Now is the time for locavores to unite

Another year passes behind us. Another stretches in front. And from all accounts, what a year it may be. So why not fantasize a little and look at the trends? That just about sums up the way I feel about trends, as any of you who have read my trend reviews in the past are aware, however, the morbid deep within keeps me going back for more.

Here they are, as announced at this year’s Perennial Plant Association’s annual conference by Suzi McCoy, the president of “Garden Media Group” (who really must have too much time on their hands — or so it seems).

This year they were rated by ‘trendiness’ (my word), from least to greatest.

• Bubbling. No, not the bubbling that comes from a pleasant little brook or fountain, but the bubbling that comes form living inside a bubble. That’s right — isolating yourself with style. Garden style, that is.

• Worldly. While the nation is returning to local buying, apparently we are reaching farther than ever to import stuff our neighbors don’t have. That’s strange. If we’re bubbling, how can we show off all of our exotic purchases to our neighbors anyway? Oh well, at least someone had to have a bit of an imagination to come up with this dichotomy. It just gets more boring form here. Read on.

• Global colors. Thought these had been ‘in’ for a while. Perhaps this is a twin to the buying global above.

• Quick and simple. Another repeat with a new name. It’s been seen before in ‘low maintenance’, ‘basic’, ‘clean lines’; you remember. More sustainable designs — ho hum. Who doesn’t want this anyway?

• Info lust. Hmm. Taking a look at your tags, signage, educational classes; is this really new?

• Bringing the outside in. Good grief. How many more are there? Houseplants are on the rebound, on window sills, in offices, on greenwalls, everywhere. I didn’t know they were out.

• Water in/water out. Conserving it and using it wisely are in. New? No. Been said before? Sure. Do we listen? I suppose it never hurts to keep harping at it.

• Locavore. This word — yes, it’s a real word; it entered the dictionary last year — refers to people who go to great lengths to source locally grown and manufactured food and other materials. At least the word is new. Interesting, perhaps I’ll start using it.

• Blended gardens. “Consumers will marry edible plants with ornamental ones. We’ll see small fruit trees sharing a container with perennials, and Swiss chard at the front of a flower bed.” Yep. Been there, done that. Swiss chard, by the way, makes a spectacular cut flower when in bloom.

• Grow it yourself. So old there’s not comment.

And the No. 1 trend of 2009 – (drum roll here).

• Eco-boosting. “It’s like the sustainability craze on steroids. People feeling a personal responsibility for the Earth’s future.” Well, I seem to recall being involved in this revolution in the ‘70s. My parents got really tired of hearing about it too. Not that they were opposed, just weary of hearing about it.

I think the good gardener has always been eco-conscious, has always loved conservation, has always worked endlessly to not waste. At least the ones I know have. So where does that leave them when it comes to trends? Are they way ahead of the curve or just off the charts? Who knows? But this I do know. If you want to have a successful garden it’s a heck of a lot of work, a constant balancing act between smart use of resoruces, intelligent purchasing, cleaver timing and a whole bunch of stubborn hard work.

I also know what’s it is not. It’s not about ‘bubbling’ oneself from one’s neighbor. I shudder at the thought. While my neighbors may wish they could bubble themselves from the weed seed that inevitably makes its way to their yards on the wind, I can’t imagine bubbling myself out of all the wonderful garden exchanges, the view of the fabulous blue spruce or the flowering mayday in spring. Some of my best volunteers came from the neighbors.

So trend-on if you must but I don’t think I will. It seems like a lot of work to worry about when there are so many weeds to kill and bugs to mow down. Besides, this locavore needs to save her energies to laugh at next year’s predic.!

Sally Koppenberg is a garden and food designer. She is the owner of Stonehill Gardens and The Red Beet, nursery and catering companies specializing in Alaska Grown foods, trees, shrubs, perennials and native plants. Contact her at gardener@gci.net.