The future for gardening looks joyful and holds a connection to Mother Nature that just may be the saving grace of the planet.
This bold prediction comes from Garden Media Group’s 2019 Garden Trends Report: Rooted Together – Reconnecting with the Natural World. The 18th annual report dives deep into the intrinsic connection people have with nature and how banding together could be the best defense to protect the earth.
According to the Report, today’s “social clock” society is online 24/7. In a desert of work, stress and the internet, nature - both indoors and outside - has become an oasis.
“We are finding joy in nature to achieve peace and purpose,” says Katie Dubow, creative director at the trend-spotting firm. “Our 2019 Garden Trends report showcases trends in design, color and technology that will strengthen our relationship with Mother Nature.”
The 2019 Garden Trends Report predicts a move toward a higher value on increasing our connection with nature and dives deep into cultivating a healthier relationship with the expanding technological.
The team of trendspotters at Garden Media, who have had their finger on the pulse of trends for almost 20 years, sees the beginning of a change from the “ME” generation to a focus on “SHE” – Mother Nature.
“This awakening gets people off their devices, draws them outside, and brings them in touch with their roots,” Dubow explains. “And gardening is a natural fit.”
One of the reasons nature is calling us, says environmental author Michael McCarthy, is thousands of years of evolution. “We have a link to the natural world. It’s where our minds evolved. It’s where we became who we truly are, and it’s where, really, we are most at home.”
He explains in his book Moth Snowstorm, which has been compared to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, that our love of the natural world is our best defense for saving it. “There is hope,” he says. “Finding joy in nature will help save the environment, and in turn, save us.”
He and scientists world-wide are warning of the “thinning of the insect world” which Garden Media has identified as a one of eight trends for 2019. “Gardeners have taken up the mantle to save the bees,” says Dubow. “We now need to garden to save all beneficial flying insects by planting not just flowers with pollen but native shrubs and majestic trees such as oaks.”
The report also captures more good news from the National Gardening Association’s annual survey, which says more people are gardening and spending more money on lawn and garden retail plants and products than ever before. The average households set a spending record of $503 – up nearly $100 over the previous year, setting a record $47.8 billion in retail sales.
And Millennial gardeners, 18-34 year olds, set a record high last year, making up 29% of all gardening households.
From robot bees to pruning “blue screens”, the 2019 GTR: Rooted Together demonstrates how changing habits can cultivate a healthy lifestyle, healthy community and healthy planet. The eight garden trends show how our love of nature will become an emotional, physical and spiritual resource to help us connect and find a common focus to save the planet.
The complete 2019 Garden Trends Report: Rooted Together is available for free download now.