Follow the trend and make your outdoors shine
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Wow! February set some of the all-time records for temperature and it’s been more like summer than spring, which has really brought on everyone’s gardens with spring favourites including snowdrops and crocuses popping up everywhere.
If you’re full of enthusiasm and inspired to set some gardening goals for the year ahead, here are some ideas of the top gardening trends to look out for.
Think fresh and invigorating projects along with inspiring ideas to create great escape areas in your garden.
Grown-up playground
We can’t let kids have all the fun. One of the most inspiring trends of 2019 has got to be the adult treehouse trend. Don’t worry if you have a fear of heights, this trend is more grounded than you might expect and is more about creating your very own hideaway or garden sanctuary.
Convert a shed, invest in a cabin or build your own outdoor kitchen to create your go-to space, whatever you chose to do with it.
A really fun idea is to create an outdoor kitchen. You could grow herbs and install bar seating or a pizza oven, or create the perfect ambience with a firepit, chiminea, water feature, comfy seating and don’t forget to include some outdoor mood lighting so your playground can be enjoyed after dark.
Create a moon garden
Based on the ancient practice of gardening to the moon cycle, create your very own moon garden filled with beautiful light-reflecting plants such as white echinacea, lambs ear and white muscari, then enjoy spending evenings in your garden with fragrant night-blooming flowers such as evening primrose and watch as night-time pollinators take centre stage.
Asymmetrical gardening
Similar to the 2018 trend of Wabi-Sabi, it looks like 2019 is set to follow suit with the asymmetrical trend which is all about natural structure, embracing imperfections in nature and making lines less precise and controlled.
Think about the positioning of shrubs and trees to create a more natural look, planting in a loose manner which still provides eye catching focus to your garden.
GYO continues
Short on garden space? This year is all about growing food is small spaces. What about growing strawberries, blueberries or raspberries in hanging baskets or pots on balconies and porches?
Patio fruits are set to be big this year and it doesn’t stop at berries. Why not grow apples, pears and cherries in buckets and pots? You will be surprised how much you can do with a small space.
Get it light
It’s amazing what a little lighting can do and this year it is all about the lumens. Set the tone in your garden and create a year-round glow with smart solar lighting – and the key to great lighting is how you use it.
One of the major trends this year is uplighting – with particular accent on trees. Place lights under the trunk of a tree to illuminate its branches and create a beautiful illuminated canopy over your favourite seating area.
The colour of the year
The Pantone colour of the year has been announced and Living Coral will be the shade to dominate the design industry this year – and this colour can find its way into your garden.
Somewhere between a pink and golden orange, Living Coral is inspired by the colours found in coral reef.
If you are looking to infuse these colours into your own garden, keep an eye out for dahlias, tulips, lilies and begonias or, if you like making a bold statement, why not give your garden furniture a facelift with a fresh lick of coral paint – certainly eye catching!
Which gardening trend will you be pursuing this year?
Don’t forget…
Spring containers
With lighter and longer evenings, it’s the perfect time to get outside and start colouring up the garden – starting with your front door.
With so many beautiful colourful spring plants around right now a container will give you the feel-good factor every time you enter or leave your home.
Even if you’re new to gardening, planting a container need not be a lengthy project. It’s one of the most straightforward and easy things to do.
Still not sure? Why not speak to our horti team who can plant up a container for you.
Spuds glorious spuds
There’s time to get your seed potatoes into the ground. However, make sure that you chit them first before planting.
Even the smallest garden or patio can accommodate the humble spud by planting in containers and potato sacks, taking up very little space yet can still yield amazing results to be enjoyed by the whole family.
Not sure what to plant or what you need? Come and speak to our team in store.
Top gardening tips for March
- Sow hardy annuals and plant shallots, onion sets, early potatoes and summer-flowering bulbs.
- Protect new spring shoots from slugs.
- Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials.
- Cut back ornamental grasses and other perennials left for winter interest. Even if they still look good, you need to make way for the new growth.
- Mow the lawn on dry days (if needed). In late March apply a spring/summer fertiliser to encourage good, strong growth to help your lawn recover after winter.
- Deal with weeds before they get out of hand, especially as they come back into growth.
- Open the greenhouse or conservatory doors and vents on warm days.
- Clear up weedy beds before mulching. Lighter soils can be mulched now but heavier soils are best left until later in the month, when the soil is warmer.
- Top dress spring-flowering alpines with grit or gravel to show off the plants and to help prevent stem rots. Mulch may need replacing after weed removal.
