Landscaping goes through trends just as interior design and architecture trends alter how your home looks. Trends may be driven by local regulations, changing customer tastes and demographics. Here are the top 4 landscaping trends to look out for in 2018. We’ll discuss how these trends are altering landscapes and some ways you can incorporate them in your landscape design.
The Small Garden Made Functional
Small gardens are increasingly being designed to be multi-purpose, such as capturing rainwater and providing a place to sit among the plants. An arbor installed for privacy is also a supporting structure for vines and climbing plants. The edge of a deck is a de facto garden seat or place to put houseplants outside when weather permits. Or the garden doubles as a gathering space, with planters in and around fire-pits and small patios or around the modern outdoor dining area.
Container gardens that let you grow a variety of plants in decorative containers also help to make use of little space. Succulents and cacti are increasingly popular members of container gardens.
The Bright Future of Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting has been shifting toward more energy efficient LEDs simply due to the desire to save energy. We’re seeing more uses of LED lights such as pathway lights, accent lights for architectural features and general outdoor lighting. Outdoor dining areas now regularly sport lighting features to make them feel like a refuge from the rest of the world.
The Exotic Garden
When half the gardeners around you are raising tomatoes, you gain bragging rights by raising unusual edibles. Forget zucchinis and plant day lilies instead. Or plant your garden with edible plants so that it doubles as a decorative garden.
One of the newer landscaping trends has been the demand to integrate high protein plants into the landscape so that someone can raise them for the table without having to rip out the landscaping to put in a formal vegetable garden. There has been a definite trend in requests to design landscapes that turn sunflowers, spinach, kale, edamame, corn, asparagus and broccoli into part of the background. If you are going to try this, make sure to put bee-friendly flowers around the garden to entice pollinators for the edibles.
Salt and drought tolerant plants let you have a garden that requires little to no water, while succulents and cacti stand out against the sea of grass with the occasional flower garden. This is increasingly popular in areas where there are incentives to reduce water use.
The Wildlife Haven
There is a definite trend toward turning the garden into a haven for wildlife. Planting wildflowers and native plants instead of imports is one variation of this theme. Planting perennials and flowers that support bees and local pollinators is another.
Seed and berry producing plants aid and attract birds and frogs. Air purifying plants are in demand in some areas for the environmental benefits for both people and wildlife. Designing a garden with companion planting and various elements that let you skip the pesticides is another way of achieving this goal. In some cases, simply removing part of the grassy lawn and putting in plants that nourish local wildlife is enough.
The design of new landscaping projects is being driven by a desire to protect wildlife, make the most of small spaces and protect the environment. And the design of our outdoor spaces is evolving to reflect the desire to actually spend more time out in the yard.
