G arden M edia G roup’s “ M ega Trends to G arden Trends” Susan McCoy

THE 2007 U.S. FLORICULTURE PRODUCTION PIE $3.563 BILLION IN SALES* (FINISHED PRODUCTION ONLY - WHOLESALE VALUE) Cut Greens 2.6% Cuts Bedding/Garden 11.7% 49.5% Pots 18.5% USDA/NASS, Agricultural Statistics ncludes finished floriculture production *I Foliage Board; (wholesale value) only for firms with Floriculture Crops - $100,000 or more in wholesale ("farm 17.7% 2007 Summary gate") sales in 15 states. Industry Snapshot’07 Floriculture wholesale report • Total industry sales increased +1.7% • Bedding/Garden segment decreased 3.7% • Potted vegetables increased +9.5% • Potted flowering plants increased +6.3% • Poinsettias +5.8% • Orchids increased +4.5%, • Gerbera +2.3% • Foliage increase +19.3%

Industry Snapshot 2007 National Gardening Survey • Retail sales up 3 % to $35.102 billion, • Lawn Care (+25%), • Vegetable gardening (+22%), • Ornamental gardening (13%), • Herb gardening (52%). • Average household spending: $428 – up 7% • 3 million fewer households than the five-year average of 85 million • Lawn care 48% (same) still the most popular lawn and garden activity • Followed by • Indoor Gardening - 31% (35%) • Flower gardening - 30% (33%) • Landscaping - 27% (30%). Do-it-yourself Home &Garden Survey

GWA Late June 2008 Organic gardening Though less than a majority • 30% high interest • 15% very high interest • Public interest in organic gardening has grown from an estimated single digits a decade ago to almost half of all households, today. Sustainable gardening - • Still a relatively new concept that may suffer from a lack of uniform definition and public understanding • Sustainable gardening has gained the attention of almost 2 out of every 5 households • 27% high interest and • 11% very high interest

GWA Late June 2008: Retail • This year, approximately 2 out of 5 consumers purchased most of their spring garden plants from • Mass merchandisers/do-it-yourself stores - 42% • Garden centers/local gardening stores - 39% • These results represent a shift from the consumer response last February indicating their pre-season plan was to purchase most of their spring plants at • Garden centers or local retail stores - 46% • Mass merchants - 44%

GWA Late June 2008: Spending? • The majority of consumers (69%) are planning to spend less than $500 on their yards and gardens this year, • 18% are planning to spend between $500 and $1,500. • Another 8% are planning to spend more than $1,500 • On average, consumers are planning to spend about $771 • making improvements and • doing maintenance.

Top 11 Garden Trends for 2009 11. Bubbling 10. Worldly 9. Global Colors 8. Quick & Simple 7. Info Lust 6. Outside In 5. Water In Water Out 4. Locavore 3. Blended Gardens 2. GIY 1.Eco-Boosting

Eco-Boosting: Drivenby the Greater Good Generation • A by product of the on-line revolution – we all feel an invisible sense of connection with the world • See ourselves as “instrumental parts” of a much greater picture • Feel “personally responsible to understand and engage with the whole” • Faith Popcorn calls this trend Save Our Society • We are much more ecologically aware and have a desire to build up society

1. Eco Shift: Social Movement We are in an emerging “planetary culture” where we are realizing that we are all in this together. One planet, one people. The green movement is emerging as a significant social movement. It’s a healthy consciousness that is bringing us back to the earth to be restored. Bill Doeckel Ball Innovations Reporting from the recent LOHAS symposium, 58% want to go “beyond sustainable”

Eco-Ego: Shift From Eco-Ugly to Eco-Chic • ECO-UGLY - over-priced, low-performance, unsavory yet eco-friendly versions of the ‘real thing’ • To ECO-CHIC eco-friendly stuff that actually looks as nice and cool as the less sustainable originals • There has been a “status shift” with consumers eager to flaunt their green lifestyles -- ECO-ICONIC Source: Trendwatching Terrain at Styer’s Spa Center

Eco-Ego: Eco-Iconic • Consumers want to telegraph their “green” credentials: hybrid cars and canvas shopping bags. • Eco-lifestyle satisfies consumers’ need for eco-status. • Look for Eco-icons: bold designs helping owners “show-off” their eco-credentials.

