Senin, 15 Juni 2020
THE TOP GARDEN TRENDS 2020
Here, some of the Society of Garden Designers leading experts and the experts at Living Spaces share their tips for the newest trends in garden design for 2020 and some of the most exciting design ideas gaining momentum, from Belgian chic and boho, to wellbeing.
1. BOHO CHIC
Boho has been in for the past few years, but we’re now just starting to see a shift toward boho in outdoor spaces. As outdoor spaces themselves are starting to become more popular, and as homemakers start to ‘relax’ a bit and experiment more freely with their decor, the outdoor boho trend makes sense.
Jessica Harris, Living Spaces designer, says: ‘Patterned throw pillows (botanical and tribal print) are the easiest way to bring the style – and your outdoors – to life.’
2. BRINGING THE INDOORS OUT
Bringing the indoors out is a product of our times. The need for ‘settling in’ when we can’t travel means curating an outdoor space that’s comfortable. Outdoor bars saw a 192% increase in searches over the past six months. Outdoor kitchens saw a 106% increase over the past six months – and 5% over the year as a whole.
Living Spaces designer Shelby Greene says: ‘Think of your backyard as you would your indoor space, starting with a floor plan. Arrange groups of seating, focal points, serving stations and walkways for a trendy feel.’
3. SPACE-SAVING FURNITURE
If you live in the city and don’t have a large garden, it doesn’t mean your outdoor space can’t be styled. Searches for ‘outdoor small space furniture’ have risen by 243% over the past six months.Living Spaces Designer Gabrielle Bocanegra says: ‘Think round. Round tables, round stools… curves soften and open up a space, as opposed to harsh lines and enclosing angles.’
4. PATIO DAYBEDS
Patio daybeds completely fit in with the ‘indoors out’ theme of 2020, so it’s no wonder they’re on the rise, with a whopping 257% over the past six months, according to Google Trends.
Brynna Evans, Living Spaces Designer, says: ‘As the name suggests, position a patio daybed on a patio. Simplicity is key here, to create a calm outdoor space, so no need for a large coffee table; an end table or small pouf works just fine.’
5. CREATIVE OUDOOR SEATING
As we adapt to a new way of life that encourages social distancing, outdoor spaces will be the preferred setting for family gatherings. As such, the rise in outdoor seating trends couldn’t have come at a better time. According to Google Trends, adirondack chairs are up 303% from six months; hammocks 216% from six months; and egg chairs 189% from six months. Shelby Greene says: ‘Egg chairs are cozy, and they also happen to be sleek (or, perhaps, it’s the other way around)! Either way, they’re trending in 2020.’
6. BOLD AND BRIGHT
Brynna Evans says: ‘In with bright colours, out with boring neutrals. Spending more time in our homes and back gardens means embracing more of our style personalities and learning to seize the present moment. What better way to do that than with splashes of fun, playful, energising colour? Neon furniture sizzles.’
Indeed, according to Google Trends, lemon yellow searches are up by 103% over the past six months; coral, by 50%.
7. OUTDOOR TILES
Outdoor tiles are just another example of how consumers are choosing to ‘bring the indoors out,’ to rethink and take a hold of their outdoor spaces. According to Google Trends, over the past six months, interest in ‘outdoor tiles’ has risen 174%.
Ha’queza Telp, Living Spaces Designer, says: ‘2020 is all about making statements with colour. Outdoor tiling is a great excuse to experiment with this.’
8. PLANTERS AND PLANTER WALLS
As gardening becomes more and more popular, even those of us without lawns are finding ways to participate in the gardening trend – through planters. Brynna Evans says: ‘If you’re trying to save space, think vertical. Stack planters along shelves or window ledges. Hanging planters (with ropes) is also popular right now, as well.’
9. FIRE PITS
Searches for fire pits are up 148% over the last six months. With so many of us spending more time at home, fire pits are becoming more popular than ever. As summer comes upon us, people are naturally drifting toward outdoor spaces. Slowing down, enjoying conversation and life’s moments are a few of the life lessons we’ve all had to learn over the past few months; in this way, fire pits are more than décor – they represent spending time with the ones we love.
Jessica Harris says: ‘An industrial fire pit with metal framework keeps things sleek and on-trend, especially when paired with matching metal chairs.’
10. WOVEN MATERIALS
Fitting in with the boho trend, woven materials add texture, and when dressed up with decorative pillows, contrast. They’re easy and affordable. Given the attention people are starting to give to their outdoor spaces, it makes sense they’re on the rise.
Brynna Evans says: ‘Woven chairs and seating are common right now – but don’t forget to also look below! An outdoor jute rug is one of the freshest and most exciting decorative pieces in line with today’s trends.’
11. BELGIAN DESIGN
Belgian design style, often described as luxurious simplicity, is expected to come to the fore in 2020. Mia Witham of Mia Witham Garden Design says: ‘I am seeing some great garden products coming out of Belgium, which are typically high-end and have great form. I particularly love the beautiful clay pots by Atelier Vierkant, the woven fibre fencing and screens produced by Forest Avenue and the striking garden lights by Wever & Ducre. I’ll be using a lot more of them in 2020.’
