7 Gardening Trends For 2021

Bigger and Better Food Gardens

One top reason millions of newbies hit the gardening scene in 2020 was to grow their own food. According to a recent Garden Media Trend report, edible gardening influencers such as Timothy Hammond of Big City Gardenersaw as much as 400% growth on their platforms, due to an influx of followers and engagements with first-time gardeners looking for guidance. The report also notes that 67% of surveyed adults are “growing or plan to grow” edibles into 2021.

Enhancing Nature

Our gardens have long been our havens, but without a doubt 2020 placed greater emphasis than ever before on the restorative effect of nature and outdoor space. Looking forward to 2021, high on designers’ wish lists are plants that create a haven for birds and bees. This plays to the trend called ‘rewilding’, in which land is returned in varying scales to natural habitats that can provide water, food and shelter to all creatures great and small. 

Focusing on Bright, Bold Tropicals

After a year of chaos and global unrest, why not bring a little magic and brightness to your garden? 2021 will be the year of tropical plants as gardeners yearn to bring a little exotic flair to their landscapes. According to the Sadlers, we should plan to see tropical “nooks” in the landscape, filled with plants like bromeliads, elephant's ear with its large lush leaves, and banana plants.

Turning Backyards into Outdoor Living Spaces

As we’ve all grown increasingly tired of staring at our own four walls while quarantining, one of the biggest trends for 2021 is bringing the indoors outside. Backyards are becoming the new living rooms. If you're looking to bring the indoors outside, Kate and Charles Sadler of King Garden, a landscaping firm in New York, recommend privacy screening with hedges or fencing, providing shade in summer and fire pits in the winter, and even screening movies outdoors.

Blank Canvas

These tones soothe the senses and are the ideal canvas on which to build your planting, allowing your chosen flowers and foliage to sing out. Garden designer Eve Hacking of Belderbos Landscapes says that neutral tones for hard landscaping are useful in an urban setting where gardens are often shaded by other buildings, as they help to lighten the space. 

Neutrals are also a preference for garden designer Charlotte Rowe. She is not keen on any color apart from that of the plants themselves, so tends to use a limited palette of greys, taupes and creams for hard landscaping.

Adventurous, Unusual Houseplants in Demand

While everyone has been at home more, we’ve also been ramping up our houseplant collections. Indoor plants have been in demand for several years, and 2021 will be no different, predicts plant influencer Summer Rayne Oakes. She thinks that easy-care aroids like philodendrons, anthuriums, and aglaonemas will be particularly popular, as well as plants in the Hoya genus.

Flowers For Pollinators

Creating a garden for the senses is important for plantswoman Sarah Raven, and she’s tipped salvias to continue in their popularity. ‘ They need minimal TLC, they flower for a long time and are an absolute haven for pollinators, protecting declining bee species.’ Garden designer Butter Wakefield always considers nature when selecting plants. ‘It’s all about the pollinators. I concentrate on what the bees will benefit from: early-flowering, nectar-rich bulbs and perennials, such as crocus, Geranium phaeum and Helleborus niger; there’s often a shortage of food for pollinators early in the year,’ she says. ‘I carry this through to late-flowering Aster novae-angliae ‘Helen Picton’ and Dahlia ‘Blue Bayou’, which bloom to the end of November or the first hard frost.’

Article be ought to you by better homes & gardens.