1. Eco-Iconic: Gardens Growing Anywhere • Green building is the fastest-growing trend to hit since the Internet. • From pergolas in gardens to green walls in urban decks, plants are going vertical, horizontal, and everywhere in between. • Green roofs and walls add to the ECO-ICONIC landscape. • Green roofs and walls will increasingly appeal to households, too. San Francisco wants to be the greenest city in the US. The city’s Civic Center is being turned into a sustainable resource district -- San Francisco’s renewed green heart – with solar panels, wind turbines, and living roofs, reducing the city’s carbon footprint by 2,225 tons - the equivalent of 1,286 San Francisco households!

1. Eco-Ego Stories • People love a good story to tell • Provide buyers with a little knowledge about the niche eco-brand • Let consumers discover story details that make perfect conversation starters • Give them “bragging rights” - an eco-boast - to get a “status fix” from their peers Bragging Rights! In 1774, during his second exploratory sea voyage to the South Pacific, Captain James Cook discovered Norfolk Island. He also discovered the Norfolk Island Pines, these stately 200’ giant conifers. They were prized for the desperately needed pine planks for ship building and flax for making sails. Norfolk Island Pine Costa Farms

1. Next phase: Eco-Embedded Anything that becomes truly embedded into daily life without us noticing or resisting Or by default leaves no choice, no room for complacency Think: Ban on plastic bags or gas guzzlers; LEEDS green buildings The 4th R of Environmentalism • Reduce • Reuse • Recycle • Regulations Plastic Bag Ban Source: Trendwatching

1. Eco-Boosting: MaslowMust Have Been a Gardener

1. Eco-Iconic Eco-boosting • Eco-Boosting is the new “neutral.” • Not enough to be just “carbon neutral.” • Move from ‘merely’ neutralizing eco-effects to actually boosting the environment by doing something extra • Companies move from offsetting their undesirable eco-effect to boosting the environment by doing something extra. • Takes sustainable to the next level. Source: Trendwatching

1. Eco-Ego: Consumer Shift • 88% are more interested in the environment than they were just a year ago • 63% would pay more for environmentally responsible products • We pick companies that are good for society -- 98% feel corporations are obligated to help preserve the environment • Consumers now expect forward-looking brands to do the eco-work for them May 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey Vegetable Gardening is up 20% to $1.4 Billion in 2007

1. Eco-Ego Eco Boosting: Positive O2 Impact • For gardening, it’s not just about being green but also about being responsible • Being mindful of what goes into our gardens • Keeping a focus on the local rather than the global • Being aware of the environmental and human impact of building a garden. • “Leave it as you found it.”

1. Eco-Boosting: Greener than Green • Gardeners are more aware all the time of our role as naturalists and conservationists. • We're shopping locally, • We're looking for native plants that thrive in our own climate and conditions. • Forget about needy plants • If you must, grow them in a place where they're easy to care for. Marty Ross Syndicated Garden Writer Bees love Conard-Pyle's 'Grand Bleu‘ Caryopteris

Eco-Boosting: Environmental Stewardship • Even more emphasis on environmental stewardship in the home garden • Recycled materials in the garden - bamboo, Adirondack chairs made from recycled plastic shopping bags, etc. • Gardening for wildlife James A. Baggett, EditorNature’s GardenBetter Homes and Gardens

Gardening for Life:Gardening with Nature Garden ‘drugs’ are Out! Consumers want plants and products with no toxic pesticides that are harmful to wildlife, family, and pets Gardeners respect the balance of nature and are nurturing the earth Goes beyond “organic” Things like earth worms and beneficial insects are important. Composting and compost teas are in big time.

