Chris, my husband, and I have been updating our home this winter. As we have lived here for over 20 years, it was time for the inside of our home to be refreshed. Our gold fixtures are being replaced with brushed nickel, we are installing hardwood flooring in place of carpeting and the beige walls are being painted over with shades of grey. While we arenât trendy people, it does feel good to be making these improvements. The inside of our home will soon reflect the beauty that we have created on the outside. Just as there are interior design home trends, there are also gardening trends. Here is a preview of the top gardening trends for 2024.
Caring and Supportive Gardens – As we all know being outside ifs great for emotional and physical well-being. Creating a place within your yard that refreshes you is not only a trend but also quickly becoming a necessity. These areas can be created using plants that have a positive connotation. Fragrant flowers and/or shrubs often bring joy. Herbs can be incorporated and used for medicinal purposes. By creating a space that allows you to enjoy nature, even for just a few moments a day, you are investing in yourself. This can allow you to feel the positive mental and physical aspects that come with a caring and supportive garden. Spice Baby Viburnum, Bloomerang Lilac and Coral Crème Drop Phlox would all work well in this type of garden.
Simplicity Gardening – Downsizing as it relates to homes and furnishing has been a process that many of us have gone through. Simplicity gardening applies similar principles to the exterior of the home. Through carefully choosing of plants and their conscientious placement a garden with a reduced number of plants can be beautiful. Less plants often results in lower maintenance costs and a decreased amount of spent working in your yard. Everlow Mugho Pines, Villosa Coralbells and Birchleaf Spirea can be included in a garden designed with simplicity in mind.
Color Extremes – The Color of the Year is âPeach Fuzzâ Pantone describes it as âPeach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. Itâs a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches our mind, body and soul.â Contrasting colors such as peach with dark purple or black foliage adds dimension to planting beds. Bold, bright flowers can also be paired with chartreuse foliage. Embracing color through a plantâs foliage and incorporating contrasting colors is definitely a garden trend to watch for 2024. Plants that have bold colored foliage include Sun King Aralia, Scotch Moss and Panther Ninebark.
Water Conscience Gardens – Water is a limited resource. Incorporating drought tolerant plants into a landscape helps to preserve this precious commodity and is more environmentally friendly. There are many groundcovers, perennial flowers and shrubs that grow well without consistently needing supplemental watering. Walter Funcke Yarrow, Anise Hyssop and Purple Love Grass are all plants that will grow in dry conditions.
Choosing Resilient Plant Varieties – Plants are often subject to a variety of threats. These concerns come in the form of insects and diseases as well as the environment at large. Plant breeders often spend their entire lives working towards creating improved versions of plants. Improved plant varieties may be insect and disease resistant. It is predicted that in 2024 gardeners will focus their purchasing on the newer, improved varieties. Resilient plant varieties include New Vintage Rose Yarrow, Kimâs Knee High Coneflower and Biokova Geranium.
Biodiversity Enhancements – Helping our local ecosystem by using native plants continues to be strong in 2024. A plant is considered native if it is naturally occurring in an area. These plants help wildlife, increase the pollinator population, and attract beneficial insects. Pardon My Purple Beebalm, Lowscape Snowfire Chokeberry and Pugster Amethyst Butterfly Bush.
Garden Preservation â Although it has been done for hundreds of years, saving a garden memento from your garden is something that is becoming popular again. The drying or pressing flowers, leaves or seeds you can successfully save portions of your garden for use in a variety of craft projects. Flowers that work well when dried are Silvermound Artemesia, panicle Hydrangea and perennial salvia.
I hope that as we are incorporating a few new trends in the inside of our home, that you are able to incorporate a few of these trends on the outside of yours.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
