By Teresa Woodard
Heartland Gardening headed to the International Gift and Home Furnishings Market at AmericasMart Atlanta to uncover trends in outdoor furnishings. Here are a few to inspire your outdoor spaces.
1) Upgraded Recycled Furniture – One furniture manufacturer is transforming landfill waste into attractive, all-weather furniture.
2) Retro Camp Gear – The growing fireplace craze is generating renewed interest in camp tools like pie irons, marshmallow sticks and popcorn poppers.
3) Cutting-edge Metal Furnishings – The laser-cut trend of the fashion industry is now entering the outdoor furnishings industry with metal benches cut in intricate patterns.
4) New Heights for Miniatures –The miniature craze remains strong with holiday additions and whimsical nature-inspired abodes.
5) Parisian Bistro-Weave –The classic French bistro chairs of the 19th century cafes are popping up inside kitchens and outside on patios. Available in a variety of colors and patterns, they easily mix with rustic or sophisticated pieces.
6) Tiki Fun – The Tiki culture, more of 1930s Hollywood than true Polynesia, is enjoying a revival in today’s backyards as homeowners create tropical backyard vacation destinations.
7) Modern Zen – Stone sculptures make striking centerpieces in minimalist and meditative gardens.
8) Statement Containers – Today’s containers go luxe in grand scale, jewel-tone colors and stone and metallic finishes.
9) Stacked stone fountains – These smaller bubbling water features offer the alluring sound and wildlife water source without the stagnant water of traditional bird baths or the maintenance hassles of larger water features.
10) Salvaged wood furnishings – Look for painted pieces to add some colorful funk to your backyard.
Sages are among my favorite plants: gorgeous flowers, hummingbird and other pollinator attractors, herbal uses, and easy to grow. Above is one of the Brazilian sage species (Salvia guaranitica ‘Amistadt’). Its electric purple blooms call you from across the garden. An older sibling (below) is Black and Blue sage (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’). When you grow this sage in your garden be prepared to be strafed by hummingbirds if you happen to be weeding when they wish to feed.
From time the time, the experts are stumped. This lovely little annual had many of us asking: “What is this?” When we found a docent who had the plant list and learned that we were looking at a large-flowered laurentia (Isotoma axillaris ‘Avant Garde White’), there were more than a few sheepish expressions. The flowers were approximately 1.5” in diameter – they are usually much smaller – and they danced in the breeze. And, another plant goes on the list for next year!
Alliums are another useful plant in the garden. One downside is their excessive seeding. After three to four years, you may have only alliums in your garden. Enter some of the new hybrids that make few to no fertile seeds. Pink Planet allium (above) is one of those new hybrids; Millennium is another – Millennium allium is now in my garden. I will let you know about its fecundity.
At Kelly and Kelly Nursery, we saw what patience and vision can achieve. Need a fence? Create a ginkgo espalier. If you start this project now, you can have this in 10 to 15 years, or so.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include a picture from the edible garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. If you are looking for the tastiest crabapple for jams and jellies then Dolgo crabapple (Malus ‘Dolgo’) is your tree. What is the only difference between a crabapple and an apple? The diameter of a crabapple is two inches or less; an apple is larger than two inches.
Not all of the plants we see are in pots or gardens. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has an extensive collection of rare books in its library. This gorgeous lily was hand-colored and sold in limited folios to those who could afford books back in 1542 — 50 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue. (De Historia Stirpium, Leonhart Fuchs, 1542)
Plants are the designer’s medium. We use the tools of line, form, texture and color to create borders, beds and vignettes. We make places of order, activity, privacy and repose. Here is a border that is peaceful and textural in nature.
Being a plant addict is not a hopeless condition. There are times when something other than a plant grabs my attention. This green tree frog nestled in a ligularia leaf may have been one of the most photographed garden visitors on the garden tour. Of course we were discussing the perfect color harmony of the reddish-brown markings on the frog with the veins on the leaf. Get a bunch of designers together and what do you get? Endless discussions of color, form and texture in the garden!
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