Re: garden revival?

**J* B* <j*@usol.com>**

I don't consider paying $25,000 for someone else to install a "great  
room" and make it low maintenance to be gardening.  I've never  
considered the landscape architect a proponent of gardening.  My  
experience has been that they don't know a lot about plants and their  
designs over the years for middle class homes are pretty prosaic and  
even boring.

Our sense is that typical homeowners are moving away from gardening  
as such and moving to decorate their property with big containers and  
lots of annuals - not as traditional garden.  The comprehensive  
vegetable garden I fear is an unusual occurence these days.  I get  
the uncomfortable feeling that if a person did not experience eating  
fresh from the garden as a child, he or she is less likely to want to  
even try kohl rabi, Swiss chard, and eggplant.   My reason for  
vegetable gardening is to have lots of diverse taste treats and high  
quality flavor; neither being much of a priority to anyone over 30,  
in my view.

With almost half of the people in this country not cooking or  
learning to cook, they eat out many times a week.  If half the  
population eats fast food for more than half of their meals, the  
vegetable garden will not be attractive.  What a bummer.

So maybe gardening is not thriving but I think caring for some  
plants, any plants,  is still a popular activity and will continue to  
be so.

So endeth the rant for today.

Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com

On Jan 4, 2008, at 6:30 AM, jo ellen meyers sharp wrote:

The landscape architects say the garden will be revived in 2008

Landscape Architects Identify Outdoor Design Trends For 2008
Demand up for great rooms and energy efficient landscapes

Washington, DC, January 3, 2008 -No longer
content with just the outdoor kitchen, homeowners
will add entire great rooms outdoors this year
according to a survey of leading members of the
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
On the commercial side, clients will focus on low
maintenance landscapes, stormwater runoff, and
earning LEED® certification.

Conducted in December, the informal poll asked
leading landscape architects about the top
residential and commercial trends for 2008. On
the residential side, outdoor kitchens and fire
pits continue to be popular requests. However,
more and more homeowners are asking for outdoor
"great rooms" incorporating the living room,
dining room, and kitchen for family gatherings
and outdoor entertaining.

"Homeowners are reconnecting with their outdoor
space, often in creative and imaginative ways,"
said Perry Howard, FASLA, President of ASLA.
"It's no surprise that people want to take
elements that work so well inside their home and
recreate them outside."

Additionally, landscape architects anticipate a
revival of the garden. Lawn maintenance
costs-especially irrigation-will lead homeowners
to consider water-saving features and less of the
traditional grass lawn. Instead, gardens will
increase in prominence while incorporating more
native and drought-resistant plants. These same
features can also make a home's landscape
significantly more sustainable.

Cost mitigation will be a major consideration
among commercial clients this year as well.
Low-maintenance landscapes that utilize native
and drought-resistant plants and other techniques
to lower irrigation costs will increase in 2008.
Building owners will also use more porous paving
and bioswales to manage stormwater runoff. All of
these elements fit into another trend for 2008:
more commercial clients obtaining certifications
from green rating systems, such as the U. S.
Green Building Council's LEED® metrics.

"More and more landscape architects see a demand
for incorporating and quantifying sustainable
design-especially on the commercial side," Perry
added. "This is one reason we are creating the
Sustainable Sites Initiative, which will give
clients and designers the tools and best
practices for designing energy efficient,
environmentally friendly landscapes." Sustainable
Sites is a partnership between ASLA, the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the U.S.
Botanic Garden to create a green rating system
for sustainable landscape design in all types of
projects.

In addition to sustainable design, commercial
clients will incorporate more gardens, walking
paths, or other methods for people to relax and
enjoy the outdoor environment. More of these
spaces will utilize the existing natural features
and vegetation as well.

About ASLA
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national
professional association for landscape
architects, representing more than 18,200 members
in 48 professional chapters and 68 student
chapters. Landscape architecture is a
comprehensive discipline of land analysis,
planning, design, management, preservation, and
rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the landscape
architecture profession and advances the practice
through advocacy, education, communication, and
fellowship. Members of the Society use their
"ASLA" suffix after their names to denote
membership and their commitment to the highest
ethical standards of the profession. Learn more
about landscape architecture online at
www.asla.org.

jems
-- 
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, speaker, author, photographer
Region III Director Garden Writers Association
Phone: (317) 251.3261
Fax: (317) 251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
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