soar to such heights. If a plant grows anything edible I can hardly keep up with demand! Young and old alike are turning the soil in newly appreciated old garden beds. The increased numbers of families gardening is the highest I've seen in a decade.

Getting in sync with our rain - Knowing the correct micro-climates in a landscape and planting appropriately will not only increase success, but reduce water use in the long run. A trend to drought-hard, low maintenance plants has been a movement of the past three years, but this year it has taken a giant leap forward. Using
water efficient plants in conjunction with drip irrigation makes for a very sustainable landscape. I can attest that the "Green" trend is alive and well in local landscapes.

Kids are back in the garden - Who doesn't have fond memories of planting those big sunflower and nasturtium seeds as a child? Pumpkins also have big seeds that yield an impressive, showy display that quickly teaches children that gardening is not only a pleasure, but that it can feed you as well. Also, there's no better way to get kids to eat their vegetables than to have them grow their own.

Kid gardens might include: flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, small tomatoes of all colors, mini peppers, French beans, and other bush varieties of vegetables. Such gardens can even be cultivated in containers so that each kid has his/her own garden plot.

Ditch fake plants - Sun-faded fake geraniums, fake ficus, fake topiaries, fake palms, fake vines are out. These plastic phonies are neither green nor good for the environment and can never deliver like a live plant. People are staying home more this year and they want to surround themselves with the real thing. No more artificial ivy at the tops of bookcases and cabinets when a living vine is so much healthier and easy to keep alive.

Greening up the house and the landscape - This can be as simple as finding better materials to clean up the look of that compost bin, changing unsightly old rain barrels at the down spouts, or planting a new tree. Up-graded with better windows or thicker insulation and a home will be more energy efficient. No question that people are trying to save where they can. I changed all the light bulbs in my home to the new C.F.L. bulbs that A.P.S. is pushing and have saved $50 on my electric bill every month since. I changed the bulbs at the garden center and saved thousands! It doesn't take much to save money and better our environment at the same time.

Sustainable is the word on the street - Anything sustainable is a hot item this year. In addition to front-loading washers and low-flow toilets or showerheads, reducing water usage by installing well-maintained drip systems and passive rain harvesting are in the mainstream. Now, if I only could convince my readers to reap the benefits of planting more trees in their landscapes, we truly would be on the sustainable track.

by Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
Throughout the week Ken Lain is at Watters Garden Center, 1815 W. Iron Springs Road, Prescott, AZ 86305 and can be contacted through his web site at www.wattersonline.com.