Talking Horticulture with Rachel Anderson

I’ll let you into a little secret which is that – just as a builder’s house is never finished – the garden of a horticultural journalist is a bit of an overgrown mess. But to my relief, I’ve learned that I’m not the only one who struggles to find the time to don their gardening gloves. In fact, one of the main gardening trends this year is the “instant garden,” as Wyevale Nurseries’ Colin Stanley explains: “The trend that I’m seeing is for container gardening – people want plants that are ‘low maintenance’. They don’t want to be spending lots of time working in their garden – they don’t have the time. And I also think that the popularity of container gardening has a lot to do with the size of gardens in general. They are getting smaller and there’s a lot of rentals out there. People who are renting are not wanting to invest in gardens. They want pots and they want to take those pots with them. This has affected the type of product that we grow on the nursery.”

Laura Moan from Thompson & Morgan echoes Colin’s sentiments when she says: “Patio plants with a contemporary look have been the biggest trend that we have seen in the past few years. There’s a huge amount of plants being sold in pre-planted containers. And hanging baskets are selling like hotcakes. The ‘instant garden’ is very much a long-term trend. The demographic for gardening is also widening – it includes a younger generation that wants to order things and have them delivered the next day.”

Research* conducted at the start of this year (2019) by Common Sense Gardening (an initiative from the Garden Group of the Crop Protection Association [CPA]) reveals that 84% of millennials would not garden unless it was simple to do and their gardens were easy to maintain. They would also appreciate gardening being made easier.

So, what sort of plants suit our world that is seemingly so short of space and time? Colin tells me that colourful plants like agapanthus – which have “the wow factor,” a long flowering period, and work well in a container – are popular choices. Evergreens such as euonymus “that look good over a long period of time” are also in style. Neil Robertson of The Farplants Group notes that plants like ferns, grasses and lavenders that add structure to a display continue to do well, as do succulents.

Grow Your Own

Despite my lack of time, I do have some cress and vegetable seeds growing on my kitchen windowsill. These were planted my children – who, unbeknownst to them – are part of another trend. Laura explains: “People are getting their kids more into gardening. It’s always been something that our clients have asked us about and now we’ve introduced a Little Miss and Mr Men seed range as part of the push on ‘grow your own’.” Common Sense Gardeners reports that 81% of those millennials who are gardening are growing their own fresh produce – with almost half growing tomatoes, strawberries, carrots and even potatoes. And more than a quarter grow their own herbs. And so, growers who are reviewing their ranges might like to take note of these crazes – whilst I had better go and mow my unruly lawn.

* The sample comprised 1,003 UK aduults aged 22-37 who do gardening or grow product. Surveys were conducted at the end of January.