Spring has sprung, which means now is the best time to stop and smell the flowers. Although public park visits are great for enjoying warm weather and curated flora, a gardening project can make this year’s spring memorable. But why settle for traditional gardening practices and styles when you can turn your turf into something innovative, sustainable, and trendy? Here is Bold’s take on the top garden trends for 2024, which focus on simplicity, wellness, adaptability, and using pretty flowers to make the world a better place.
Climate-Adaptive Gardens
In recent years, the most notable challenge gardeners and owners have experienced with their gardens is the extreme weather changes all year round. The unpredictable weather conditions made it difficult for plants to thrive and bloom, even during their season. Due to this, many gardens look more dull and dead.
In 2024, gardening experts recommend people have climate-adaptive gardens instead. Drought-resistant and heat-tolerant plant varieties are now in demand and must-haves for all types of gardens. These plants ensure the place stays vibrant despite fluctuating temperatures and water availability.
Rain gardens are one of the most popular climate-adaptive gardens in the US. They function to capture and utilize rainwater, which helps reduce water usage, keep plants watered, and prevent erosion. The shift to climate-adaptive practice makes modern gardens more resilient while contributing to environmental conservation efforts.
Edible Landscapes/ Foodscapes
Traditional gardening practices draw specific lines between ornamental and edible plants. But in 2024, these lines have blurred with the rising popularity of “foodscaping.” Foodscapes or edible landscapes integrate edible plants, like vegetable beds or fruit trees, into ornamental flower beds. They act as the center of attention in the area while providing fresh produce to homeowners.
Many plants in edible landscapes are low-maintenance and visually appealing. Besides their edibility, they don’t require sowing or large spaces to grow. In addition, their deep roots are often drought-tolerant and can handle dry spells.
Budding gardeners can start making their little patches of greenery by incorporating herbs into their gardens, as they have a dual role as food and aromantic additions to flowerbeds.
Wellness Gardens
Rejuvenation and relaxation are at the top of many industries’ focus in 2024. The plant and gardening industries are no exception. In recent years, more people have acknowledged the therapeutic benefits of gardens to their physical and mental well-being.
Unlike other garden types, wellness or healing gardens are spaces designed to aid a person’s well-being. They add elements that stimulate the senses, promote relaxation, and help relieve stress. Many wellness gardens have water fountains that provide soothing sounds, fragrant plants, and comfortable seating areas for meditation.
Although many wellness gardens began in private residences, they’re becoming popular additions to many public areas, like community centers and hospitals. They provide people, especially in urban areas, the green spaces they need to nurture and heal the body and soul.
Vertical/ Small Space Gardening
Due to the rapid urbanization of cities worldwide, outdoor spaces for recreational activities like gardening are becoming limited. But with the rising popularity of many wellness trends, including these much-needed areas, people began exploring small-space solutions like vertical gardening.
Vertical gardening is an innovative system that allows urban dwellers to grow fresh produce or create thriving gardens on balconies, patios, and indoor walls, maximizing every space in a city apartment. In addition, these gardens contribute to urban cooling, air purification, and biodiversity and help push sustainability and creativity through repurposed container planters.
Pollinator Gardens
Pollinator gardens are no new designs in the gardening world. But they are now reaching another level of popularity in 2024. Due to the decreasing number of green spaces in cities and nearby towns, pollinators are rapidly losing their food sources and shelters. In gardening, pollinators, like birds, bats, and bees, are essential to bearing healthier fruits, vegetables, and plants and to soil erosion prevention.
One of the most effective ways to ensure that gardens thrive longer is to incorporate pollinator gardens into your chosen green space. A pollinator garden uses native plants local to the community. These plant species tend to be low maintenance and are more resistant to regional pests. In addition, they provide food sources and shelters for local pollinators that could help other spaces to grow healthy.
Minimalist Gardens
Minimalist gardens are part of modern gardening designs and practices. They focus on simplicity and green elegance. Most public areas in big cities add these gardens instead of the traditional ones as they’re easier to maintain and adaptable to the concrete jungle design.
Unlike gardens full of multicolored blooms, minimalist gardens have cleaner lines, open spaces, and monochromatic-colored plants. Although they lack the vibrancy of most landscapes due to their singular color choices, their reduced visual noise enhances subtle landscaping details, such as garden sculptures and geometric layouts.
In addition, their designs provide people with a more equipped area to rest and meditate.
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