Navigation

Master Gardener Program Focuses On 2016 Trends

The Northern Hemisphere is less than four weeks into the official winter season but that isn’t stopping the Door County Master Gardeners from looking forward to spring. On Jan. 19, the association will host Sunnypoint Gardens co-owner Kori Zawojski for its second free public program of the year, “What’s New for 2016.”

The popular program, celebrating its fifth year, will give gardeners a sneak peek of what to expect from the greenhouse this growing season.

“It’s really popular because I show lots of really awesome pictures of all the new plants, not necessarily new varieties that we are going to be featuring this season, but new plants that we’re adding to our selection for the season as well,” Zawojski said. “Things we haven’t maybe carried in the past or variations of things we’ve carried in the past that struck my eye.”

While it may seem early to be discussing blooms and garden trends, this is the time of year when Zawojski puts the gears in motion to open the greenhouse and gift shop. She is busy with cleaning the greenhouses, planning landscape displays, and preparing her orders – necessary to-dos that aren’t uncommon for the average master gardener.

Hosta Sunset Grooves. Submitted photos.

Hosta Sunset Grooves. Submitted photos.

“A lot of people do the same thing – they like to talk in January because they can start planning their vegetable gardens for the spring, what seeds are they interested in, what plants do they want to put on their wish list so they can come in and look at them in the spring,” Zawojski said. “A lot of people will peruse pictures and things over the off-season to kind of get themselves thinking about what their new planters will look like, what color schemes they might want to go with.”

As in past years, Zawojski will feature Pantone, Inc.’s Color of the Year. In 2015, that was Marsala, what Pantone described as “a naturally robust and earthy wine red.” This year, the “authority on color” is lightening up a bit with not one, but two colors of the year: Serenity (a pale blue) and Rose Quartz (a soft pink).

“Gardening is a lot like fashion in the sense that the color trends change,” Zawojski said. “…Light pink is something we’ve been seeing selling more, specifically last year, so you can see the pastels are starting to come back up and the brighter colors are fading a little.”

Other trends for 2016 include fairy gardens, farm-to-table and “expanding your palate in the garden,” Zawojski said.

“People are asking for more unique varieties of herbs, things that aren’t the staples that we’re used to relying on – we’re growing things like stevia and lemon verbena and I think this year I’m going to be offering fennel,” she said.

No matter what trends local gardeners follow, they’ll be sure to walk away from the talk with a list of unique and fun items to add to their green thumb wish list along with anticipation for the warmer months.

“It’s exciting and it gets people kind of in the mood to start thinking about spring and get us slowly on that track,” Zawojski said. “Kind of like Groundhog Day in that regard. And it really gets me ready to go because I get the chance to peruse the orders and pick out the new things. When I do the talk, we start six weeks after the talk so it gets me really in the mood to start planting again.”

The program will begin at 7pm on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at the Collins Learning Center at Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan St. in Sturgeon Bay.

Events

Related Organizations

Article Comments