If this past January weather is any indication, dare we imagine a gardening season with growing conditions leaning towardd perfection? Wouldn’t that be a blessing?
I am ever hopeful at this time of year - just days past the traditional New Year’s resolutions that this garden will be the best one yet. And so far, this month is fueling my hope.
Never before have I spent time working in the garden in January. But thanks to the weather and the fact that I am trying to seriously reduce the square footage of a patch of Omphalodes cappadocica (navelwort) in my front bed, I decided I needed the exercise to whip myself back into shape.
This was a project I started in late summer…mainly because I had to create new bed space for shade plants which were recently exposed to full sun when we took out the Acer campestre (European hedge maple) in front of the house last spring. However, the unexpected discovery of an underground hornet’s nest put a rapid stop to that project last September.
These last few days, with temperature highs hovering in the single digits and a distinct lack of significant rain, conditions appeared to be perfect to brave the return attack on the hornets’ nest area and remain dry in my attempts.
With trepidation, I scraped away a patch of leaf mulch to expose the soil, grasped a string of Omphalodes roots in my gloved hand and pulled. Then I let out my breath and untensed my muscles. No angry hornets erupted in my face. I relaxed into a methodical attack on matted navelwort roots and let my mind wander.
Working in the garden on a mundane job is subtly conducive to letting one’s mind wander off on other matters. Well, that is usually what happens to me and it was not long before my thoughts drifted to the 2025 Garden Trends report I had read earlier.
This report is published annually by the Garden Media Group and focuses on what the perceived gardening trends will be in the nursery trade in the upcoming year. Interesting reading even if I do not agree with all of them.
Right off the bat, they mention 'niche social communities' for sharing “passions and interests without the noise and distractions of mainstream social”.
Trend 2 is 'funflation' - A new word to me and I was not sure what they meant even though I agree music is “a welcome addition to the garden”. But BYOV – bring your own vinyl?
They lost me on Trend 3 with 'unreality: maximalism,' claiming people will be drawn to “gardens that look unreal” in their “tyrannical cuteness”. Seriously?
Trend 4 claimed my attention again tooting 'lived-in gardens.' Definitely in favour of a garden which provides sanctuary from a fast-paced world and motivates a calm serenity for the soul.
Trend 5 'living fences” made me pause. Definitely more appealing, in my mind, than a constructed fence but what about the ever-growing threat of wildfires in our warming climate?
'Foraged' is Trend 6. Ha! Foraging is as old as time itself. My only fear - will our wild spaces be respected, not plundered.
I have Trend 7 'holy moly plants' covered! Many of my plants exhibit stylish holes in their leaves thanks to the chewing critters that flourish in my garden.
Trend 8: 'colour of the year' – teal. A huge improvement on last year’s colour: cyber lime. That was really too much.
Mulling these trends over as I filled an empty soil bag with rogue roots, I wondered if we were going too far afield with regard to the garden. It should be your personal creation for your own enjoyment to be shared as you see fit.
Leslie Cox co-owns Growing Concern Cottage Garden in Black Creek. Her website is https://duchessofdirt.ca/
