Gardening Trends for 2020

 

Your 2020 Garden - bring it on.

With crystal ball clear clarity, here are the gardening trends to expect this coming year: 

 

Give them a home: houseplants are going to be big

house plants from aboveOK, not as big as your ceiling (or they can be) but everyone, everywhere is getting into houseplants. From simple yet highly sophisticated air plants requiring absolutely nothing other than a little bit of moisture in the atmosphere, to high maintenance subjects, we will all be greening our rooms in 2020.

Don't get left behind and grab yourself a cactus (architectural and modern); a rubber plant (retro fit) or peace lily (the easiest plant to grow thriving on your neglectful nature) to stay up to date. 

 

Wildflowers will be the bees' knees

wildflower meadowWithout bees...well, it wouldn’t take long for the world to shut down. Now we can’t change the world at once, but we can all do our little bit to help things along the path of recovery.

The trend for 2020 will be for people to find about the wildflowers local to their areas, get the seeds and sow a dedicated wildflower area in their gardens. Local seeds for local people!

Do it - a small patch is a start and will spur on change. The wildlife will thank you for it.

 

Trees, please

an info graphic of a tree in 4 seasonsWe need them. We can't survive without them. So in 2020 plant them. Easy.

 

 

A need for weeds

garden nettlesThey are the anathema for most gardeners but technically wild flowers (most are) and of benefit to the garden. The trend is towards leaving some weeds in the garden.

It may be a patch of nettles away from the main garden or simple buttercups in your lawn. Leave them to flourish and butterflies and insects will love them. 

 

DIY compost

corner view of a garden compost bin with kitchen wasterIt’s easy, it’s better than feeding landfill and your garden benefits from it. What’s not to like?

It can be as simple as a wire mesh cube, where you pile your grass cuttings, torn up cardboard, old coffee grinds and vegetable peelings. Lump it all together and stir it around.

Within hours it will start to heat up ( that's the bacteria and fungi doing their job) and within weeks the organic matter will start to rot down. Give it six months and you will have crumbly compost perfect for mulching beds and adding goodness back to the soil. So make 202 the year of the compost. 

 

Get the blues

pantone colour of the year swatch of classic bluePantone colours are internationally recognisable colours and set the worldwide standard for colour. They have a colour of the year every year and for 2020 it is Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue. Lovely.

Here’s what they say: ‘A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities... highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era...[It] brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge.’  

So latch onto the 2020 colour trend and grow cornflowers, ceanothus, bluebells and hydrangeas. Or rig up a hammock, lie back and immerse yourself in the blue sky. Pack a brolley if this summer is going to be the same as last year.

 

Gardening on the up

vertical gardening up a city buildingGarden designers are reporting that more people are using outdoor wall space to grow plants. Now that could be more climbers - easy to choose, plant and grow - and it could be planting pockets and vertical walls. These too are easy to construct. Kits are available and you simply install, complete with drip irrigation system and plant up with ferns, herbs, vegetables, bedding plants, wildflowers.

Whatever you want. 2020 is really about making the most of whatever garden space you have be it garden fencing, shed side or bare brick wall. Get it clothed. 

 

Plastic not so fantastic

the world illustrated as fruit growing on a treeThere is absolutely no argument that single use plastic needs sorting. 2020 will bring a host of alternatives eg starch bags and wrapping is already nudging into the market, and bamboo cane plant pots will be refined to be more robust, practical and compostable after a few uses.

If nothing else, use the new year as a place to stop and think about how you garden with and without plastic. 

 

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2020

gone to chelsea shed signUnarguably, RHS Chelsea is the best garden show in the world and a showcase for designers and trends for the coming year.

Fully expect sustainability to feature heavily alongside trees, wildflowers and community gardens. And of course taking time to appreciate the jaw dropping beauty and absolute all round health benefits of gardening. 


Are you a trend follower? Or a trend setter? Let us know what you're planning for your garden this year.