microtrends

Japan’s Micro-gardening trend due to arrive soon

23 August 2011

Micro-gardening is booming in Japan and may be hitting our shores soon. According to the online trend commentator WGSN, our living spaces are becoming smaller and to satisfy our desire to also have greenery in our lifestyle, for both aesthetic and culinary purposes, micro-gardening could be the next big designer fashion trend to hit our homes.

Analyst Lisa Mackenzie said: “With Japanese apartments being extremely small and gardens hard to come by, micro-gardening has started to come to the fore,” This trend has also gained momentum due to the radiation fears among the Japanese. There has been an increasing demand for knowledge regarding the origins of the food and water they consume. Therefore being able to grow their own produce on their kitchen wall or window sill, goes some way to giving them peace of mind.

Gifting plants has also become a trend in Japan with various products such as Eggling pots and Flower Muji plant bags being available at a recent Interior Lifestyle expo.

It is a known fact that plants are ‘really’ green. Plants save energy by creating shade and helping to cool the air, reducing the need for air conditioning. This fact has been embraced by the Japanese government who has also introduced a living wall project, giving Goya plants to households and businesses as a way to keep buildings cool and reduce their dependence on the use of air conditioning.