1. ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS SPACES
Designing gardens to benefit the wider ecosystem is a trend that continues to grow in importance, as we become more and more aware of the impact we have on the environment – making sustainable garden ideas key.
“Garden designers are increasingly aware of the role that they must play in educating and encouraging our clients to introduce wildlife-friendly, water permeable and carbon-neutral elements into their gardens," says professional Sarah Kay.
2. PLANTING A CANVAS OF UPLIFTING COLOR
We're seeing the biggest interior paint color trends for 2024 bursting with bright feel-good colors so it's no surprise that principle is being continued to outdoor spaces too. It's the year for bright, enlivening, and uplifting colours – across planting, furniture choices, and even exterior paints too. With colourful flowering plants back on trend for Spring Summer 2024, Marcus encourages gardeners to embrace the vibrancy of nature and create their own Garden Retreat. Roses and Hydrangea will help you achieve this look in pots and borders, and climbing plants is a great way to enjoy a country garden in small spaces.
3. CONNECTIVE SPACES
Gardening and wellness go hand-in-hand, but even more so this year as we strive to create a sense of connection and well-being in our outdoor plots. As professional gardener Rachel Bailey, MSGD explains: "There will be a greater focus on people using gardens to connect with nature and for their health and well-being.”
4. RESILIENT AND HARDY PLANT CHOICES
As demonstrated in recent years, hot summers, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and lack of water are becoming all too familiar, and with that comes a trend towards tougher, more resilient planting. For garden designer Matthew Childs, plants that provide year-round colour and interest and which create some joy in the garden will still be central to his designs, but he will also be looking for resilient plants, such as long-flowering Salvias, that are great for pollinating insects and wildlife.
5. SMART GARDENING
Similar to how technology is shaping lighting trends in 2024 and leading kitchen trends, smart tech is also changing the nature of gardening. Sean Lade says, "As we get increasingly engrossed in technology, integrating smart systems into gardening will continue to evolve in 2024. Smart irrigation systems, weather-based controllers, automatic maintenance and gardening apps will become even more user-friendly and accessible.
6. CULTIVATING LOW MAINTENANCE LAWNS
Speaking of lawns, in a bid to encourage homeowners to stay loyal to natural turf, rather than be lured to the appeal of no-mow artificial grass options which have become popular, the greats in the world of gardening are championing low-maintenance lawns. Monty Don has been an advocate of this laidback approach for some time, where he encourages fellow gardeners to let the lawn grow a little longer.
7. WELCOMING WILDLIFE
Welcoming wildlife into our green spaces continues to go from strength to strength, with all creatures great and small welcome. Speaking of this growing trend gardener Rachel says, "I think our gardens will be much wilder and offer a greater refuge for wildlife and greater connection for people to nature".
8. SOOTHING SHORELINE SIMPLICITY
As someone who lives by the sea, I can attest to the calming influence of nature's shoreline. This soothing new trend is Inspired by British shores, evoking a natural theme that embraces the tones and textures found by the coastline to offer gardens a sense of escapism.
"Shoreline Simplicity brings together colours and materials reminiscent of rugged grassy sand dunes and inky green hues from the sea for an overall natural look with modern touches of matt black," explains Marcus.
9. MEDITERRANEAN-INSPIRED GARDENS
As with how the outdated interior design trend of farmhouse escape is being replaced with Mediterranean-style influence our gardens are set to follow suit. It could be the change in climates or merely the drought-resistant qualities but Mediterranean gardens are hugely influential over gardens for 2024.
10. SCENT DRIVEN SCHEMES
Fragrant plants and flowers are a key point of focus for planting in 2024. Taking the principles of how to make your house smell good, this year our gardens are awash with fragrance to delight the senses. “Scented plants are a must, either in containers or the herbaceous beds," says garden expert, Angela Slater, from Hayes Garden World. "One of the best climbers is Trachelospermum jasminoides with dainty starry white flowers. If you have ever holidayed in the Mediterranean, then you will be familiar with its gorgeous heady perfume.”
11. CREATING AN OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM
Blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor living is most definitely one of the biggest garden trends happening right now, where homeowners are looking to expand their lifestyles to incorporate outdoor space. With that outdoor living room ideas are going from strength to strength as our desire to spend as much time as possible outside continues to remain at the core function of any exterior space.
12. GROW YOUR OWN
The grow-your-own movement was one of the biggest garden trends in 2023 and it shows no signs of fading for the year ahead. In fact, it's only becoming more important in current times but it is also being driven by the desire to embrace 'allotment living'.
“With financial considerations at the forefront of a lot of families’ minds, many are embracing the ‘grow your own’ movement," explains Angela. "This drive to introduce some homegrown veg into the diet began a couple of years ago and has grown steadily to include many families who have never previously grown vegetables."
13. IMPERFECT LANDSCAPING
Joy to the ears of those less green-fingered outdoor fans, who enjoy the garden itself as opposed to the hobby of gardening and the maintenance that comes with it. "The future aesthetic of garden design will be a more relaxed one," says Andrew Duff MSGD, vice chair of the Society of Garden Designers.
"We will become more accepting of the imperfections in our world which make it even more beautiful. The romantic and overgrown look which I enjoy creating will give you the time to actually sit back and enjoy your garden whilst establishing a robust and adaptable space flourishing in the unpredictable weather.
14. DIVIDING AND ZONING
An ideal way to make more of any garden is to dedicate allotted zones to each outdoor activity, whether that be with thoughtfully structured planting or decorative garden screening. The use of zoning is a great way to make a small garden look bigger because it creates a sense of greater purpose for every corner of the plot. It's also an ideal way to block a neighbour's view for added privacy.
15. INTRODUCING SPLASHES OF BOLD COLOUR
Outdoor paints have come a long way over the years, it's no longer just masonry paints for the front of the house. This year's colour trend sees the celebration of paints being more expressive for garden spaces – with inspirational feature walls doing the job of wallpapers, painted patterned floors in place of the indoor decorative tiles and boldly hued fence panels becoming the outdoor equivalent of wood-panelling.
16. OUTDOOR KITCHENS
It's not just living rooms that are migrating outside, it's kitchens too. It seems that we can't get enough of entertaining friends in the garden and traipsing back through the house to cook and prep food just isn't the most practical of set-ups.