2024 Garden Trends and Ideas for Spring

Reimagining your backyard can be a trick task, current garden trends are redefining outdoor living as a year-round experience and emphasising planet-friendly practices. Whether you have a cozy balcony or sprawling country garden, crafting a multifunctional haven that seamlessly blend sustainability with style is important to most. Currently, gardeners are incorporating native flora, drought-resistant plants, and pollinator-friendly species into their landscapes, fostering vibrant ecosystems that thrive throughout the seasons. Although this sounds like quite the task, even the smallest outdoor oasis can offer boundless possibilities for connection with nature and sustainable living. Outdoor living is evolving beyond mere summertime leisure, so lets explore some garden ideas for 2024.

Eco-Friendly and Biodiverse Planting

Whether you ask a garden designer or just your average “hobby gardener”, they will say that gardening trends are shifting to focus on eco-friendly changes that encourage local flora and fauna to thrive. Cottage style gardens with mixed flower beds, edible plants and medicinal plants are extremely popular due to trends in natural wellness and self-sufficiency. Even those with limited space can incorporate containers of garden herbs or potted fruits and veggies (tomatoes are a great choice for container cultivation!).

If you want to make your garden a beautiful, interesting place to be, encouraging more life, movement and variation is essential. Gardens that support local wildlife such as birds, insects, invertebrates as well as the animals that rely upon them are rising in popularity. For instance, if you have the space for a pond or flowering tree, these are fantastic for creating biodiversity. Berry-bearing shrubs and pollinator friendly plants are also great options if you can’t swing something quite so substantial. Moreover, spring pollinator plants such as lilac, crocuses and lilies of the valley are not only easy to get your hands on at any local garden centre, but fit into almost any style or type of garden.

If you really wish to lean into the wild and natural aesthetic, wildflowers such as bluebells, foxgloves, wild thyme and poppies add vibrant pops of colour to long patches of grass. Moreover, a less manicured lawn means less mowing! However, if you prefer a cleaner look, creating a wildflower border still promotes biodiversity whilst keeping your space sleek and simple. 

Ways to Save Water

A great way to promote biodiversity, encourage critters and create a peaceful atmosphere is installing a water feature into your outdoor space. Self-circulating water features keep your water bill low whilst providing a water source for birds and small mammals. Drought- resistant plants are also a trending gardening idea. Resilient plants such as succulents are not only eye-catching and unique but are also perfect for drought resistant bedding. If you’re looking for eco-conscious and water saving plants that can thrive in sand and gravel rich soil here are a few ideas: 

• Aloe
• Aeonium
• delosperma cooperi
• Drosanthemum
• Crassula 
• Lampranthus 

Outdoor Living Year-Round

Making the most of your home inside and out is particularly important in a day and age where housing costs an arm and a leg, especially if you are lucky enough to have a garden. Therefore, comfortable living and entertaining spaces that can be used year-round are going to be even more popular in 2024. All-weather quick-dry furniture can be costly, but quality seating is a good investment for an enjoyable outdoor experience. Additionally, incorporating outdoor kitchens into these entertaining spaces are rising in popularity, accompanied by weatherproof pergolas and fire pits for extra warmth.

If you’re looking to make your outdoor space more multi-functional, integrating “well-being zones” such as cold plunges and saunas may be for you. Cold water exposure is often used to improve your mood, immune system, reduce inflammation and muscle soreness. Heat therapy tools such as saunas are also great for aches and pains in your joints and muscles, as well as stress management, cardiovascular function and improving blood circulation. They don’t have to take up much space either! If you are looking for some at home self-care whilst saving space, try immersing your cold plunge or sauna within your planting areas. This will keep a cohesive look to your garden and create a peaceful surrounding whilst you relax.

Although the dark and gloomy months are nearing their end, why not brighten up your garden with some colour? The neutral aesthetic has been popular for a long time and although it is understated and elegant, colour is vastly undervalued in outdoor spaces. We are not advocating for a neon yellow accent wall by any means, but blues, peach tones, and purples will complement your plants and make your space pop. However, if you’re not into colourful walls, tiles, or furniture, try some colourful plants! Tulips can come in dozens of colours, Continus Coggygria are a royal purple tone, Zinnias are a stunning lime green and African daisies are not only multicoloured but drought resistant! 

Making the Most of Smaller Spaces

If your garden space is limited there are still plenty of options to maximise what you have. Visual interest can be added through the use of elevated decking, raised beds or hanging baskets. Also, standing plant pots and repurposed containers are great eco-conscious ways to give your balcony, patio or garden a facelift. If your outdoor area is partially or fully shaded, Azaleas and Camellias are fantastic flowers to brighten up your space. They can either be planted in containers, small gardens or even used to fill gaps in borders (note that they work well together as they both prefer acidic soil). Additionally, fire pits and water features are great space-saving ways to add a focal point to small areas. For instance, our Hemi 26 is the smallest fire bowl in our Hemi series, perfect for apartment living. If you don’t have access to your own garden, community gardens are also a rising trend for 2024. Shared spaces like this can provide community and a social space for those with a green thumb, giving you all the benefits of being outdoors without having to take care of an entire backyard by yourself!

In conclusion, the gardening landscape of 2024 is a testament to the evolving relationship between humans and nature. Garden designers are embracing sustainable practices and biodiverse planting techniques to create vibrant ecosystems that thrive year-round. Whether you’re transforming a sprawling country garden or maximising a cosy balcony, the emphasis on planet-friendly gardening is evident in the incorporation of native flora, drought-resistant plants, and pollinator-friendly species. The concept of outdoor living has evolved beyond mere leisure, with the integration of all-weather furnishings, outdoor kitchens, and wellness zones like cold plunges and saunas. Even in the smallest of outdoor spaces, innovative design and strategic use of vertical elements offer boundless opportunities for connection with nature and sustainable living.