SG593: The 2018 Garden Trends: Nature’s RX for Mental Wellness with Katie Dubow

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Katie Dubow is back on the show today and she’s sharing the 2018 Garden Trends Report released by Garden Media Group. It’s their 17th annual Garden Trends Report for 2018, Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness - nature is the best medicine!

“We already know gardening works wonders for our health,” says Garden Media Group founder Susie McCoy. “Now we’re looking at the ways people are transforming their gardens to further improve their mental and spiritual well-being.”

Being in public relations trends is really one of the keystones of the Garden Media Group.  Their approach to trends, is to look at what is happening globally with the consumer trends - not just what's happening in the gardening world.

For example, what they’ve seen in architecture and in-home buying was that people were moving outdoors.  Lately, the “bonus room” is becoming the patio or the deck.  Clearly, outdoor living is a big trend. By looking at what's happening in fashion, home, decor, and health, they can better anticipate how things are going to affect the consumer at the garden level.

With the exception of color, all the trends featured in the report are not necessarily what's going to be happening next week.  Trends are a long game. Consequently, the trends listed in the report show what's going to be happening 2 to 3 years from now.  

For garden professionals, paying attention to trends is important,  Getting ahead of the curve, means you can be a leader for your customers looking for new ideas in the gardening space.  Plus, today’s  customers are super savvy.  Like everyone else, they have access to the internet and they are becoming quick to adapt to new trends; making them even more eager to know what's hot and what's new.

In the past, Garden Media Group has talked about gardening for the soul and gardening for the body.  This year is an extension of those earlier predictions because they are looking at gardening is a mental escape to help achieve mental health and mental well-being. As a result, the seven trends for 2018, all relate back to mental wellness and helping gardeners relieve stress and mental fatigue.

As Katie likes to say, “The rising trend of wellness isn’t just about keeping the body healthy anymore; it’s about keeping the mind and spirit healthy, too.”

The 2018 Garden Trends Report highlights new ideas, new garden structures and new colors to help clear our mind and step away from the infinite connectivity that is wearing us out.  The central theme, ‘Nature’s Rx for Mental Wellness,’ introduces seven trends that inspire a cleaner, more relaxed state-of-mind. It shows that when we disconnect from media and reconnect with Mother Nature, we can take positive steps toward rebuilding our mental wellness.

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Jennifer Ebeling
Jennifer Ebeling is a proud Minnesotan and U of MN alumni. Gooooooo Gophers! Each week, Jennifer produces and hosts Still Growing - a gardening podcast dedicated to helping you and your garden grow. The show is an in-depth interview format. Guests featured on the show share a passion for gardening and include authors, bloggers, professional gardeners, etc. Listeners and guests of the show can join the Still Growing community on Facebook. It's a place to ask questions, share garden stories, interact with great guests featured on the show, and continue to grow and learn. Jennifer and her husband Philip have four children, a big golden lab named Sonny, and live in lovely Maple Grove, Minnesota. P.S. When she's not teaching her four kids a new card game - or teaching them how to drive a car - Jennifer loves inspiring individuals and groups to maximize and personalize their home & garden.
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