“We have rarely talked about cut flowers, but this year you could not ignore the growth in that industry,” says Katie Dubow, President of Garden Media Group, about the newly released 2022 Garden Trends Report. During these uncertain years, much has changed for the green industry, which is why it is interesting to take a look at the data and predict what next year’s trends will be. And according to Dubow, it is not only interesting but also important for companies to know the upcoming trends, as it helps them understand what customers will be interested in. 
Katie Dubow
From crisis to innovation
Dubow explains that the trend report has an overarching theme each year, and the theme of 2022’s trends is ‘from crisis to innovation’. “We came up with this theme as all of the trends in this report really relate to it. For example, an interesting new trend is that people are creating front yard zones, as a way to welcome friends without crossing your threshold. This is thus a new space to decorate and plant. Mostly, we are seeing that people want container plants that look good and are low-care.”
Important for the industry to know trends
“In our database we can see that most people downloading our trend report are people in the industry,” says Dubow. “And this makes sense, as it is important for green companies to know what the consumers are interested in. Normally, the industry is not really seen as being ‘trendy’, as it takes time to adapt when you are dealing with growing plants. Yet trends influence customer behavior, and these reports give an insight into what customers will be interested in the coming year. As a result, it gives companies the opportunity to stay ahead of the trends.”
“We could no longer ignore cut flowers”
As the trend reports are mainly focused on gardening, it rarely discusses any trends surrounding cut flowers, explains Dubow. “Yet this year we really could not ignore the growth in that industry. The bedding plant industry is very different from the cut flower industry. Yet the numbers have shown the more plants consumers have in their homes, the more they want to plant in their garden as well. It is, therefore, an interesting trend for the garden industry too, and some growers might even consider starting growing cut flowers for the first time.”
Preventing further plant extinctions
According to Dubow, it is important for the industry to focus on ‘extinct plant efforts’, which is another new trend. “We need a renewed focus to prevent further plant extinctions. There are 4000 wild plants in the US that are endangered currently. There are organizations and gardens, such as the Mt. Cuba Center, that are leading conservation efforts with research, fundraising, and creating extinction gardens. While the most endangered specimens live at these sites, more partnerships will be needed to safeguard more of these unique species and conserve them in the wild. Fortunately, native plants have been in extremely high demand under consumers recently, which is a great step.”
Click here to download the 2022 Garden Trends Report.
For more information:
Garden Media Group
Katie Dubow
katie@gardenmediagroup.com
www.gardenmediagroup.com