DO IT YOUR WAY

By Kathy Van Mullekom

Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

There is no wrong or right way to garden — only your way.

Your garden should reflect your personality, your style and your needs — and 2015’s gardening trends reflect that same philosophy.

“Now, more than ever, the garden is an extension of self,” says Susan McCoy, trend spotter and president of Garden Media Group, a gardening communications company.

“What you cultivate and grow, either inside or out, reflects your personality and the healthy lifestyle you have chosen to live.”

In the 2015 trends report, McCoy adds that gardeners, as well as environmentally conscious consumers, want to preserve the climate. Growing and buying organic and local food remains an important way to achieve that goal, but people are also taking it a step further with backyard chickens, beneficial beehives and even small goats in cities and suburbs.

One trend you may really like — the common clothesline is making a comeback. Have you ever dried whites on a clothesline and then marveled at how pristine they look and how good they smell?

In addition to clotheslines, goats and chickens, 2015 promises to be the year of the “bed head style” of gardening.

“Purposefully unstyled outdoor spaces are the result of intentionally working within the natural landscape,” says McCoy.

“This casual landscape style expresses an effortless personality with an ‘anything goes’ attitude.”

Thoughtful gardening

In 2015, gardeners will continue to grow more thoughtful and responsible in their plant selections, according to Diane M. Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau (www.ngb.org).

“They are using more drought-tolerant plants that need less water, as well as disease-resistant plants that need less maintenance and products to combat diseases,” she says.

In 2015, gardeners will see more plants bred specifically for container gardens, especially among edibles, she adds.

And multi-use plants that provide beauty as well as good will give gardeners more options to grow food in traditionally ornamental spots such as front yards, porches and balconies.

Many of those multipurpose plants are All-America Selections — such as Lettuce Sandy, Eggplant Patio Baby and Pepper Pretty ’N Sweet — that can be seen at http://all-americaselections.org.

Roses still reign

Roses, once all the rage in gardens all their own, now partner with other plants for lovely landscape looks. New hybrids smell good, too.

“We see increased interest worldwide in planting roses in mixed gardens or landscape beds where the roses bloom amidst perennials and shrub — a beautiful look, plus good for keeping roses naturally healthy and free of pests,” says rose expert Michael Marriott, senior rosarian of David Austin Roses in Shropshire, England, and the United States (www.davidaustinroses.com).

“Gardeners used to consider rose fragrance an extra treat, a bonus,” he adds.

“That’s changed. Gardeners today expect a delicious fragrance when sniffing a rose, as much as they now expect repeat-flowering all season.”

Maid Marion is a new English rose that meets all those expectations, according to Marriott. It produces pink fragrant flowers from early summer till frost, with a soft myrrh scent that becomes fruitier with a distinct clove character.