The last couple of years have been big news for gardens. With many people having a lot more time on their hands and being limited on where they could actually go, gardens have finally begun to get the recognition they truly deserve.
Whilst many of the measures put in place during the pandemic have now been lifted and people are beginning to socialise outside the home more, it is believed that this new found love of the humble garden is here to stay. With that in mind here are some of the landscaping trends that we have seen in 2021.
Garden furniture
Summer of 2021 saw a significant supply and demand issue in terms of outdoor patio furniture as many homeowners decided to invest in furniture for their outside space so that they could use it to its full potential. For some this meant moving their home office into the back garden to take advantage of some of the glorious weather, for others eating outside as a family or even having people for dinner once some of the restrictions were lifted. People are not just looking to buy any garden furniture but items that look beautiful in their gardens and will last.
Garden bar
In keeping with the idea of entertaining at home rather than going out the garden bar has become an incredibly popular addition to many gardens this year. Again, it looks like this may be one of those additions that is here to stay.
Rewilding
The rewilding trend has taken the nation by storm, in part fuelled by growing concerns over the environment and the plight of the bees but also as a result of less of the public green spaces being mowed due to staffing shortages cause by the pandemic.
Rewilding is all about allowing plants to take hold in their own natural way, but not allowing them to completely take over. Gardening is more about control and knowing when and how to allow nature to do its own thing, whilst sticking to a routine that involved pruning, snipping, mowing and shearing – a continual workload of different jobs. The idea of rewilding takes you away from all of this and whilst it may at first seem a little lazy it is all about providing a more natural habitat that insects and smaller creatures can thrive in.
In addition to this many people are choosing to randomly sew wild seeds in their garden, perhaps leaving a patch of lawn uncut and allowing wildflowers to grow in the grass as part of this.
Easy maintenance
In further keeping with the idea of rewilding many people are getting someone in to landscape their garden but looking for results that will be incredibly easy for them to look after themselves. The reality is that whilst the pandemic gave many people more time to spend at home and do their own thing, they have also realised that this will not last forever and moving forward a garden that requires too much maintenance may be too difficult to keep up with in the future.
Plants that are great in the heat and that do not require too much water are proving to be very popular as well, as are plants like ornamental grass and bamboo.
Living roofs
An increase in garden offices has meant that people have been looking for ways to make their new space work as a part of their garden, living roofs are not only great for the environment but ideal when it comes to helping that home office space blend in. They are also great at soaking up rainwater and reducing carbon dioxide in the environment.
Whether you’re up for some heavy maintenance or want a fuss free garden you can relax in, there’s sure to be some inspiration above that could help you bring your garden in line with how you like to use it.