Are we almost done with this!??! Yes…
Trend #6….. Brown exudes luxury
Brown as a feature in the landscape? Doesn’t that have a negative connotation (dead leaves, brown field, bare dirt)… but I love that this is a trend, because it allows me to celebrate one of my all time favorite plants. ….Carex ‘Comans Bronze’… Yes I have planted it for clients and they have inquired about it’s health but in the end it’s endless sophistication brings style to any space.


Resin Containers let you go big without too much extra cost. The Madison Container in Old Bronze is a beautiful shade of brown that sets off almost any plant and you can get it in sizes up to 48”. Start channeling your inner Ian Schrager.

Planters for a residential client of Greayer Design Associates in Westport, CT using the Madison Containers.

I love these planters…I own a few myself (in white) but they are really great for hotels and restaurants – durable and modern.

Trend # 5 – Green in all variations….. Green, of course green, it is the word of the moment; it exudes an air of health, beauty and serenity.
I love this picture of a green garden posted by Rudy Garon at his website Antigua daily photo

I grew up in Colorado, but spent summers at my grandparents ranch in central Montana. In my eyes, my grandmother was the last of a kind; a real life frontier woman. She also was a tremendous gardener and when I would get bored during visits she would say things like “do me a favor, go down to the creek”(we pronounce it crick) “and figure out how many different shades of green are there” –a very serious task. This picture taken in Wales by photographer Adrian Reilly makes me think of those days. I hope you find it inspiring too.

Trend # 4 — Cool grays and lots of shine, I love this trend…..it seems so sophisticated. Silver plants are so useful in the garden but I would love to make a whole garden of just silvers. I read that Wave Hill Garden in New York did just that. But I haven’t seen it and can’t find any pictures. Does anyone have some they can send?

Chrysocephalum apiculatum (grey leafed form)

Add something shiny with a collection of Stainless steel witches’ balls from John Lewis

When I was in design school, I like to use Garrya Eliptica whenever I was presented with a cold north wall…and one of my instructors always marked me down for it. He said that it was depressing and had no structure, maybe he is right, but I still like it and it fits perfectly here in our grey theme. Send me pictures if you have used this plant to stunning design success. I would love to make a point.

Trend #3 — Hmm…..Colors that morph as the light changes – seems so obvious, but maybe we can come up with something other than a bunch of deciduous trees and shrubs.
These floating solar lights have really nice colors (available from Frontgate) they have two settings to cycle through different colors.

Looking around for some plants I found this at Macgregor’s Daughter (Phlox paniculata ‘Nicky’). Apparently in the morning it looks like this – purple.

But later in the day looks like this…..raspberry pink.

Trend # 2…Whites with a luminescence or shimmer… I thought that this might be tricky, but take a look at these.
For indoor gardens or interiorscaping look at Aglaonema ‘White Lance’

Aglaonema ‘White Lance’

Luminescent, white… would be great in mass for a hip hotel or restaurant.

or outside….the heavy heads of Clematis ‘Belle of Woking

Zara inspired me to take a look around and see what we could offer in the spirit of the 2008 color trends. I will spend the next few days on each trend.
First up… Trend # 1….Pinks—especially yellow pinks and raspberry pinks …

Astilbe taquetii ‘Superba’

Kalmia latifolia ‘Raspberry Glow’

Acamp is offering these chairs in a rainbow of colors, but here in our Yellow-pink.

I am not sure what dahlia this is? Does anyone know? But what a gorgeous shade of yellow- pink!