The really hot story from GLEE was that hot tubs and their shelters are, well, hot. In fact , specialists in this market at the GLEE exhibiton say tub sales have hit 2,500-4,000 units a year, with prices starting around £3,500. “They could be the follow-up to decking as an outdoor fashion craze,” said Chris Wheatley, UK director of operations for the Canadian Spa Company.

But he advised companies to capitalise quickly if they want to sell the add-on shelters. “From our Canadian experience, once people are used to the hot tub concept, they tend to care less about outside temperatures and go without the shelter.”

All-year barbies

Also set to flourish are barbecue shelters: “Now that the barbecue party is becoming popular in the UK, prolonging the barbie season with a barbecue house becomes a very profitable proposition,” said Mike Flanagan of Scandinavian Village Oy. Its Tundra model was listed at £2,250, barbecue not included!

Another timber garden building which seems to be capturing popular imagination is the gazebo.

“As we saw plastic and resin garden furniture being replaced by timber, so we expect to see the open-sided fabric marquees replaced by wood structures,” said Forest Garden plc marketing manager Vicky Barker. She added that gazebos won’t replace summer houses or sheds – “Their appeal is complementary. They fulfill a fashionable aesthetic, as well as a functional need.”

Crossing the divide between these two products were Gerland’s wooden gazebos with drapes and Chinese-made permanent shelters with detachable fabric roofs from Karyik Acadia Outdoor Furniture Co Ltd.

Fashion fencing

Fashion was also apparent at the show in fencing, with ‘designer’ products incorporating features like portholes or lozenge shaped open work panels, as displayed by Top Wood. Rowlinson Garden Products’ variation was close board fencing fitted with metal grilles.

The fashion for mixing materials in garden products was apparent in furniture too. More manufacturers previously specialising in all-metal items are introducing wood for seating and table tops, while timber specialists have suites with metal components, notably pierced metal panels. In ‘contemporary’ suites the metal is likely to be aluminium or stainless steel – while pine and teak remain the favoured timber in the furniture mix.

This year turned up fewer unusual timbers being targeted at the garden market, although South American itauba had a number of devotees. And John Hood Core Products group sales director sang the praises of eucalyptus for furniture.

Overtly decorative furniture was in evidence employing timber in ‘natural’, direct-from-the-forest forms, as presented by importers Oriental Crafts and Tripod Home. The latter also incorporated recycled components and showed novelty children’s pieces.

Playtime

Stewart Timber Products predicted dramatic growth in timber play products because of child safety worries. “As an incentive to youngsters to stay at home, more parents will buy recreation ground-style equipment,” said Iain Stewart.

For the same reason, he foresaw demand for treehouses and chalets as play rooms for older children and “no-parent zones” for teenagers.

Stewart Timber is also heavily involved in decking, a market it forecasts as continuing to grow, albeit at a less frenetic pace of the “pioneer years”.

Further emphasising the market’s continuing faith in decking were the companies making it in other materials aping timber, such as the Bradstone paving mimicking bamboo.

A popular tendency in the sector was toward simple slot together systems that allow for putting in replacement decking and extending decking areas.

In colour

Turning to colour in the garden, the Gerland catalogue is strong on pigmented finishes including combinations, as in lilac and canary garden arches.

Taking the alternative route, Forest plc has decided against adding colour for the new season. “For a manufacturer geared to volume production, providing the choice today’s colour-conscious customers demand would cause complications at factory level and stock control difficulties for distributors.”

But timber preservation specialists like Protek also report a growing public demand for colour and say offering a wide choice, including this season orange and red, is essential to attract impulse purchases.

Yorkshire-based Chip Wright was also offering wood chips for paths or mulches in eight ‘fashion colours’ plus black and white. And West Bromwich Pallets Ltd used colour to convey the environmental advantages of its recycled-wood Enviromulch.