In the second year of the pandemic it was also clear: Garteln is one of the big winners of the crisis. Despite some lockdowns, the garden centers recorded substantial increases in turnover, the gardeners, as production companies, were permanently open anyway and cheered about the onslaught. The garden designers’ review is similarly positive: the order books will be full until the summer of 2022 and beyond.
The weather in Austria was rather different, but there was a little more precipitation than the years before, often only occasionally as violent storms, combined with storms and hail. In between there were dry periods again – but not as dramatic as in previous years. The rain in the very east of Austria was below average. The otherwise very dry north (especially in Lower Austria) got more moisture this time than usual. A big problem again this year was the late frost, which affected the fruit blossom in April and May.
Bugs attacked the berries
The snails were a local problem in Austria this year, but not at all in some regions. On the other hand, bedbugs appeared more and more often, infecting many berries and making them inedible. And the fungal diseases spread due to the higher humidity this year. In many places tomatoes collapsed as early as August and a rich harvest was unthinkable. Overall, however, one can be satisfied with the growth.
Woods in particular have recovered a little and the growth in trees and bushes has been large.
The vegetable harvest in the house garden was abundant and the blooms of roses, balcony flowers and perennials lasted into autumn in many places.
Outlook for the next garden year
It is now a beautiful tradition that organizations, associations and institutions bring plants to the curtain for the coming year. The “big nettle” has been named medicinal plant of the year, corn as a vegetable, monk’s pepper as a medicinal plant and – one hears and amazed – the potato as the poisonous plant of the year. With the latter one wants to point out how easy it is to live with poisonous plants in the house and garden with little basic knowledge. Of course, only all green parts of the potatoes are poisonous. After its discovery in South America, this even resulted in deaths.
The European beech has been named tree of the year. Two shade plants were “on the podium”: The Japanese mountain grass (Hakonechloa macra) is robust, attractive in summer and winter, forms dense mats and also grows in dry partial shade.
Flower of the year: the singleberry
The single berry (Paris quadrifolia) was chosen as flower of the year. It is a good 40 centimeters high, also grows in the shade in forests, reproduces mainly through runners and forms only one berry per year and plant. It is poisonous, but a good source of food for birds in near-natural forests.
The Ersinger early plum, the Friedberger bean apple and the Bohemian rose apple were selected as orchards to which special attention should be paid in 2022.
And because color is important in the garden, there is also a trend color for 2022. It is “Genuine Pink”, a pastel pink. The color combination of orange, salmon, peach and coral is “versatile, gender-neutral and underlines the equality”, they say.
Bring spring into your home
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s are the traditional start for the sale of driven spring flowers: hyacinths, crocuses, daffodils and small tulips, all of which usually start to bloom in the garden at the end of winter, are now offered in pots. In addition, the first primroses and of course the lucky clover. They are all symbols of a new beginning and a prosperous future. It used to be a tradition to prefer hyacinths in glasses. All of these spring bloomers will last a particularly long time if you set them up in a cool room.
In winter gardens, vestibules or even staircases, they last for weeks and give off their scent. In the living rooms this is often too intense.
Source: Nachrichten
