Originally published Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM
What's hot in the garden for 2008 (Hint: Think green)
Beef up the patio. Hold the chemicals. And garnish the yard with high-performing, low-work plants and a dash of organically grown vegetables...
Newhouse News Service
Beef up the patio. Hold the chemicals. And garnish the yard with high-performing, low-work plants and a dash of organically grown vegetables.
That's the menu of gardening trends as we head into 2008.
Here's a quick look ahead to what's in and what's out on the gardening scene:
What's in
• Anything "natural" or "organic."
• Composting yard waste.
• Recyclable rice pots.
• Native and no-spray plants.
• Compact, low-maintenance plants.
• Plants with long-lasting blooms, colorful leaves and multiseason interest.
• Varied plantings aimed at attracting birds, bees and butterflies.
• Lots of landscape color, especially orange, gold, mango and similar "warm" tones.
![]()
• Rain barrels and conserving water.
• Rain gardens.
• Do-it-yourself landscape projects (at least the planting part).
• More elaborate and fully furnished patios.
• Small-scale, organically grown home vegetable and herb gardens.
• Container gardening, including changing the plantings throughout the four seasons.
• Pondless water features (moving water empties into a buried vault instead of a surface pond).
• Sweeping, curved garden beds.
What's out
• Chemical sprays.
• Bagging leaves and grass clippings.
• Plastic pots.
• Non-native plants that might become invasive.
• Plants that take a lot of pruning or spraying.
• Boring or "two-week wonder" plants that don't change with the seasons.
• Big lawns and the same old few plant types everyone else has.
• Bland beds with little more than boxed or balled evergreens.
• Running sprinklers indiscriminately.
• Piping rainwater ASAP into the gutters.
• Hiring a company to do entire landscape improvements from A to Z.
• A basic concrete patio or deck with a table and stand-alone grill.
• Large vegetable gardens that take a lot of digging, hoeing, weeding, etc.
• Packing all the flower pots away at the end of October.
• Free-formed, hand-dug, clean-out-once-a-year water gardens.
• Squared-off garden bed.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Turn a fireplace mantel into a holiday masterpiece
Select the right tree to accent your garden
Home construction trends; plus what to do when your well water changes
It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding

LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham talks about the upcoming MLS Cup final during after a team practice.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Monfort fired after excellent worker turned unreliable
- Sentence request for US woman in Italy murder case
- 31 years for man who killed girlfriend, then lit cigarette and waited for police
- Boeing facility death was suicide
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Swedish threatens to end Regence BlueShield's contract
- Man falls 8 stories, suffers minor injuries
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Mariners Blog | Dustin Ackley to move to second base; Mariners add six to 40-man roster
- First key vote today on Senate health bill
162 - Mariners add six to 40-man roster
103 - Boeing breaks ground for historic SC plant
97 - Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
78 - Man shot in Capitol Hill
71 - Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
67 - Senate vote clears hurdle
47 - Bye week answers, volume four
46 - Case of accused "Street Mobb" pimp goes to jury
45 - Saturday links
43
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Swedish threatens to end Regence BlueShield's contract
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- Restaurant review | Artisanal at The Bravern shows French flair in delicious style
- Peruvian police: Gang killed people for their fat
- Seattle industrial artist Rusty Oliver is the man behind 'Smash Putt'
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- $335 million in education grants





