About this time of the year, marketers and public relations people start talking up the new trends for next year. Are any of these based on anything concrete? Your guess is as good as mine. However, most of them preface their predictions with, “What the research shows is… ” – which is presumably meant to reassure us that ripping out all our hand-matched sandstone paving and replacing it with poured earth bricks will put us at the forefront of fashion. Generally, I disagree with any “what’s hot, what’s not” list, and 2013 is no exception.
ECO GARDENING
Yes, we’re all becoming a bit more eco-conscious, and what the research shows is that we are slightly more inclined to garden for environmental reasons than simply for our own pleasure. So I’m going to plant trees purely to ¬filter the air. Yeah right.
CORRESPONDING COLOUR COMBINATIONS
I’d disallow this trend because gardens are long-term endeavours and it’s nuts to rip out all of last year’s orange blooms and replace them with purple just because some colour consultant sitting in an of¬fice with a view of an asphalt carpark says so. Lilac may be the new cream, but I suggest you choose whatever colours and combinations make you smile.
EASY, LOW-MAINTENANCE GARDENS
Frankly, there’s no such thing as a low-maintenance garden. If you have plants, you have maintenance. If you want a low-maintenance garden, concrete it.
This irregularly shaped hedge works with the winding path and casual arrangement of container plants
IT’S NOT HIP TO BE SQUARE
It may not be hip, but if you have square lawns, straight garden walls and other symmetrical features, I wouldn’t recommend you start tearing them out and introducing curves. Believe it or not, you can have both.
LIGHT UP THE DARK
A sensible trend, if you can afford it. Good garden lighting means your guests can see where they’re going, you can keep planting until you’ve ¬finished the job even if it’s dark, and anything you shine light on will look dramatic and gorgeous – assuming it’s not a weed.
While I may be disparaging about garden trends, I am interested in the ideas of those in the garden design industry on the direction our gardens are taking. It’s about the long term, as opposed to a flash-in-the- pan seasonal flirtation with the colour purple. And it’s nice to hear there is a slow and steady swing to gardens that are more emotional and spiritual. The pundits predict a revival of old, classic garden styles such as cottage gardening, French and Italian formal gardens, and even medieval gardens with a twist. The winning Daily Telegraph Garden at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show was a perfect example. Sunken gardens and terracotta columns evoked the ideas of Roman ruins and the design relied on self-seeding plants that emphasise change.
Reinforcing the renewed romance is a return to the use of hedges and topiary. It’s been creeping back into style over the past two or three years as newbies have realised you are allowed to have fun with it. Many designers have led the way by clipping hedges in non-traditional forms. If you’re keen to know more, check out The Art of Creative Pruning by Jake Hobson, which showcases the many ways that clipped shrubs can shape a garden. Following on from that, you’d have to be blind not to notice that Grandma’s favourites are hot again. We’re re-learning the value of plants that have withstood the test of time – lilacs, hydrangeas, peonies, daylilies, dahlias, carnations, daphne and camellias. They’re popping up even in sleek, modern gardens, and why not? There’s always room for a few sentimental favourites.
Sunken gardens, waterfalls and statuary evoke the idea of Roman ruins, and set the scene for a romantic garden of self-seeding plants
Perhaps as a reaction against dracaenas, yuccas, palms and flaxes, we’ll be using plants to evoke a mood or a feeling, so there will be fewer structured, formal arrangements and more swathes and layers. There’s a great example of this look in the 2010 Laurent- Perrier garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, where designer Tom Stuart-Smith used grasses and umbellifer flowers to evoke the look of a romantic, woodland landscape. A direction I’m pleased about is idiosyncratic detail, which is all about using artisan materials and designs to provide a warmer, more personal look for your garden.
So when all is said and done, perhaps we can say goodbye to the concrete pavers, glass walls and stainless-steel fences that have become ubiquitous in the upmarket urban garden, and hello to a row of upended fenceposts topped by gnomes with fishing rods. Or not.
There’s great value in plants such as carnations and lilacs, which have stood the test of time
YACÓN
A friend asked me recently if I knew what a yacón was. I managed to salvage the de¬finition “underground pear” from the deep recesses of my memory. Yacón tastes like a sweet cross of apple, watermelon, mild celery and pear. And then there’s the texture – it’s like water chestnuts. They’re also good for you. Yacón tubers are rich in an indigestible sugar, so the syrup they form has all the sweetness of other plant-derived sweeteners, but without the calories. They also bene¬fit the bacteria in the intestinal tract and colon, which boost the immune system and aid digestion.
Now’s a good time to plant – put them about a metre from their neighbour and throw on a heap of compost. Yacón are easy to grow in soil where there’s reasonable rainfall and moderate heat. You’d never think it to look at them, but Yacón are good to eat fresh with a little honey and a bit of lemon juice drizzled over. Pour any citrus juice over them and add them to fruit salads for a satisfying crunch.
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