1. Gardening ‘Au Natural’ As more people get into vegetable gardening, there will be an upswing in the popularity of garden solutions for things like tomato hornworms, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, etc. --- especially natural/organic solutions. Justin Hancock BHG.con

1. Eco-Boosting: Feel Good Plants ”We’ve come to a point in time when gardeners want their landscapes to benefit their environment, not pose a potential threat to it. People aren’t buying just for ornamental beauty. Must do something for the planet, not just for me.” Steve Hutton President, The Conard Pyle Co. Fragrant & yellow Sunny Knock Out offers the same level of disease-resistance as the original.

1. Eco-Boosting: Perennials • Popularity increasing from the past decade • Favored more now with annuals, as container plants, for low maintenance, or for specific uses. • Trend reflects the desire to balance technology with nature, to seek calm, to find sustainability “New Wave Perennial Gardening” Emphasizing tough, sturdy perennials planted in masses and chosen for hardiness and structure for that climate. Oudolf estimates he spends 1/3 less time tending these plants. Plants are self seeding and have a high survival rate. Fran Sorin from Dutch garden designer Pier Oudolf Eryngium x 'Big Blue' Sea Holly North Creek Nursery

1. GWA Late June 2008: Natives • This was a relatively unknown topic only a few years ago • Today a majority of the gardening public say they want to know more about natives • 52% are highly interested in native plants

1. Gardening for Life: Wildlife Habitats Plants with seeds, berries, nuts, sap and nectar offer food, shelter and nesting places. Native plants provide birds with the foods they've been eating for thousands of years. Get a list of the best plants for your state atwww.nwf.org/backyard/food.cfm. www.abnativeplants.com. David Mizejewski Host, Animal Planet's"Backyard Habitat” National Wildlife Federation

1. Eco-Boosting: Natives Natives are good for the environment by creating biodiversity. Hot market and not going away . . . . . . especially with growing awareness of invasive species. Steve Castorani North Creek Nursery Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’

Gardening for Life:Wildlife Sanctuaries Conard Pyle’s Little Joe Pye Weed Meadow gardening is coming back big time • Creating biodivisity • Bringing wildlife back • Is cost effective • Easy to maintain • & “Eco-Boosting” Veronica ‘s Tickle Pink

1. Redefining American Beauty, by the Yard Great Delawning of America and believe it'll only increase in popularity, caused by water shortages and growing environmental concerns generally. Susan Harris Garden Rant Fresno is considering lawn buybacks to conserve water. Officials say residents use 325 million gallons a day, much of it to water lawns.

Eco-Chelsea The 85th Chelsea Flower Show Chelsea Goes Green Patio heaters, a controversial staple of British life, have been banned from the garden displays and shops. Several gardens will have living "green walls" for smaller urban spaces. The waste from every stand will be photographed to create a baseline for measuring the environmental impact of future shows. As reported on TreeHugger:

Eco-Boosting: Agro-Housing Multi-tasksing Buildings: • Apartment tower • Vertical greenhouse Multi-level greenhouse for cultivating vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs Drip-irrigation system, heating system and natural ventilation 50% of China's citizens will eventually live in its cities The concept by Israeli Knafo Klimor Architects is a combination of housing and urban agriculture.

1. Eco-Boosting: Slow Sanctuaries Gardening is all about nature, wildlife and • Slowing down • Finding solitude • Communing with nature • Exercising outdoors • Meditating

1. Eco-Boosting: The Happiness Thing Today’s consumer looking for brands that help them find and create happiness in themselves Happinomics – after $50,000 in personal wealth, happiness comes from within. Gardening is part of this ‘happiness trend’ Gardening = Relaxation & Peace Tending a garden helps people achieve higher levels of happinessself gratification

