As the new year beckons, many keen gardeners are already planning projects for the New Year. As with most things in life, gardening goes through trends, and we’ve sought to detail the must-have elements and features that will be drawing attention and popularity over the course of the next 12 months…

Lose the lawn

If your lawn has always been a source of disappointment and frustration, then the gardening trends of 2019 will come as a welcome relief. The main focus is on “urban” gardens; as these gardens are often designed when working in very little space, large sweeping lawns are becoming a thing of the past. A transition towards gravel as a primary design feature, rather than a lawn, is to be expected in 2019, with the majority of greenery provided by…

Potted plants

Potted plants have always been popular thanks to their manoeuvrability and relative ease of care, but in 2019 and beyond, potted plants will become the feature for the modern garden. Rather than used as additional decor, more and more high-trend gardens are obtaining much of their greenery directly from potted plants rather than soil-based beds. Opt for a gravel base with a number of potted plants - the trends suggest that this is definitely a case where there’s no such thing as too many! - sitting atop the gravel for a chic, urban-inspired look.

Table planters

Continuing the idea that gardening should be accessible to anyone, regardless of the size of their outdoor space, 2019 sees a resurgence in the popularity of table planters. Given that these planters can be used to grow your own fruit and are a decorative piece in and of themselves, it’s well worth considering adding a few to your outdoor space next year.

A separation of areas

Garden design trends have, in some ways, begun to resemble standard interior design. As a result, it’s helpful to imagine your garden as you would an open-plan floor of your house, and then think about creating distinctly separate “areas”. The best method of creating this separation is to focus on a variety of different “flooring” types; decking, gravel, grass or even astroturf can work well to give each section of the space its own, distinctive feel.

Add textured stones and gravel

Texture has always been an essential element of interior design, but 2019 sees the trend expand into the outdoor areas of your home too. In particular, focus on creating different textures with harder elements, such as gravel. Rather than choosing a single type of gravel to build beds or paths with, use vastly different textures; for example, you could use both cobbles and slate in different areas of the garden. Given that, in most cases, people tend to use a single type of gravel across their entire space, this trend is a fairly significant change from the norm - but can produce truly breathtakingly beautiful results.

In conclusion

The mix of deconstructed and urban trends should ensure that the gardens of 2019 and beyond will showcase an aesthetic that offers a genuine, exciting change from the standard norms of days gone by.