Garden decor trends grow more upscale - National Hardware Show - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, Sept 3, 2001 by Debbie Howell

CHICAGO -- With the largest group of lawn and garden product exhibitors at the National Hardware Show composed of decorative accessory vendors, there's no doubt that consumer interest has evolved beyond basic lawn care. Outdoor living trends have quickly made their mark on this $33.5 billion industry, blurring the lines between home improvement and decor.

If anything, garden decor has moved more upscale, with items like stained glass bird feeders, artistic wind chimes and water gardens gaining popularity. Other trends of note included ecologically friendly or energy-saving solar products, easier-to-use garden tools and outdoor entertaining accessories to extend the season. An abundance of wild bird feeders and seed at the show was hard to miss. More than 100 companies exhibited in this category--double the number of fertilizer vendors by comparison.

The largest supplier, Pennington Seed, has seen sales double within the past year, and the category as a whole grow in the range of 12%. New from the company were specialized bird feeders, such as the Quik Feeder, which dispenses different sized seeds, and decorative feeders that combine wood and plastic.

The Hayes Company, which showed off several new feeders using colored glass, specializes in garden decor.

This year, the company debuted a wide assortment of coordinating wind chimes, hose hangers, rain gauges, vases, garden bells, stakes and watering cans with a trend toward the use of colored glass.

Water features, meanwhile, have developed a cult-like following among gardeners.

Imitation bamboo clacker fountains are one of the most popular styles this year, according to Larissa Gleason of Beckett Corp., while flowerpot and formal fountains made of poly resin that imitates marble and granite remain strong sellers. An interesting item from an English company, Forest Garden, was a solar-powered gazebo fountain that will retail for $470.

As for other decorative accents, garden stones, gazing balls and garden-themed decor items that can move inside the house are now emerging. Jessica Michels of Evergreen Enterprises noted interest in John Deere-themed garden decor and inspirational messages on garden stones.

"We see a lot of going back to nostalgia," Michels said. "A lot of people are also taking outdoors [items] and transitioning them indoors."

For the serious gardener, tools are becoming easier to use, with many geared toward women. Fiskars, for example, debuted hand pruners with power-lever technology that require less effort to make cuts. And with more concern about protected forest products, Fiskars is phasing out wooden handles in its tools toward steel or aluminum.

"We've made a move to lessen the wood content of our tools, starting with lopers and hedge shears," said Jim Wolf, vp of marketing of garden tools for Fiskars.

In pottery, the styles are becoming more ornate in relief and containers larger as foam and plastic mold technologies improve. Worldwise, which makes pots out of recycled plastic and rubber, has been somewhat of a sleeper hit in this segment with its environmentally friendly product positioning.

New from The Scotts Company this year were several different products, including lawn soil enriched with fertilizer, a ready-to-spray weed killer with an easy-pump mechanism, and pesticide-free traps for flies, Japanese beetles and wasps.

A new pesticide product was also launched by Garden Tech using the recently approved chemical fipronil for fire ant control. The Over 'n Out granular fire ant killer, which will be available in southern states this December, promises a lawn free of fire ants for a full year with a single application.

A host of products that take the guesswork out of watering also could be seen, such as the EZ Water system by Dalen Products. A plant can live up to three months without additional watering when its roots are wrapped in a plastic bag that features absorbent polymer crystals mixed with water.

In the patio furniture category, which suffered this year from soft sales, the trend continues in textured finishes for resin and improved quality in aluminum and wrought iron.

Hammocks may be popular next year considering the number of vendors that were showing these items. Several patio heaters will hit the market as well, including a new tabletop model from Uniflame that will sell for less than $130.

Upscale grills were the big news from major vendors in that category.

Brinkman debuted its $298 Gas Grill King that features one of the largest grilling surfaces on the market, while Weber launched a double-insulated stainless steel grill that will sell for up to $599. Char-Broil, meanwhile, rolled out The Big Easy, a line of four grills priced up to $399 that assembles without any tools, as well as a new stainless steel series and commercial series.

As a crossover category, Char-Broil will be marketing upscale grilling accessories this fall. The utensils, in collections called Titanium Edge, Artisan Collection and Tuscan Collection, will sell for up to $39 per set or individually The Tuscan line features such unique grilling accessories as branding medallions, a basting set, pizza grill pan and a sconce for cooking at night.