Vertical gardening with a potato vine climbing up a trellis. Photos Cynthia Brian

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."~ Audrey Hepburn
Where did the year go? It seems like only yesterday that I was writing gardening goals for 2022, and it is already 2023. Time to start anew!
Happy New Year!
Every year, the Garden Media Group releases trends for the forthcoming year. The Garden Trends Report for 2023 is aptly named, "I Believe in Me!" Individuality and access to critical resources will be in vogue throughout these next 12 months. As an Empowerment Architect, I resonate with this craze outlined for 2023 and hope that personal expression and self-reliance will become a style, not just a fad. Our choices and lifestyles need to reflect who we are as individuals so that we become our unapologetically authentic selves in service of others.
When it comes to designing any interior or exterior place, I have always believed that to fully function for the family, the space must be personalized, reflecting the colors, shapes, objects, and souvenirs that are meaningful to the individuals living in the location. We need to feel comfortable, secure, relaxed, and rejuvenated. Home is where our heart resides. Cookie-cutter installations may be magazine-worthy, but they won't necessarily showcase the depth, passions, and character of the dwellers.
As we begin to plan for 2023, learn about the forthcoming trends, but decide what resonates with you. Just because something is au currant, it doesn't mean that it will empower everyone. In part one of my interpretation of the Garden Media Report, I've chosen a few gems that may trigger a positive possibility path for you.
The report shares the smart benefits of the garden green industry which has gone electric or battery-powered more quickly than any other industry, including electric vehicles. Mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws, and other electric equipment accounted for 17% of the gardening sales in the United States in 2022. Smart garden tools are becoming as critical to gardening as shovels and picks, especially for those who are just entering the gardening arena. Although I have not tried it yet, there is a new smart device on the market that is a weeding robot. Solar-powered, it lives in the garden chopping weeds. Now that is an innovation I will be checking out as weeding my landscape requires grueling work for months on end.
Another huge trend will be shopping online for garden products. Many companies are offering not only plants for sale but identification and information for various plants. It is as easy as taking a photo of a flower, leaf, tree, or other specimen and clicking a button. Several matches will appear on the app, but it is up to you to determine which is the correct one. Other garden apps provide tips on how to plant, when to plant, and where to plant as well as healthy recipes for harvesting crops.
Because of the housing crisis with buying a home being out of reach for numerous people, ADUs (accessory dwelling units) have become popular in the past year and will continue to be in demand. Container gardening will linger as a major trend as gardens and patios become smaller. Vertical gardening, trellises, fences, and living green walls will be integral to adding privacy and protected places to enjoy nature. Millennials and Boomers are embracing vintage and mid-century patio furniture including wrought iron, retro lawn chairs, and pagoda umbrellas.
In the section called "Super Agers," the Garden Trends Report boldly states that "In 2023 and beyond, 100 is the new 50!" I'm not so certain that this is a truism, but it does bode well for gardeners who want to continue being active with tilling, filling, and thrilling with nature long into their golden years. Accessibility options such as raised beds, wider paths for wheelchairs, and plants at levels that don't require bending will allow anyone to enjoy the outdoors.
When it comes to plants, tropical and exotic are the favorites for all age groups. Orchids, bromeliads, anthuriums, birds of paradise, cordylines, Ficus, palms, philodendrons, and peace lilies are only a sampling of specimens that are attractive to Gen X, Y, Z as well as Boomers. I speculate that water features, especially creative fountains based on individual themes, will be a big focus this year. Besides the health benefits of the negative ions that running water provides to humans helping us refocus and recharge, birds and wildlife rely on them in the backyard garden for bathing and drinking.
These are just a few of the projections for our outdoor enjoyment for 2023. In my next column, I'll offer more suggestions. Believe in tomorrow. Plan to plant a garden. Live to 100? What's on your list?
Safety Tip:
With heavy rains projected all week, it may behoove you to fill a few sandbags in case of flooding. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District has made sand, bags, and a shovel available at the following locations:
Moraga
Rancho Laguna Park parking lot (2101 Camino Pablo).??
Orinda
Fire Station 43 - 20 Via Las Cruces, Orinda
Fire Station 44 - 295 Orchard Road, Orinda
To ensure there is sufficient sand and bags available, they request citizens to please take only what is needed for actual or threatened flooding. Sandbags can also be obtained from local home improvement stores for a nominal price.

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