Garden Trends 2019
Some garden techniques never go out of style. But every year, there are certain plant varieties, landscaping tricks, and garden accents that stand out more than most. For example, in 2018 we saw lots of living walls and community gardens. See what 2019 will bring for green thumbs. Who knows—some of these trends may be here for the long run?
Colourful Foliage
Don’t be surprised if you’re seeing more striped and polka-dotted plants on your Instagram feed in 2019. Insane colours and textures in plants are on the rise, and we’re here for it. Coleus has always added colour and texture to the garden, but more people are exploring begonias, lungwort, and heuchera. Colourful foliage is also seeing a rise in popularity—look for plum, red, chartreuse, and orange leaves for a pigment in the garden.
Evenings Under the Stars
With the Great British weather sometimes getting in the way of enjoying your outdoors as long as you’d like, there’s one simple solution that’s getting a well-deserved 2019 comeback.
Firepits sounds old-school, and whilst they have a certain nostalgic campfire feel about them, you won’t be short of stylish, modern-looking choices. Imagine gathering around the fire late into the evening, toasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories, no wonder firepits are so popular.
Outdoor Meets Indoor
Industrial and reclaimed materials such as metal and charred timber cladding, as well as encaustic tiles, are likely to make their way from interior décor to the garden, making outside spaces feel like an extension of the home.
Secluded areas for outdoor entertaining are a great option for larger gardens, but again these spaces should feel indoorsy rather than exposed. The same could apply to courtyards, patios and small urban gardens.
The trend of following interior fashions also extends to colours. The garden equivalent of bold tropical prints can be created by pairing large-leaved plants with jewel-coloured flowers such as Pompon Dahlias and Oriental Poppies.
Wildlife Friendly Gardens
While mental health and self-care were strong themes in 2018, reconnecting with the natural world is the big driver in 2019 garden trends, according to Garden Media. Creating gardens that are as appealing to wildlife as they are to us means you can give back to nature while enjoying a lower-maintenance garden.
For medium-large gardens, incorporating a wildflower or perennial meadow can help support bees and insects as well as providing varied interest from April through to November. Even if you have a small plot or an urban garden, you can still lend a helping hand by growing bee-friendly species such as lavender, woodland sage or saffron crocus in pots or window boxes.
Hedging is tipped to become more popular than fencing as a boundary material. As well as providing shelter for birds, hedges also support wildlife corridors – essential for our native hedgehogs.
Getting Eco-Friendly
With the quest for a plastic-free living becoming a major focus, switch to biodegradable plant pots (using materials such as coconut husks, wood chips, rice husks, miscanthus or seaweed) for the new season. These can then be added straight to the compost when they’re no longer needed.
The garden is a great place to re-use household plastic products which you would otherwise chuck away. Plastic water bottles can make a statement hanging planter, just cut open one side, fill with compost and plant seedlings, then hang horizontally with heavy-duty string, suggests The Greenhouse People.
Grow Your Own
Growing your own fruit & veg is a major aspiration for many budding gardeners but many of us lack square meters.
With small gardens becoming the new norm, ‘patio fruits’ are set to become the next big thing; think apples, apricots, blueberries, and cherries. Place filled terracotta pots, metal buckets or wooden pallets in a sunny spot, water regularly and sit back.
Vertical planting is also a crafty idea that is growing in popularity. Be it a fence, wall or metal cage, you can maximise growing space with a limited footprint. Vegetables that grow well vertically include cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, mangetout, squash and melon
Gardening by the Phases of the Moon
While people have planted according to lunar cycles for centuries, gardening by the phases of the Moon is coming back in vogue, too, especially as people look for more ways to get back to their roots and connect with nature. The philosophy, in part, states that water in both the ground and in plants are affected by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon, just like ocean tides are, and this can influence when and what you plant.
Gardening Smart Technology
Many gardens at Chelsea this year will feature feats of engineering that turn technology into nature’s ally. There will be garden swings that pump water through filtering plants to clean pondwater, plants have grown over rooves and up walls to maximise space for gardening in inner cities, there will even be hydroponic plants grown in specialist solutions without the need for soil.
Biodegradable irrigation rings can help to water newly planted trees while at their most needy before dissolving into the soil, while timed irrigation systems will water plants while you’re on holiday. Gardening apps for iOS and Android can help identify plants and plan crop rotations, others can be linked to garden lights and water features to turn them on or off easily. You can even get indoor ‘smart gardens’ that light, water, and feed plants perfectly – ideal for people on the go.
Discover more about our tarmac driveways in Stockport and make the most of your outside space today.