Transatlantic trends

This article was published in the March 2024 issue of Garden Center.

The big questions I often hear are: “What’s new in Europe?” “Where are the trends going?” and “What does the consumer want versus what the breeder is offering?” I feel that I am well qualified to answer this. I’ve been in the industry since I was just 18 years old and I began my career with Thompson & Morgan, one of the most innovative mail order plant companies in the UK. During my time there, I made connections with a wealth of Europe’s top breeders and developers, training up a keen eye for innovations. When social media came along many years later, I was then well placed to share my findings with a curious audience. Today, I feel like a conduit between what the consumer wants and what the breeder wants to create.

The combo of a nation of creative gardeners in the UK with a commercially aware mainland Europe means trends often start on this side of the pond — although there’s always something to learn wherever I go. For example, I picked up lots of ideas during my U.S. trip last summer, in particular the ladybugs being sold in a refrigerator by the cash desk in the garden center. I have never seen this in Europe to date. Likewise, in Japan, I always pick up lots of container gardening tips and tricks and ideas of new plants to use.

So, let’s dig in (pun intended) to some of the trends that I think I see coming down the lane.

Blurring boundaries

Who gets to call a houseplant a houseplant? While the variations in growing regions in the U.S. mean this can flip-flop, we’ve often been more reserved with Europe attitudes. But experimentation with product developers and retailers means that consumers are playing with the palette a bit more. When I was a child, Coleus was strictly a houseplant, but nowadays houseplant influencers wouldn’t even recognize this genus as a choice for their indoor plant cabinets. Our palette for patio pots gets wider and wider, as Tradescantia and all sorts of Celosia continue to join the outdoor club.

New growing media

As the peat-free movement gains momentum, retailers are attempting to educate the consumer on the differences they may soon experience with their growing efforts. Growers across Europe are putting all their energies into developing peat-free potting mixes, with many breeders focusing on stronger plant genetics and, of course, breeding in a peat-free mix in the first place. But will the peat-free age result in better quality growing material or a shift in customer expectations for their homegrown specimens? Time will tell.

The wild look

The typical grower might find it hard to entertain this particular trend. Consumers are actively seeking plants that have a wilder, more open habit, which fill borders better and are naturally perceived as better for wildlife. This may create a quandary for the supply chain, as neater, more compact plants are obviously easier to transport. Of course, the dream plant is a specimen that stays neat and compact in the pack, and then flourishes (in all ways) once it hits the border.

Pollinator plants

Following on from my wild look trend prediction, it should be noted the consumer is also becoming more aware of the need to provide for pollinators in their outdoor space. Pollinator plants always sell well when they’re front and center in the garden store. While wildflowers are encouraged, there’s always a wider palette consumers can choose from. Recent research at the famous garden Great Dixter showed that a blend of native and non-native was actually the best way to create an optimum ecosystem.

Flowering houseplants

I get the feeling that we are reaching a moment of fatigue with the houseplant influencer scene, as suggested varieties tend to repeat, and more rare specimens are out of the reach of an everyday consumer. It seems obvious to me that we should embrace orchids, in particular for their floral beauty, and they could become more collectable if we move to selling them as named varieties, too. Likewise, ever-blooming Streptocarpus and some of the more elaborate Kalanchoe species are just waiting for their moment in the spotlight.

Grasses for everyone

Wind back 15 years, and grasses were certainly not top of the trends listings. But we’re now a bit more inventive with how we use them in the garden and on the patio. We no doubt have Piet Oudolf to thank for his prairie-style plantings of recent years. Simple though effective, some excellent colored pot branding has really elevated grasses such as Festuca ‘Intense Blue’ and ‘AmiGold’.

Trees in containers

With continued focus on the environment and carbon, planting trees remains on the agenda. But it needs to be done responsibly, and indeed not every consumer will have the space or inclination to plant trees, of any size. This is where patio container trees are gaining momentum, including species and varieties that can live quite happily in large tub containers for many years. A mix of small trees and oversized shrubs suit this purpose, from Amelanchier through to the beguiling range of beautiful Cercis that are racing to market.

Michael Perry, aka Mr Plant Geek, is a UK-based horticulturist, television and radio personality, and author of “Hortus Curious.” He was the keynote speaker at the 2023 Garden Center Conference & Expo in Minneapolis. Contact Michael at mrplantgeek.com.