Discover the Hottest Gardening Trends Shaping Outdoor Spaces This Year
Our annual gardening trends report is out, and 2022 is already looking lovely. There’s nothing like thinking about spring and summer to help us through a long winter. Our outside living spaces will be in full bloom with beautiful landscaping and people to enjoy them with.
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Our backyard designs in 2021 represented our desire to get away — remember all those vacation-themed gardening and outdoor rooms? This year, we’re celebrating our gardening in a variety of ways. Our gardens will be honoured as living, natural spaces we share with nature in 2022.
This year will be all about nodding to their habitats within our approach to outdoor living. These are modest (often microscopic) but vital participants in the fight against the ravages of climate change.
As spring approaches, gardening trends emerge, ranging from new architectural styles and ideas for our outdoor spaces to how we approach gardening. With the likelihood of utilizing our gardens more than ever in 2022, we’re ready to transform our back yards into fashionable extensions of our houses – another ‘room’ we can enjoy and relax in.
1. GARDENING DESIGNS THAT CONSIDER CLIMATE CHANGE
If there is one word to describe gardening trends in 2022, it is sustainability. A sustainable garden can take several forms. It might be a wildlife garden that supports pollinators, hedgehogs, and amphibians by creating its vibrant ecology.
Sustainable gardening is increasingly considering and adapting to the changing climate. Incorporate features of a rain garden into your garden design if you only make one change to your garden in 2022.
This could be as easy as planting moisture-loving plants in areas prone to waterlogging. It could be a more elaborate renovation incorporating a water reservoir and enhanced drainage.
Rain gardening is a terrific concept, according to Wendy Allen, an award-winning landscape designer who specializes in rain gardens, since ‘they cut down on water use, they lessen flooding, they filter the water, and altogether they’re a brilliant benefit to both people who look at them and rivers.
2. PLANT SLOW GARDENING
This corresponds to the second-most popular gardening trend in 2022, leisurely living. Marcus Eyes, the Horticultural Director of Dobbies in the United Kingdom, described the trend as “a soulful theme that invites us to sit down and appreciate the world around us.” Muted tones and colours that shift with the light reflect the ebb and flow of nature around us.’
This form of gardening is about admiring how your plants catch the light at different times of the day and watching them grow. Grasses are ideal for this trend, and Marcus suggests using Stipa tenuissima, Carex ‘Frosted Curls,’ and Carex ‘Prairie Fire’ to get ‘this subdued tone.’
3. PLAN A LARGE NUMBER OF FRAGRANT HERBS
Joe Swift MSGD uses a variety of plants to reflect and highlight each season throughout the year (e.g., spring bulbs, a variety of perennials and grasses for summer, good fall colour, a degree of evergreens and tree bark for winter interest), as well as a variety of scented, aromatic, and tactile herb gardening ideas to engage with so people can enjoy the outdoors and recuperate.
Could we utilize these plants more in our settings by harnessing them to aid our health and wellbeing, with his creations like Stoke Mandeville (winner of the Healing, Learning, or Community Landscapes & Gardens award) as living proof of the healing potential of gardens?
4. CONSIDER GEOMETRIC FORMATS
Tony Woods, MSGD of the Garden Club London, views current and developing trends: ‘One of the largest trends I have observed is the geometric form in paving, furnishings, and layouts.’ I believe this is due to the increased use of natural forms and materials in interior and exterior design. The trend is translating into off-the-shelf products such as furniture and planters.’
Tony and his colleagues at the Gardening Club London took first place in the Small Residential Landscapes & Gardens category with his Borough City Sanctuary.
5. WALLS THAT LIVE
This is the year to try to make a living wall if you’ve always wanted to. Living walls, which are much more natural-looking than solid fences, align with current backyard trends that optimize all available space for plants, including vertical space in your garden.
If you already have a gardening wall or fence, now is the time to cover it with rambling roses or hide it behind trees and plants.
6. ZEN GARDENS IN THE CITY
Although Japanese garden designs have never really gone out of style, the zen garden will be redesigned this year to look more contemporary and angular. Zen gardens are known for their soft, curving designs, yet soft planting will contrast pleasantly with crisp landscaping in 2022.
Marcus believes the zen movement is compatible with sustainability and offers appealing plant alternatives that would look fantastic on a balcony or terrace.
Plants like Acer palmatum ‘Katsura,’ Hardy Fern, and Ilex crenata ‘Kinme’ will bring zen to your environment.’
7. A KEY MATERIAL WILL BE OAK
Ann-Marie Powell MSGD recommends wood as the material of the moment. ‘Oak is a warm, naturally durable material that comes from sustainably managed woodlands and can be utilized for a wide range of garden applications – deck ideas, furniture, pergola ideas, planters – while also linking materials used inside a client’s home.’
For their work on Sopwell House Cottonmill Spa Gardens, Ann-Marie Powell Gardens and her team won the International or UK Commercial Landscapes & Gardens prize. ‘I wanted to create a commercial contemporary, classic garden that was detail- and experience-driven, but also exuded character, warmth, and personality,’ says the designer.
8. CURRENCY COUNTRY STYLE
Cottage gardens are traditionally associated with the countryside, but this traditional gardening layout makes a significant splash in city and suburban backyards this year.
According to Marcus, this aesthetic is about ‘growing fresh and uncommon fruit and plants in our gardens for a wild, rustic rural atmosphere.’
You don’t need a lot of room to create a romantic country garden in your backyard – be creative with your plant choices. Marcus suggests using Delphinium light in blue or white, Echinacea ‘Sensation Pink,’ or Digiplexis ‘Falcon Fire’ to achieve the appearance.
9. FLOOD PREVENTION OPTIONS TO CONSIDER
Every landscape designer should consider adopting nature-based solutions as an essential baseline to address future climate change,’ says the author. MSGD Edward Freeman comments.
‘While color and material trends come and go, flourishing ecosystems, healthy people, and a resilient planet are the must-haves.’ The scheme of Edward’s design Christchurch Gardens, which won the International or UK Communal Landscapes & Gardens competition, prioritized flood control.
‘The design incorporates a SuDS (sustainable drainage system) that attempts to keep 100% of water runoff on-site. Permeable resin-bound gravel was used for new walks next to trees, allowing water to percolate and air to reach the roots.
At the same time, bespoke natural stone pavement patterns route surface water into underground drainage diffusion units to collect rainwater and slowly release it into the ground below.’
10. WILDLIFE IN THE FOREFRONT
According to Tracy McQue, “creating sustainable, wildlife gardening ideas and attractive environments” should be at the forefront of all we do, regardless of the gardens’ size or location. She feels that the materials and plants we use, where we get them, and how we reuse what we already have in the garden are becoming increasingly important issues.
‘People are far more interested in developing excellent gardens for wildlife,’ says Jane Brockbank, MSGD of Jane Brockbank Gardens. Even in the last year, awareness of climate catastrophe and biodiversity loss has increased dramatically. We are all taking our gardens far more seriously regarding the essential role they can play.’
‘Our planting is developing to use many more ‘wild’ species beneficial for bees, birds, pollinators, and invertebrates without losing glamour or effect,’ says Libby Russell of Mazzullo + Russell. The value of single roses, species plants, seed heads, and grasses is the same.’
‘Meadow spaces, natural hedging, holes in fences for hedgehog movement, and nectar-rich planting,’ explains Mandy Buckland, MSGD of Greencube.
According to Tracy McQue, water elements are essential to wildlife-friendly environments, and concepts like bee-friendly boundary hedges are simple to implement in any garden.
