A guide for professionals on what the leading garden PR firm sees coming in 2026.
With the launch of our 2026 Garden Trends Report, our newest hire, Hope Thatcher, sat down with Katie Dubow, president of Garden Media Group, to dig into what the trends mean, why they matter, and how the industry can leverage them to stay ahead.
Before we get into trends, what does Garden Media Group do?
Garden Media is a PR and marketing firm specializing in the green industry. We help brands tell their stories, reach new audiences, and drive sales through media, content, and strategy. Our clients include growers, breeders, garden centers, landscape companies, and allied businesses.
We also write the trends! Our Garden Trends Report is an annual forecast of cultural, consumer, and business shifts that will impact the horticulture industry. We’ve been identifying and forecasting trends for 25 years. I still remember many late nights in my mom’s home office, watching her pore over slides before a big presentation. Those early memories shaped how seriously I take this work today.
What is the Garden Trends Report, and why is it important?
Speaking of serious… while I am serious about trends, the report is meant to be fun. Should you repaint your entire IGC in the Color of the Year? Absolutely not. Should you use the insights to anticipate demand, develop products, programs, and messaging that align with what consumers care about most? Absolutely.
It’s worth noting that while these are the 2026 trends, we don’t chase fads that are “in one second and out the other.” You won’t see us picking something Labubu-like. Every trend we forecast resonates with consumers today and has legs to shape the industry for the next 3-5 years.
Who uses this report: home gardeners, landscapers, or big brands?
Primarily industry professionals. Each trend offers different opportunities depending on your position in the supply chain, but the insights are designed to help the entire industry remain competitive. Growers and breeders use it to guide R&D, retailers rely on it for merchandising and marketing, and landscape professionals turn to it to understand evolving client expectations. The media depend on it for story ideas throughout the year. And big consumer brands outside horticulture also reference it to connect their products with the growing gardening lifestyle movement.
If your business understands what’s coming, you can translate those cultural shifts into product mix, messaging, and services that resonate with consumers, before they even know to ask for them.
At the end of the day, these insights are about anticipating what consumers will want before they even know to ask, so that industry leaders can be ready with the right plants, products, and messaging.
What are the 2026 trends, and can you give me a quick overview?
The theme this year is Lemonading: turning challenges into opportunities and finding sweetness in unexpected places.
We’ve identified seven key trends shaping the market:
- Purpose-Driven Gardening: Aligning gardens with values, pollinators, food security, sustainability, and giving consumers an easy way to “do good” simply by planting with purpose.
- Precision Gardening: Site-specific, customized, data-informed solutions. Tech and tools boost confidence for both professionals and consumers while reducing waste.
- Level Up: The gamification of gardening. Think cozy, collectible, skill-building experiences attracting a new wave of gardeners, primarily female, with an average age of 36.
- Personal Museum: Collecting as identity. Plants, tools, and décor are no longer just functional; they’re storytelling pieces that connect memory, meaning, and design.
- Botanical Bento: From discovery to unboxing, consumers expect curated, “snack-sized” garden experiences that surprise and delight at every touchpoint.
- Barkitecture: Designing spaces with pets in mind, catios, petios, pollinator-safe lawns, and pet-friendly planting drives new product and design opportunities.
- Color of the Year: Faded Petal: A muted, nostalgic pink that signals comfort, softness, and understated sophistication. Expect it across packaging, hard goods, cut flowers, and merchandising displays.
How have past reports shaped the industry?
The proof is in the track record. In 2006, with the launch of American Beauties, we predicted the rise of native plants; today, they’re a cornerstone of the industry. A few years earlier, we highlighted the container gardening craze and the surge in vegetable gardening, both of which reshaped retail benches and consumer behavior. More recently, we forecasted the wellness boom that fueled the houseplant explosion and anticipated how tech and AI would enter the garden. Companies that act on these insights early often see measurable growth in sales, brand visibility, and customer loyalty.
How much does it cost to access the report?
Nothing. The Garden Trends Report is free to download because we believe in sharing insights that lift the whole industry.
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