2016 Gardening Trends

What are the garden trends for 2016? It’s always hard to predict what will be on the garden shopping list for the coming year, but thankfully garden wholesale buying events for the trade can give a good idea of what’s coming to a garden centre near you.

What may be the most fashionable gadget or garden accessory one season may be the next item to be left gathering dust at the back of the shed after the summer has finished. However what doesn’t change is the desire for gardens to be functional, practical and in many cases have at least an element of being up-to-date.

The word ‘contemporary’ does seem a little over-used nowadays but it’s still a big word in the gardening market helping to sell a lot of products. Plant pots and planters in shades of slate grey and muted tones are still popular but also brightly coloured plant pots with dazzling designs are a must for anyone brave enough to break away from the dullness of another cloned black & white garden scheme. I hope sincerely that colour is coming back!

I cannot be the only person who thinks that plastic woven square shaped garden settees were ever the most attractive or practical furniture item. Quality timber garden furniture that’s built to last decades is now popular again and so are hammocks and swinging seats suspended from trees. Large colourful cushions and seat covers are making summer gardens brighter – and more comfortable too.

It’s always the case though that garden trends filter down through society. The plastic woven furniture started on the expensively landscaped terraces of the world before becoming popular and available to everyone. Similar is happening to wall planters and planting pockets that can be hung on walls and fences, more commonly referred to as vertical planting, these started as more large scale commercial products but they can now be had in smaller domestic sizes for both indoor and outdoor use and is probably going to be quite popular. No longer can you just have a spider plant on the window ledge but it can also be screwed to the kitchen wall in a designer planter too.

Out on the planting front there are some great products. There are companies perfecting new ways to plant seeds in small biodegradable cells that contain a single seed of peppers, tomatoes, sunflowers or herbs. Simply plant a single cell in a pot and the plant begins to grow, it’s an excellent way to get into growing plants with no waste and guaranteed results and for any beginner gardener or kids it’s easier that a potentially daunting packet of seeds.

There is one over-riding theme to all the products. It’s that all the manufacturers are now making the garden even more part of the home and as the years go by the distinction between inside and outside becomes increasingly deminished. The furniture is becoming more comfortable and house-like, plants and containers are more like ornaments rather than just a plant in a pot and there are numerous items to hang in the garden or lights to illuminate features as one would indoors.

However the items in the shops and garden centres are fashion led and produced to meet a demand, until the next must-have item appears when we start all over again!