Garden Trends for 2010 - The 'Feel Good' Garden

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The top three global gardening trends for 2010 (out of 10)  are the kitchen garden, the organic garden, and the Feel Good garden.   I like the Feel Good Garden.

This information comes to us from the second annual Global Garden Report from Husqvarna and Gardena.  It is based on 1.4 million (!) blog posts from 13 countries.



They write:

"From 2010, individualism in the garden is on the rise, replacing conformity. Gone is the obsession with keeping up with the neighbors’ ... it’s now about expressing yourself using your outdoor space, encouraged by on-line friends."

 from garden diva website

That's me - your on-line friend! And I encourage you to keep expressing yourself in your 'feel good' (FG) garden. Here is what the Global Garden Report said specifically about FG gardens:

"The Feel Good Garden

As we continue to live stressful lives, there is an ever increasing need for a safe haven at home. Globally more of us are turning to our gardens for the peace and tranquility that nature is perfectly suited to deliver.

Suriname woman in her garden


For 2010 we will be looking to our garden spaces to unwind after work, relax and ‘recharge the batteries’ and most importantly reconnect with nature which traditionally has a calming influence of our lives.

Jan Johnsen - a feel good garden for a dear client - Christmas ferns on right, inexpensive gate from local garden center

I couldn't have said it better myself....that is what my blog is essentially all about - creating garden spaces that help us unwind and 'recharge the batteries".  And it also seeks to answer another 2010 garden trend that has been identified in a different analysis - 'info lust'.

People want knowledge - plant info, on line how-to videos, classes, lists and special events...anything to satisfy our insatiable need to learn...and I am here to teach all about Feel Good Gardens...


coleus, double impatiens and more

so you've got to ask yourself - what makes me feel good?

Lush vs. Controlled? overflowing vs. spare? Boxwood vs. Rhody? Palm vs. Plumeria? Colors vs. Texture...or all of the above...


Jan Johnsen Landscape

So we are reverting back  to my halcyon 'hippie' adolescence (albeit in the garden now) : if it feels good, garden it.....

swedish? Tibetan? californian? a feel good garden for sure...





Comments

  1. John WebbSeptember 6, 2010 at 9:27 AM

    Is your 'feel good' garden the same thing as my 'feel good' garden.

    The idea of the 'feel good' garden was promoted prominently at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower show. It's the first item mentioned on the BBC report about the show.

    In this case 'feel good', seems pretty much the same as 'retail therapy', splashing out loadsa money on your garden.

    Report:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8698499.stm

    Why not, I suppose.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan JohnsenSeptember 6, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    GOOD QUESTION! well, 'feel good' can be a host of things, yes?
    in my case it is a transporting feel...a vista, a flower, a bubbling sound...does that cost money? in some cases, yes, in others, no.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John WebbSeptember 6, 2010 at 12:12 PM

    As you said in your original post, 'feel good' is a very individual thing.

    I have the impression that my neighbour 'feels good' riding on his sit-on mower. He certainly did when he bought it; it was his pride and joy.

    I know that I 'feel good' when I pop down to the garden centre and buy some stuff. I enjoy doing that.

    I noticed on another woman's blog today, that has nothing to do with gardening, that she mentioned that she had a 'super day'. She just baked something, and everything went smoothly. That is 'feel good' day. She actually asked the question - how could she bottle it - and recapture this kind of day again.

    Is today a 'feel good' day in my garden? No it is not, because it's raining, cool and windy. I can't see too many 'feel good' gardening days coming up within the next 6 months. 'Feel good' gardening is not necessarily within our control.

    But it's a very good idea, Jan.

    ReplyDelete
  4. allanbecker-gardenguruSeptember 6, 2010 at 5:43 PM

    Robur d"Amour has brought to our attention, something that has been bothering me for quite some time. Many garden bloggers , myself included, have begun to blog about subject that have little or nothing to do with gardening.
    Have we created an new social system? And if we have, is anyone studying this phenomenon or trying to explain it?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jan JohnsenSeptember 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM

    a new social system? i love that

    ....as Robur d'Amour wrote, "That is 'feel good' day. She actually asked the question - how could she bottle it - and recapture this kind of day again"..

    what great imagery...and as we veer off into philosophy, I will follow right along - off the gardening cliff.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Christine B.September 6, 2010 at 9:10 PM

    Right now my feel good garden would have no slugs. It rained every day in August, a new state record, so regardless of how my garden was designed, I didn't feel very good about it (or enter it) for about a month. My poor cabbages!

    I've noticed my posts have occasionally "left" the garden, too. Whether that is bothersome or a needed break is all up to the reader, I guess. It's a nice break for me though. If posting starts to feel like a daily (or weekly in my case) grind, that takes away the fun of it, which was one of the main reasons I started my garden blog. So I'll probably continue to post on random non-gardening topics on occasion.

    Christine in Alaska

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tony DestroniSeptember 6, 2010 at 11:49 PM

    hi good day nice post you have . great . i hope you have a post about wind chime
    im interested on this i hope you can help me . thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. John WebbSeptember 7, 2010 at 8:55 AM

    Your original post includes a phrase, taken from that report 'As we continue to live stressful lives, there is an ever increasing need for a safe haven at home.'

    It seems to me that this is not just a statement about what is desired in a private garden, but, and perhaps more importantly, a reflection of the state of 'society' outside the garden walls.

    As you can tell, I'm still thinking about this. I might write a post about it, venturing a little way outside the garden wall. I don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Landscape Lighting Orange CountySeptember 15, 2010 at 3:59 AM

    I agree with the report, 100%. I think keeping up with the neighbors is a long-lost trend. A lot of outdoor spaces are now utilized as a place for homeowners to cool down and de-stress after a hard day's work. A garden just has so much positive energy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jan JohnsenSeptember 27, 2010 at 8:02 AM

    the next trend: SERENITY GARDENS....de-stressing in a haven of your own....

    ReplyDelete

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