2. Grow It Yourself (GIY) • “Coming home” is the over-riding trend. • Doing it ALL for Me is Out – for most who just can’t afford this luxury. • Due to economic, environmental and geo-political concerns, Americans seek authenticity and simplicity. Garden Design July August 08

2. Grow It Yourself (GIY) “I think we are going back to the 50’s decade… we expect consumers to start growing food in their own gardens.” Faith Popcorntrend analyst

2. Grow It Yourself (GIY) GWA Late June 2008 • Almost 1/2 of households - 43% - grow vegetables • The top reasons they do not grow vegetables: • No time (29%) • No interest (21%) • No space (20%) • Lack of knowledge (8%) • Not enough sunlight (6%).

2. Grow It Yourself (GIY) Recent National Gardening Association survey shows Lawn and garden activities up more than a billion dollars to $35 billion * Garden Writers Association 2008 late spring survey More than 1/3 of Americans are adding a vegetable garden and 10% plan to add herb gardens Young people are growing herbs and spices along with vegetables in their gardens.

2. Grow it Yourself (GIY) 2007 • Interest in growing fruit, vegetables and herbs has risen 21% since 2007* • Vegetable gardening has risen 22%* in 2007 • Herb gardening has increased 39%: over 15 million households participated in 2007* • Strawberries are being used as ground covers • Seed sales reportedly have doubled this year over last year. *NGA 2007 Survey

2. GIY: Swapping & Sharing • CSA’s increasing and full • Community Garden waiting lists lengthening • Plant swaps on the rise

2. Vertical Farming It will take just 150 buildings to feed the entire city of New York per year. Even better, these farms would be self-sustaining and LEED certified. The cost would be around $20 million per building, but could feed over 50,000 people. The benefits of Vertical Farming clearly outweigh the drawbacks: • Access to year-round fresh fruits and vegetables • Organically Grown: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers • More food using less land HeliumBalloon.blogspot.com

2. GIY Slow Gardening • GIY is an off-shoot of slow food movement • People taking more time to enjoy life: • To grow plants from seeds or transplants • To grow herbs and veggies and actually harvest and cook them • To enjoy the bounty with friends and family – the ultimate luxury! • To reconnect with nature

3. Blended Gardens "Instead of mowing your lawn, you should eat it." Eric Schlosser FAST FOOD NATION

3. Blended Gardens Edible plants in ornamental beds will be less of the strange combination people perceive it to be. Steve Aitken Managing Editor Fine Gardening Garden Design June July 2008

3. Blended Gardens: Edible Landscapes • Garden Centers report they can’t keep vegetables on the shelves. • Safe, wholesome consumers have control of the food chain • Cooking shows are hot • Edible landscaping is where ‘practical meets pretty.’

3. Blended Gardens: Design for Life • Food prices continue to rise • Gas continues to go up • Will see more homeowners wanting to mix their “annual vegetables” • And small fruit trees with their perennials and shrubs ‘Pink Lemonade’ – the first pink blueberry Briggs Nursery

3. Blended Gardens: Fruit • Fruit-bearing shrubs like blueberries and gooseberries are showing up as ornamental shrubs – to feed both the birds and the homeowners • Demand for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries bushes is high • Fruit trees are selling out • Great way to landscape, eat, and have fun!

3. Blended Gardens: Back to the Land The focus is back to the land: the garden as outdoor living area is firmly rooted, now we want to add home-grown to the entertainment mix for family and friends. Edible Estates (making the front lawn into an ornamental but productive space), to mixing lettuces and parsley with the roses and petunias. We’re buying into the small local farm-CSA-farmer market lifestyle, and bringing it home. Mini-veg, colorful veg (think Ros Creasy).... Chefs label ingredients with the source; we can do the same saying “I grew it myself.” It’s hip, its cool, and its what gardens started out as! Ethne Clarke Garden Editor, Traditional Home

3. GIY Color Influence

G arden M edia G roup’s “ M ega Trends to G arden Trends” Susan McCoy