5 Garden Trends for "a better world"

1. Small efforts help biodiversity in big ways.

Sometimes, a small effort goes a long way. That is certainly true with pollinators, where research shows a small refuge in an urban environment can do as much to help birds and insects as protecting vast swaths of wilderness. That is because these pollinators migrate, they search desperately for somewhere to land and feed as they cross the urban jungle. One garden can make all the difference.

2. Value of Trees.

The value of a lot of things is changing. The value of a taxi license, for instance, is not as high as it was just a few years ago. Uber and others like them changed that.

3.  Grandparents speak up.

And speak with their feet.  Grandparents want their grandchildren to know that they want to make a positive contribution to the environment. On May 10th, 2020 (Mothers Day) hundreds of grandparents, their kids and their kid’s kids will “Walk for Nature”.

4.  Gardeners show us how to reduce, reuse, recycle. 

At a recent meeting of nursery growers, one member raised the growing awareness of plastic waste as an urgent issue for the industry to address. Like politicians, businesses listen when consumers make demands. Gardeners are generally environmentally conscious consumers, and can help push progress by asking questions and demonstrating waste minimizing strategies in the garden. We love to see recycled materials showing up in garden features across the country, such as old windows re-purposed as cold frames.

5.  Local lives. 

Carried by local food movement, people are looking to smaller local producers to source flowers and plant material. This has the obvious environmental benefit of fewer kilometers traveled for the things we buy, but it has also empowered upstart entrepreneurs to market themselves by way of social media and local farmer’s markets. Two of our favourites to follow are Antonio Valente at @antoniovalenteflowers and Melanie at @dahliamayflowerfarm.

Antonio Valente