Welcome to our first blog of 2024 and what better way is there to kick off the new year than to share with you our thoughts on the top 5 garden trends of 2024. Read on to find out what you should be doing with your outdoor space this year…
If you want to be bang on trend with your garden colour palette this year then stick with the Pantone Colour of the Year and you won’t go wrong. It’s called Peach Fuzz and we absolutely love this choice when it comes to plants. There are literally thousands to choose from but some of our favourites are:
Pennisetum ‘Flamingo’
Echinacea ‘Rainbow’
Dahlia ‘Happy Single Kiss’
Rosa ‘Dolce Vita’
Heucherella ‘Honey Rose’
If you are choosing new paving, the most popular paving our client’s choose is always the warm tones of a golden sandstone. You can further the warm tones in your garden with some beautiful corten steel focal points or some beautiful terracotta pots. If ever there was a pantone to suit gardens, THIS is the one!
We’ve been throwing this catchphrase around for a few years now, not only because we like its quirky name, but also because it makes total sense in gardens. It’s where your edibles (veg, herbs etc) are planted in among your ornamentals but you also choose edibles which LOOK great as well as TASTE great. Our top tips for ones which you should definitely get planting this year include:
Pineapple mint
Rosemary
Chives
Artichokes
Fennel
Nasturtiums
Swiss Chard
So if you get busy and forget to eat them (although they are so yummy and easy then would you really?) they will still look amazing planted in your garden.
As well as edimentals, we are always flying the flag for front gardens to anyone who will listen (and to those who don’t!) Back gardens are great as we spend more time in them, are normally larger and more private and give more scope for the things we generally want to do outdoors. But the humble front garden is so important and can give extra space for the things you want to do – grow different plants, grow veg, create a different seating area etc. They are also such a lovely way to make your home unique and put a smile on your face every time you arrive back home to your beautiful outdoor space. This is the year to make your front garden reach its full potential.
As we continue to see the effects of climate change, it remains essential for us all to do our bit to be environmentally friendly with our outdoor space. As well as keeping wilder areas and feeding the birds it’s really important to ensure our gardens don’t become concrete jungles. Plants are so important to the environment as well as to our own mental health. Choose pollinators to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife into your garden. Our favourite plants include echinops, eryngium, verbena, buddleia, echinacea, sedum and salvia but there are thousands to choose from to suit your aspect, soil and style. If you want to learn more about bee friendly plants then read our blog Get the Buzz.
Another trend for 2024 will be to continue using native plants in the garden and plant them in a naturalistic style. You will be happy to know this style is often done with a gravel finish making it lower maintenance. Plant in drifts to create a flowing, more natural style. Some of the plants we have already mentioned such as pennisetum, fennel and verbena are perfect for this style of gardening. Lots of grasses look great in this type of garden, we love stipa and molinia in particular as well as wildflowers. Shrubs such as Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose), Cornus sanguinea (red stemmed Dogwood) and Euonymus europaeus (European Spindle) all work well too.
Whatever you decide to do, enjoy gardening in 2024.
Happy New Year!
All at Vialii