Eco-anxiety is real. So what do we do? Enter the soothing practice of maintaining a garden, a fantastic way to calm anxiety related to climate change. 2024 is all about nurturing, goodwill, and respect. Eco-optimism is what we strive for! With a happy dose of pleasure and creative fulfillment.
Start your journey here as we zoom in on next year’s horticultural trends.
Horti-futurism
Science fiction meets the garden! Futuristic plants, bold and vibrant colours. We want vivid colours that challenge us. And when the sun goes down, we want our landscape design to light up. Neon accessories and neon lighting are a brilliant way to incorporate this trend.
Muted pastels are out. Bright, fresh, vibrant colours are definitely in! Adopt a neon colour palette. Opt for ‘Leading Lady’ Monarda (Bee Balm) plants and ‘Prima Ruby’ Coneflowers. Go for a ‘Shadow King Cool White’ Begonia Rex to add a surrealistic touch to any container flower arrangement.
Embrace the dark
This trend is all about drama. Dark and moody. Dusky nuances creeping into all corners of the garden. We’re under the spell of plants with somber, near-black foliage.
Annuals: Dwarf Elephant Ear ‘Kona Coffee’, ‘Black Heart’ Ipomoea
- Perennials: ‘Dressed Up’ Evening Gown Coral Bells, ‘Chocolate Shogun’ False Spirea
- Herbs: Water Pepper, Purple Basil
- Shrubs: ‘Panther’ Ninebark, ‘Black Tower’ European Elder, Firefly Nightglow Dwarfbush Honeysuckle
- Grasses: Purple Fountain Grass, Japanese Blood Grass
- Indoor plants: ‘Black Cardinal’ Philodendron, Black Haworthia
You can express this trend
The welcome hum of busy insects
Pollinators are so incredibly vital to plants and gardens everywhere. Our ecosystem depends on them, so we want to do everything possible to attract them into our gardens. We can offer food, water, and shelter. And most of all, we can include lots of nectar-producing and bee-foraging plants in our gardens – both decorative and vegetable. A lot of attention is finally being granted indigenous plants, even those we’ve tended to regard as weeds. It’s important to allow space for these plants to thrive.
- Annuals: Bidens, Rose Mallow, Lantana, Sage
- Perennials: Yarrow, Columbine, Coreopsis, Echinacea (Coneflowers), Daylilies, Hydrangea, Lupins, Phlox
- Herbs, shrubs, and flowering fruit trees
- Indigenous plants: Buttercups, Hawkweed, Bindweed (Morning Glories), Daisies, Dandelions, Loosestrife
Our passion for insects is reflected everywhere in popular design: on clothes, jewelry, stationery, wall decorations, dishes, pottery, and table linens. Insects: the new buzzword!
Vertical Creations
Maximizing small spaces through vertical gardens was driven by urban gardeners. And still is! But vertical gardens are everywhere now, even in the country.
Modular garden containers, raised planters, grow bags – on the ground or hanging, trellises for climbing plants: gardening and growing accessories have expanded to meet all your needs. It’s even possible to grow vegetables indoors year-round using hydroponic systems.
Many varieties of small fruits, vegetables and herbs are perfectly suited to container or pocket gardening, but some are not. So read carefully and choose your plants wisely!
- Small fruits: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries
- Herbs: Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme
- Vegetables: Carrots, Cucumbers, Spinach, Beans, Lettuces, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Radishes, Tomatoes (small, medium, and large)
Gardener’s tip: To encourage pollination, integrate edible flowers into your vegetable garden. Nasturtiums, Impatiens, and Marigolds will work wonders and bring a smile to the garden too!
Naturally beautiful
Natural and intuitive is how we want to characterize our gardens moving forward. Gardens may appear chaotic on a certain level, a departure from the impeccably designed and maintained flowerbeds of the past.
Concern for the environment is leading us away from non-native plants and heavy-input gardens. Indigenous plants, beneficial trees and carbon-capturing plants all contribute to the "anti-garden" or "chaos-garden" movement. We put a lot of thought into what we include in our gardens now, even if the result looks semi-wild. Biodiversity and sustainability are the new mantras. Other winners? Native wildlife.
Eco-responsibility is the common denominator. We look for ways to reduce our carbon imprint and use techniques like permaculture, composting, water conservation and planting hardy, indigenous plant varieties.
That’s a wrap for garden trends 2024. It’s up to you to choose! And we’ll all look forward to a rewarding new gardening season.
