March 16, 2005
Woodbury Bulletin
Betsy Halden

Spring Gardening Trends

It’s always interesting to hear what’s new in gardening trends. I recently heard University of Minnesota Extension Service Horticulturist Deb Brown speak on gardening trends for this spring. Deb is well known to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) listeners from her participation on the Mid Morning Show which airs the first Thursday of each month. Deb is a knowledgeable and delightful speaker. Here are a just a few of the trends she commented on.

• Area gardeners are using less and fewer pesticides.

• Gardeners are choosing to grow plants that are annuals in our Zone 4 but are perennials in milder areas like California. One example is the blue-eyed Osteospermum “African Daisy” many of us have enjoyed.

• More gardeners are willing to “push the envelope” and try to grow plants here that are listed as hardy to Zone 5. This sometimes works if the plant, such as a magnolia or Eastern redbud, is placed in a protected site.

• Gardeners are growing more tropical woody plants, shrubs and vines, such as mandevilla. A mandevilla will bloom all summer with big beautiful pink or white blooms. It can be a show-stopper. It needs to be brought inside before frost.

• There is strong interest in Minnesota native plants and prairie plants. These are plants that were growing here before European settlers arrived. They are easy to grow, easy to maintain. A number of area nurseries specialize in growing native plants.

In addition to Deb Brown’s research, the Garden Writers Association recently published the 2005 Early Spring Gardening Trends, a research study based on a national poll of consumers. Here are some of their findings.

• When it comes to consumer spring garden spending, the top two garden purchases will be on lawns and annuals.

• Gardeners will spend the most amount of their gardening budget in the area of lawn care and grass.

• Two in five households expect to spend the most or second most of their garden budget on annual flowers.

• The majority of gardeners prefer to purchase smaller less expensive plants that require more time to grow and maintain than to purchase more mature and expensive plants that require less time and maintenance.

• The most popular resources for gardening-related information and ideas include friends, garden centers and nurseries, and magazine articles.

To learn more about gardening from your friends and neighbors, come to the Washington County Horticultural Society (WCHS) meeting on Monday, March 21, 2005 at 7 pm in Woodbury Central Park, Valley Creek Room, lower floor of the Library. Edie Godfrey will speak on “Daffodils: Tried, True and New.” All who are interested in gardening are invited to attend.

Betsy Halden can be reached at eahalden@comcast.net.