Follow the trend plant with purpose

Cruising the magazine racks in Auckland last week I was extremely tempted by a copy of the German architecture magazine Hauser. It's always been one of my favourites but lately the $25 price tag always reminds me I can get at least four plants for that, so I tend not to buy it unless there's something in which I'm specifically interested. And, of course, it's a bit of a luxury for something where I can only look at the pictures.
This one got me, though, because it had a cover line, in English, promising to reveal the 10 top garden trends for the new year. Who could resist? Eschewing the new magnolia I'd been coveting (red as) I plonked down my $25. Sadly, there there was no English translation of the story inside so I have had to rely on memory, my own interpretation of the pictures, and an exhaustive, international search of the internet to come up with a composite top 10 trends.
The combination of a crumbling economy and a growing interest in organics, high quality food and sustainability has pushed us towards growing our own fruit and vege, so orchard and vegetable gardening is the biggest trend.
Even if you have only a balcony, there's no reason not to grow something. A few salad greens, a luxurious amount of Italian parsley, mint (great look, great scent and seriously under-rated), and basil (in my experience, not that easy to grow in containers but not impossible, either) will give you at least a bit of a reputation for making an effort. Add a dwarf citrus and you'll score more points.
If you have anything as large as, or larger than, the traditional Kiwi quarter acre block, you can go mad. An orchard of citrus, apples, feijoas, guava, plums and other stone fruit will contribute hugely to your weekly food basket. It doesn't matter where in the country you are - something will grow there fantastically well.
A broader interpretation of the global trend is that we are now "gardening with a purpose". This could be growing food, flowers for cutting, working at a community garden to feed more than just the immediate family, or volunteering at a park to beautify a neighbourhood. Evidently, we have a greater appreciation of how the landscape enhances our environment, whether it's the backyard, the neighbourhood or the city.
Another major fashion in gardening is around re-defining luxury.
"What constitutes luxury is closely related to what constitutes scarcity," says independent US trend-spotting firm TrendWatch. And beyond the basic needs, scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, so "luxury" can now mean more time to yourself or with family, the freedom to be eccentric, and the idea of creating a personal oasis.
Suzi McCoy of the US marketing company Garden Media Group told the Perennial Plant Association's recent annual conference that 54 per cent of consumers are highly interested in native plants as well as perennials in general, plants that re-bloom, old-world earthen tones for pots, natural stone and materials that are eco-sourced. It seems that after several years of smart, upmarket urban gardens, the desire for weathered and appropriate materials is taking hold again.
Our demand of the past few years for low-maintenance gardens has also, to a degree, worn off. Many gardeners are realising that a low maintenance garden (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) is more in the nature of a hard-landscaped, outdoor living space with plants restrained in pots or raised beds. By contrast, gardens are about outdoor areas filled with plants that will do best when watered, weeded, fed, pruned and nurtured.
This has given rise to another trend towards a less restrictive planting style. The garden no longer has to fit within one of the accepted categories such as "native", "cottage", "formal", "country", "urban" or "subtropical".
Elements of all of these styles can co-exist, either in the same visual arena, or as separate garden rooms or spaces.
I'm relieved.
It means that our haphazard collection of native, exotic, subtropical and yet-to-be-classified plants is finally an acceptable style.
A recently planted row of donated plants that includes olives, acacias, kowhai and hibiscus, punctuated by a trio of $5 magnolias from the specials bin at the local nursery will not be sneered at by purist native-growing friends.
Well, it probably will be, but at least we'll have some defence. "Everybody's doing it," we'll say. "It's part of the new trend towards gardening with a purpose, re-defining luxury, high quality food, sustainability and, um, pleasing your bloody self."
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