Some landscape gardening trends will never fall out of fashion. Those staples will always be a part of every good gardener’s repertoire but there are a lot of trends that change year on year. Having the same layout all of the time can get a bit dull, especially if you like to spend time in the garden quite often. Keeping things interesting in the garden is a bit of a struggle after a while but there are plenty of great ideas that you can try. Bring a bit more excitement into your garden with the hottest new landscape gardening trends for this year.
Bold Colors
While neutral colors might be on trend when it comes to home decor, the opposite is true in the garden. Landscapers are focussing heavily on brighter, bolder colors this year. Planting vibrant spring flowers can really make your garden stand out from the crowd. Try planting colorful spring flowers like pansies or tulips but make sure that you don’t go overboard on them otherwise they could take over the garden. Instead, you should try to balance them with the more neutral colors of the lawn and patio.
Climate
Climate change is a major issue that is touching so many aspects of our lives, some that we may not even consider. Weather conditions are changing at a fairly alarming rate but the day to day differences pass us by without notice. However, they are beginning to have a significant effect on the landscape gardening world. Gardeners are starting to realize the need for plants that are suitable for new conditions, and are more resilient when it comes to rapidly alternating conditions. Plants that are native to the area are usually more likely to survive, and drought tolerant plants can withstand longer periods without rain. As these problems get worse, we will need to choose increasingly specific plants to make sure that they can grow. There are plenty of varieties of drought resistant plants out there to try, so if you are struggling to maintain a garden, why not give some of them a try?
Smaller Lawns
In the past, people often focused on having a large lawn to show off. These days, people are moving away from that and opting for a smaller, more functional lawn. Rather than a large, unkempt lawn, gardeners are instead deciding to use mowing servicesto maintain a high-quality lawn that will actually be used. The rest of the space that is freed up is used for a wider variety of plants.
Naturalism
In those areas that aren’t taken up by a neat lawn, lots of landscapers are letting things run free. Instead of chopping and pruning everything into a tidy shape, people are instead letting overgrown hedges and shrubs do their own thing, then using them as a framework for planting flowers around them. In essence, the garden builds its own layout and the gardener works with what they have. Using boulders is another popular way to give the garden a bit of natural structure to build upon.
Edible Gardening
The functionality of gardens is growing in popularity. Environmental issues have brought to light the incredible amount of wastage that we all cause and people are using their gardens as a way to rectify some of that. Lots of garden layouts this year have a specific section cordoned off for growing your own vegetables. Gardens are no longer entirely about aesthetics, functionality is becoming more important than ever and one in three households in America is growing some sort of food in the garden. Although most vegetables don’t look particularly interesting, you can surround the patch with attractive flowers so the vegetable patch won’t take away from the overall look of the garden. Your own herb garden also makes a brilliant addition to the kitchen, and certain herbs like Thyme can be a deterrent for pests. Growing your own vegetables will save you money and the results will be much better than anything you can buy in the supermarket.
Color Changing Plants
One great way to reduce the amount of maintenance that you have to do on the garden is to put in color changing plants. Instead of having to change your plants to fit with the season, the plants will do all of the work for you. A conifer is a brilliant example of a color changing plant; they are very robust so they’ll stay alive all year round. In the summer they start off as a luscious green, then turn into a bronze in time for spring, a purple in Autumn and finally an orange in the winter. Hibiscus are another great example of flowers that change colors based on the seasons.
Smaller Gardens
This is a trend that comes out of necessity a lot of the time. A big garden is a luxury these days and a lot of people can’t afford one. If you live in a built-up area, the chances are, you’ll have a tiny space to work with. This is forcing people to be a lot more creative with the space that they do have. Pots and planters are far more important in a small space and so you need to make good use of them. A lot of the traditionally larger shrubs are now available in smaller sizes to cater for people that have smaller gardens.
Statement Plants
You could spend hours organizing and planting complex combinations of flowers but there is a much easier way. Landscapers are ditching the over complicated arrangements in favor of larger, statement plants that can form a centerpiece in the garden. They take a lot less time to plant in the first place and less maintenance once they’re in. Popular choices are berries and pomegranates. They can be planted in a pot so you’ll have more freedom about where to plant them.
Balance Maintenance
A garden full of plants that need lots of looking after can be a chore to keep up, however, these plants are often the best looking. Filling your garden with shrubs that don’t need tending to is easier but they probably won’t look as nice. The best solution is to balance the two. You can bulk out the garden with lots of low maintenance plants and then use a few carefully placed flowers to make the whole thing pop.
