Consumer Trends

Celebrating Lantana!

Each year, the National Garden Bureau selects crops in various categories to honor and promote throughout the gardening season. This year, lantana was selected in the annuals category, and I certainly am not surprised. It... more »

Ring in 2020 with Classic Blue Hues

I'm sure by now you've heard that Pantone, a provider of professional color standards and digital solutions, announced that Classic Blue is the 2020 Color of the Year. According to the color authority, Classic Blue... more »

Trending in Foliage

Earlier this year, I made it a point to read numerous articles analyzing gardening trends for 2019 and beyond. Some items were fairly predictable ... hello houseplants. Others seemed more like educated guesses, such as... more »

The Value and Appeal of Grasses

If you haven't noticed by now, ornamental grasses are a seriously hot plant category at the consumer level. And they have been for quite some time now. Some may have thought the interest in grasses... more »

On Trend: Ornamental Grasses

Back in the mid-to-late 1980s when I entered the green industry full time, ornamental grasses were beginning to enjoy their time in the spotlight, just as perennials had a couple of years earlier. I remember... more »

Gardening Apps Work Together to Provide Answers

The Garden Answers App and Armitage’s Great Garden Plants App have recently joined forces to help homeowners, new gardeners, inexperienced garden center employees or novice landscapers by providing the ability to instantly identify a plant from a photo... more »

Researchers Use Biometric Technology to Understand Consumer Habits

Designers have long been taught that the most important attributes of a design are its elements: line, color, texture, pattern, form, space, and size. Yet, these attributes have not been proven to be perfect indicators... more »

Living Coral in the Garden

As the final weeks of 2018 are here, it's the perfect time to reflect on the past 365 days and also plan for the next 365. Our industry is all about color, so I always... more »