NGIA SPRING LAUNCH 2009
01 Sep 2009
The Nursery & Garden Industry Australia unveiled its key trends for spring at its 2009 Spring Launch, held at the Ivy Sunroom in Sydney on August 6.
To launch its key trends for spring, the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) held its 2009 Spring Launch on August 6 at the Ivy Sunroom in Sydney.
The event focused on the changing face of Australian backyards and the continual passion Australian’s have for plants. Keynote speakers included Graham Ross, Joel Hurry and Dr. Emma Power.
The outdoor lifestyle is ingrained into the Australian psyche and it’s probably fair to say that our greatest outdoor passion is our backyards. And while new plants and garden techniques have changed, the Australian love of the backyard has remained largely the same.
The greatest change the Aussie backyard has seen over the years is that it is now an extension of our homes - backyards have become a vital part of our living spaces.
To highlight the trends of tomorrow and showcase how Aussies are growing their plant passion, the NGIA has identified the spring and summer trends for the coming year:
GFC Garden – Growing Frugal Cuisine
Grow your own gardens are an inventive and interesting way to keep your grocery shopping to a minimum, and are particularly helpful in times of economic strain.
Branch Out – trees and large natives for the backyard with space
Large expansive yards often feature an Australian icon - the Eucalyptus gumtree! Native plants and trees are a great way to provide dimension, layers and scope to your backyard.
Stems in the City – balcony/pot gardens for urban living
Using pots means extra colour, portability and practicality in urban dwellings. Annuals and bulbs provide high impact and are ideal for small city spaces.
Greenie Garden – the next step in sustainable garden recycled materials, water tanks, compost and worm farm
Leaving a green footprint is becoming increasingly important in today’s world. A sustainable garden in your backyard can be your first step.
Newspoll Results
While the landscape of the Australian backyard is changing, our passion for spending time outdoors isn’t. In Newspoll results released on August 6, 2009, an astounding 86% of Australians believe that the health, wellbeing and relaxation benefit their garden provides is the top reason they spend time in their backyards. Interestingly, over 70% of Australians believe that children today spend less time in the garden than when they were young. This is even higher when you speak to parents, and underpins the idea that Australians place a high importance on outdoor lifestyles and want to continue to instil these values in the next generation.
NGIA CEO Robert Prince commented, “The landscape of the Australian backyard is constantly changing and evolving, however, our love of gardens has remained untouched. It’s exciting to see Australians really enjoying their backyards and reaping the wellbeing and health benefits of spending time in their garden.”
City dwellers are 5% more likely to see the benefit of gardens to our personal wellbeing than Australians living in the country. A third of Australians have balcony and potted gardens as more inner city dwellers adopt green life into their living space and actively incorporate plants into their space-poor homes.
Reinforcing current trends, young Australians are leading the gardening revolution, with 76% of Australians aged 18-34 planning on doing spring gardening this year, 5% higher than all older age groups. Young Australians also believe the aesthetics of gardens are vital with 65% of young Aussies placing a high importance on the look of their garden.
The research commissioned for the Life is a Garden initiative, by the NGIA, surveyed over 1,200 respondents in July 2009 and highlighted the changing scope of the Australian backyard.
Visit: www.lifeisagarden.com.au
Top image (from left to right) – Graham Ross; Joel Hurrey; and Dr. Emma Power.