It was fields of green and flowers of all colours at Khosa Rugby Club recently when the South African Nursery Association (SANA) held their annual trade fair for the industry.

Kathy Varney, SANA president explained that traders came from all over South Africa to display their products to the people who supply the ornamental horticulture industry.

They usually have two shows a year – one just before autumn and one before spring. Retailers and landscapers had their pick of seeds, tools, plants and more at the show that started at 09:00 and ended at 16:00. Kathy said that this year they had about 94 exhibitors, some even from Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal and Bloemfontein.

Just like in the fashion industry Kathy said plants also have trends, and that is one of the features they were exhibiting. This year’s trends are leaning towards newly engineered colours, disease-resistant plants and mixed herbs. Small gardens are very popular these days because not many people live in a home with a big garden.

They are the trend now, but one still can have one’s dream garden, but in less space.

Another trend is vertical gardening. Those who do not have gardens can grow vegetables, flowers and herbs by using different vertical-gardening techniques. Use a bare patio or balcony wall to start your first vertical garden. Secure pots to the wall in the layout that you want. You can use symmetrical grids or experiment with circle pot arrangements, horizontal lines or diagonal patterns with cascading creepers.

According to www.lifeisagarden.co.za you can grow almost all herbs, leafy veggies such as celery and lettuce, fruits such as key limes and avocados, and indoor ornamentals such as Philodendron, Peace Lily, Chinese Evergreen and Spider Plant.

Hanging baskets are ideal space savers that add texture and life to barren corners. You can use a chain to hang containers from the roof, or try half baskets attached to the wall.

You can learn more about this year’s trends by visiting www.lifeisagarden.co.za.