2005 Garden Trends! (4-7)

[Snowwark]

~All pics and green text from Better Homes and Gardens.~

4.Exterior Decorating.

Outdoor living areas are getting major makeovers with all the trimmings. Colorful, weather-resistant materials allow outdoor furnishings to bounce back from storms. Designer accessories manufactured specifically for outdoor use -- lighting, fireplaces, restaurant-quality cooking units, and audio gear -- increasingly blur the line between indoors and out.

Wow! I love this look, but for now, something this fanciful will remain a dream.

5.Civic Gardening.

Cities and towns around the nation are discovering the benefits of streetscaping. Unlike more formal park plantings, these right-of-way flowerbeds can be enjoyed by citizens every day on their way to work, school, or play. But it takes an army of volunteers to prepare, plant, and maintain these colorful plantings. Fortunately, more and more citizen gardeners are enlisting in the endeavor.

We have more flower beds in my city, Hamilton. Unfortunately, a lot of squabbling goes on regarding the money spent to maintain them, resulting in some beds remaing empty during the summer months.

6. High-Tech Decks.

Synthetic materials are breathing new life into an old concept: the deck. Whether pure plastic or a composite of plastic and wood, these new boards offer a wealth of benefits to justify their high initial cost. Longevity is one such benefit, but the new decking materials also promise more color, less maintenance, and better resistance to the cupping and bowing that eventually plagues many plain wood decks.

We had hoped to replace our deck with a wood composite one last year. That didn't happen, and I don't know that it ever will, especially with looking around for a new home to buy.

7. Organics Go Corporate.

A hearty cadre of farmers and gardeners has been practicing "organic" methods since the dawn of agriculture. Until recently, that meant a lot of hand labor and kitchen-table chemistry. Not content to lose this market, more garden supply companies are turning out their own nontoxic, natural controls for pests and disease. And breeders, too, are getting better at transferring the disease-resistance of heirloom plants to their modern cousins, cutting out the need for outside intervention altogether.

Your thoughts, Buds?

More to come...

 

[gina2000]

I like organic. Unfortunately, it's mucho expensivo.


And I'd need a maid to create that first pic.

You know....my sister has a beautiful deck. But let me tell you something. When you work, you're too tired to enjoy it. And forget entertaining on it. Schlepping everything in and out, cleaning it (and it may clean easily but no one is going to sit on chairs that have been rained on or had dirt blown on them), and getting ready for the party are just too much work! I don't know anyone who can manage it on an even semi-regular basis.

All this patio entertaining looks beautiful but it's tough to maintain unless you have hired help or an extremely motivated spouce/sig other.

 

[Snowwark]

We have a covered deck, and we use it quite a lot. Of course, it's nothing comparable to that viewtiful one. Yes, it gets dirty, but if you're tired enough, you'll sit on anything....dirty or not. At least we do.

I'm thinking your sister should hire someone to maintain it for her. Maybe she could pay them with some tasty Joisey tomatoes!

 

[sorcerormickey]

I would love something like the first pic! Even tho we have a very large covered lanai, it is also home to dozens of tree frogs, so we can't keep anything out there that we don't want pooped on!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Oh Kim, my outside viewing area is a bench, like your ice-covered one, facing my little pond. It's enough for me. I have dreams of extending the pond, putting in a little bridge, DH says he'll help, but you know, when it's all said and done, I like what I have. I go outside in the spring, fall and read on my bench by the pond. I think the deck and the set table are beatiful pictures, wonderful view, but they are just not "me." ( As I say this, I think of my bench and my dear Buster, who isn't above raising his leg on the iron end posts!)

The city of Centerville Ohio has some very nice landscaping in road medians, it's a treat to drive between lots of well cared for flowering annuals.

The picture of the watering can to me looks like someone is adding miracle grow. I do use a diluted fertilizer on my African violets (I'm down to 2 plants) and I have found that it helps my container plants to grow better. I don't use any fertilizers or chemicals in my vegetable garden because I don't seem to need any, or maybe I'm just happy with what I do get.

Bobbi

 

[Snowwark]

" ( As I say this, I think of my bench and my dear Buster, who isn't above raising his leg on the iron end posts!)"



Your bench and pond sounds like a lovely spot to read, and think, and dream, Bobbi.

Sorcerormickey, really the tree frogs mess everything up? Is there nothing to be done about it?

 

[oldkicker]

We put on a composite material deck the summer before last and just love it. No more staining and sealing. We also found a color that really complements the house. It has kept its great look so well!

I just love it!

We're looking to use landscaping to provide privacy. We've got one side of the yard enclosed with arborvite. We've planted sand cherries on another side and an assortment of bushes at the back of the yard.

 

[Snowwark]

Did you have a Trex deck installed, Bernie? That's the brand we had been looking at, I think???

I don't suppose there's much of a chance you'll be putting up a pic of your new pool and landscaping, is there?

 

[dianeschlicht]

You're going to be waiting a LONG time if you want a picture from Bernie, Kim! I was reading that same article last night.

We have so much landscaping to do, I hardly know where to start. The deck is done, so nothing there, but I really need to make some sort of eating/sitting area with a fire pit out back. I suspect that will wait a couple of years though. For now I am going to concentrate on putting in a decorative fence and perennial beds along with some shrubbery and trees.

 

[oldkicker]

We went with Timbertech, Kim - just because we liked to color better! I think it and Trex are quite similar.

Hey! I'm working on developing those pictures - it's only been a couple of years!!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We looked at the Trex type materials when we were building the deck a couple of years ago at the old house. We found some were slippery compared to others. Make sure you try putting water on and see if it gets slippery. We ended up going with cedar, because it fit the setting better.

 

[oldkicker]

The only issue we have with ours, Diane, is that it can get pretty hot during a sunny afternoon.

 

[dianeschlicht]

No going barefoot on the deck, Bernie?