Giving life to 2021’s trends

When life gives us manure, gardeners make compost! As such, Life is a Garden would like to invite all green fingers to welcome 2021 as The Great Reset – a time to reconnect with our home space, a chance to grow food and deepen our connection with nature, an opportunity to shape remote working environments, and the ideal excuse to expand outdoor entertainment areas. Here are the top trends for the year to inspire you and help support adjusted lifestyles at home. Let Mother Nature work her magic to lift those spirits and make every space a place for life to shine!

Trendy colours that celebrate life

The Pantone colour of the year is grey and yellow: grey representing fortitude and yellow symbolising happiness. Together, these colours send a message of positivity, supported by a solid foundation (grey) upon which to build joy (yellow). Cultivate resilience and hope by planting these beauties below:

Sun in your pocket

• Yellow canna lily: full sun in beds or containers, bold and bright, frost-sensitive. 
• Alstromeria (Inca lily): full sun or semi-shade, good cut-flowers, needs winter munching.
• Anigozanthosbush bonanza: full sun or semi-shade with bright, golden-yellow flowers.
• Marigolds: full sun or semi-shade, drought-tolerant, attracts butterflies, repels pests.
• Sundial yellow portulaca: full sun annual, fine-textured foliage, low ground-hugger.
• Yellow capsicum: a full sun veggie, sprout seeds indoors in spring.
• Cape honeysuckle: full sun or semi-shade, attractive ornamental shrub, good for hedges.
• Snapdragons: full sun for beds or containers, gorgeous horizontally-growing blooms.

Grey for greatness

• Senecio cineraria, or silver dust: create contrast with this fine, low-growing sub-shrub.
• Senecio Angel Wings: robust in size with an angelic silver/grey sheen, an absolute stunner!
• Dichondra silverfalls: drought, frost, and salt-hardy for full sun spots in beds and pots.
• Lamium: grow best in partial/full shade to avoid scorching the leaves of these pretties.
• Lavender varieties with grey foliage, Petunias with silver flowers, as well as succulents from the Echeveria family with interesting thick-leaved rosettes.
• Salvia lanceolata: hardy and water-wise, this grey-green aromatic shrub is for full sun spots.

*Pantone planting tip: We’ve given gardeners some of the top yellow and grey plant picks for the year. Take our suggestions with you the next time you visit your GCA Garden Centre and inquire about seasonal planting and sowing. Your GCA expert will be able to recommend which beauties can be planted now and help you plan ahead for your Pantone paradise.

Uplifting utopias in small spaces

Balcony, patio, and container gardening allows everyone to become part of the eco-tribe, regardless of space limitations. You can always go vertical or experiment with hanging baskets too. Include these lovelies to your small-space haven for a gorgeous breath of fresh air and tranquil vibes:

Easy indoor elegance

• Peperomia: a favourite ornamental foliage with intriguing, fleshy leaves, easy to care for.
• Philodendron: available in vining and non-climbing varieties with large, glossy foliage. 
• Spider plant: produce a rosette of long, thin, arched foliage, good for baskets and texture.
• Fiddle-leaf fig: has a tropical feel with eye-catching, large-veined, violin-shaped leaves.

Ideal outdoor delights

• Zinnia marylandica: a drought-tolerant, full sun hybrid for beds, borders, or containers.
• Impatiens: for shady areas, a brightly-bloomed annual available in many colour varieties.
• Pansies & Violas: super cool-season contenders for colour in semi-shade or full sun areas.
• Begonias: stunning foliage and lovely blooms for pots, baskets, and beds with gentle sun/semi-shade. .

The collector’s dream

• Senecio Angel Wings: salt and drought-tolerant with incredible silver/grey foliage.
• Novelty Petunias: decorate with candy wheel, crackling fire, moonlight eclipse and more!
• Carnivorous plants: Sundew, Venus fly trap, the American trumpet pitcher, and the Tropical pitcher plant are simply fascinating plants to collect and admire.

Plant-tertaining for precious pollinators

Welcoming nature’s handy helpers is simple and magnificently rewarding! Get your veggies pumping, your flowers flourishing, seeds spreading, and most importantly, help sustain the precious eco-system in your garden.  Attract bees, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and eco-barometers like frogs and lizards by planting these:

Salvia Borage  Lavender  Antirrhinum (Snapdragons)

Pentas  Echinacea  Marigold   Sunflowers

*Pollinator tip: Remember to provide a fresh water source for your all your visitors with a way in and out to avoid any casualties. Consult your handy GCA Garden Centre advisor to see which plants can be sown and planted according to season.

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Have your permaculture and eat it

Homegrown goodness is all the rage and with deliciously good reason too! South Africans are rediscovering the pleasure of growing food and harvesting the fruits (and veg, and herbs) of their labour. Any open space is an opportunity to unleash your inner permaculturist  and start a #victorygarden, which benefits not only your own family but also the community around you. Sharing your harvest with a hungry tummy is awesome!

Cool-season crispy crops: Spinach and leafy greens, thyme, spring onions, garlic, peas, cauliflower, cabbage, and microgreens.

Scrumptious summer harvest: Tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, watermelon, cucumber, peppers, berries, squash, basil, and sage.

*Grower’s reminder: Make sure to plant and sow according to your province and season. Your GCA Garden Centre is loaded with seed packets, seedling trays, fruit trees, herbs, compost, and more!

Tiny plants for desk delights

• Tiny plants are the sweetest little solutions to green-up your workspace and help soothe the working mind. They are fast-growing and will still look lovely as they get bigger. Baby greens are also a great choice for beginner gardeners who are still learning the tricks of the green trade. Keep your babies in small pots to limit their growth or replant them outdoors later. The polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya): brightly spotted leaves in shades of pink, purple, white, red, and other hybrid colours.
• Calandiva, or flowering kalanchoe: profuse long-flowering blooms available in many colours.
• Fittonia: perfect for indoor décor with striking contrasting veins running through the leaves.
• Succulents from the Sempervivum family are fab no-fuss plants, and they produce offsets.
• Microgreens: super cute seedlings of edible plants and you can snack on them too!
• Mini tomatoes and pot peppers are must-haves to add to your tiny edible collection.

There you have it – your top trends for the year and a ton of inspiration to keep you going during The Great Reset! Keep your hearts green, teeming with life, and your green fingers ever on a mission to let Mother Nature shine. Our Life is a Garden, always, so pick a trend, plant away, and harvest that happiness for you and your loved ones to enjoy.

Source: Life is a garden