THE LAST WORD
Our editor dives into five of the biggest garden trends for next year in which we can all get involved!
Sustainable living has never been more important and with COP26 having taken place last month in Scotland, nature-based solutions are high on everyone’s agenda.
Sustainable gardening is a method of growing plants so that the garden is able to successfully sustain itself without requiring lots of intervention.
Combining the two, 2022 will see gardeners looking to garden in a way which is kinder to the planet such as removing chemical usage, creating habitat for wildlife, harvesting rainwater, creating compost and mulches, and reusing and repurposing plastic for sowing and growing.
This is an easy trend to get on board with and even small steps can make a big change to the heath and sustainability of your garden, and by extension, the planet.
In a post-Brexit, post-COVID landscape, we have all realised that the key to survival is to shop local. The same applies to our plants and trees.
Create your very own biodiverse, outdoor space by planting a selection of native plants and flowers, evolved to thrive in our Scottish climate. Try to buy native species which will flourish here and need no extra watering or cosseting to save precious resources. The right plant, right place mantra could not be more fitting moving into 2022.
Next year will see us support local growers to avoid importing fungal diseases and pathogens from abroad, reduce carbon miles associated with importation, and grow our local, horticultural economies.
Last year’s big trend of rewilding the garden will evolve next year into incorporating naturalistic planting into gardens. Achieving the look is easy by using a combination of grasses mixed with bulbs and softer perennials in loose swathes, alongside more structured, evergreen planting.
This trend of mixed, naturalistic planting benefits a host of wildlife, creating biodiversity in gardens, as well as cutting down on maintenance time, which in turns allows a local ecosystem to flourish.
Often those prolifically floriferous gardens of spring and summer fade into a barren, brown landscape come autumn and winter. One of next year’s big trends will be bringing successional planting to your space so your garden retains interest all year round.
The backbone of year round garden appeal is to plant an evergreen structure of trees, shrubs, and grasses which form the backdrop for the seasonal colour of bulbs and herbaceous perennials to burst through. This successional planting means there is always something looking good and doing good in the garden, by providing habitat or feeding pollinators.
So many people over the last two years, have found themselves working from home that the trend for greening up indoor spaces has exploded, and shows no sign of abating. Surrounding yourself with living greenery in your home or office is not just aesthetically pleasing and has proven well-being benefits, it is great for absorbing pollutants like smoke and dust mites from the air.
2022 will see the surge for houseplants continue to explode as we seek to make our indoor spaces as healthy as our outdoor ones.
Which garden new trends will you be trying to incorporate into your garden this year? Get in touch on our Facebook or Instagram pages, we would love to hear your thoughts.
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