here) This year, instead of coming up with my own predictions of how our relationships with our gardens will evolve in the coming year, I dove into some of the top research sources and websites to find out what they believe 2019 holds for us. Here are three winning forecasts I can definitely get behind.

Sanctuary

Courtesy of Garden Design, sanctuary speaks strongly to me, as I consider my own garden to be a refuge. Backyards often fulfill many functions, but even in the busiest of gardens, carving out a space that serves as a special retreat just for you is something worth exploring. It can be as simple as a chair tucked into a quiet corner with an intimate view of the garden. I’m seeing this trend with my own clients. At the top of her design wish list, my client Karen included a hidden nook where she could read and watch her garden in peace (and as she also wants a zip line from the playhouse to the patio for her grandkids, I’m not kidding when I encourage you to believe a garden can fulfill multiple functions).

Homegrown Tisanes

Per The Middle-Sized Garden, growing edibles may be nothing new, but growing herbs for more than just cooking is. Tisane (pronounced tea-zahn) is a type of botanical infusion, but unlike dried herbal teas, the ingredients for leaf and flower tisanes can be grown in your own backyard and thrown directly into a pot of boiling water for a light and refreshing drink. Popular herbs for this include lemongrass, mint and French verbena. I’ll never forget visiting my friend Maureen for lunch in her garden and watching enthralled as she gathered handfuls of lemon balm and lavender, then nonchalantly tossed them into a piping hot teapot to steep for us. An awe-inspiring hostess moment I have yet to match myself.

The “ME” Generation is now the “SHE” Generation

The Garden Media Group notes that today’s “social clock” is online 24/7. The ensuing stresses and demands from a society that never takes a break have encouraged many to search out the ultimate antidote: interacting with the eternal “she”—Mother Nature. They predict that in 2019 we will do a better job of tempering our relationship with ever-present technology by finding more and better ways to interact with the natural world. In his book The Moth Snowstorm, author Michael McCarthy believes that thousands of years of evolution has created “a link to the natural world, which really gets to the essence of who we are…it’s where, really, we are most at home.” Of course this won’t come as news to the engaged gardeners who subscribe to my newsletter, but isn’t it wonderful to think the rest of the world is catching up?  ]]>