Mia Witham
12. LESS IS MORE
James Smith MSGD, Design Director at Bowles & Wyer, thinks the philosophy of ‘less is more’ will become more prominent, saying: ‘I really want to focus on creating more pared back design schemes, but with high attention to detail and finishing.’
Tracy McQue MSGD of Tracy McQue Gardens shares this philosophy, saying: ‘I’m looking forward to planting multiple grasses and a simple palette of perennials to make the lightest of design touches to a very rural project I am working on in Scotland. It’s important that my design ties in with the extended and wild landscape.’
Garden by James Smith – Bowles & Wyer
13. EDIBLE FORESTS & ROMANTIC VEG PLOTS
With more people using foraged food for cooking, Mia Witham thinks that edible forests could become the new vegetable garden. She says: ‘I’m currently designing an edible forest for a chef in Suffolk. It is carefully designed, semi-wild ecosystem of plants organised in layers with trees making up the canopy layer, shrubs providing a middle layer and perennial plants covering the ground. It’s an exciting concept and unlike a traditional vegetable plot where annual plants are mainly grown, edible forests require minimum input for maximum output.’
Libby Russell MSGD of Mazzullo + Russell agrees, saying: ‘Productive gardens are still very much on trend’. Libby, with her design partner Emma Mazzullo MSGD, mixes fruit and vegetables together with cut flowers to give a romantic flavour to their productive gardens. ‘As long as there is a very clear underlying design in the garden you can overlay so many layers, provided they create beauty and romance’ says Libby, who sees romantic gardens having a revival in 2020.
Image credit: Eva Nemeth; garden by Libby Russell
14. RE-PURPOSE & RECYLE
Tracy McQue thinks there will more of a spotlight on repurposing of existing materials and recycling garden materials where possible. Mark Laurence MSGD whose consultancy creates adaptive landscape for a changing world, echoes this saying ‘repurposed items give a garden an individual look’, like this heating coil repurposed into a water feature.
Garden by Mark Laurence
15. PLANTING FOR WILDLIFE
Creating sustainable, wildlife-friendly and beautiful spaces needs to be at the forefront of everything we do no matter what size or location of the gardens we are designing, says Tracy McQue. She believes that the materials and plants we include, where we source them from and how we re-use elements already in the garden are becoming more vital considerations.
Jane Brockbank MSGD of Jane Brockbank Gardens shares this ideal, saying: ‘People are much more interested in making gardens that are good for wildlife. Awareness of the climate crisis and the loss of bio-diversity has grown enormously, even over the last year, and we are all taking our gardens far more seriously in regards to the important part they can play.’
Tracy McQue /Paul Johnston
Libby Russell of Mazzullo + Russell echoes this, saying: ‘Our planting is evolving to use many more ‘wild’ plants that are great for bees, birds, pollinators and invertebrates but without losing glamour or impact. Single roses, species plants, seed heads and grasses are all valuable.’
Tracy McQue
Mandy Buckland MSGD of Greencube says she is incorporating ‘meadow areas, native hedging, gaps in fences for hedgehog movement and of course nectar rich planting’. While Tracy McQue advises that water features are integral to the wildlife-friendly spaces, and ideas such as bee-friendly boundary hedges are simple to incorporate into any garden.
Continuing this theme, Jane Brockbank says: ‘We are very interested in using shrubs in a more naturalistic way and we will be looking at how shrub communities work in the wild and take those principles to make them work in more designed settings, much like the ‘new perennial movement’ but for shrubs!’
16. THE PATTERNED GARDEN
Pattern and texture will be creeping back into our gardens in 2020. ‘Cold minimalism is beginning to look pretty tired now,’ says Jane Brockbank ‘and it also begs the question – “how does this contribute to the wildlife locally and in the garden?”‘ Jane brings pattern and texture into her designs by creating faceted planting zones and by blurring the line between the hard landscaped and soft planting areas in the garden, using gravel planting to create the transition between the two.
Jane Brockbank
Mandy Buckland of Greencube Landscapes thinks the trend for creating an outdoor room will live on and we will move away from regular formatted paving. She says: ‘There are lots of outdoor ceramic tiles on the market now. We are installing them as garden ‘rugs’ or design features within landscaped areas to create pattern, contrast and textural changes. It is much the same decorating a dining and living room in the house.’
Mandy Buckland
17. CURVILINEAR FORMS
After almost a decade of symmetrically ordered urban gardens, Mark Laurence thinks we’ll see ‘a turning away from the linear, contemporary town garden to something wilder and more curvilinear.’ Mark says: “Curvilinear forms appear more natural in a garden environment and they connect us back to the flow of natural forms in the landscape.” It’s a distinctive move aways from the style of crisp, linear raised beds set against horizontal timber trellis that we have become so familiar with.
Following a similar path, James Smith of Bowles & Wyer has been experimenting with sculptural wall claddings in wood, metals and stone in organic, naturalistic patterns. He says: ‘I think wall claddings will gain momentum in 2020. They are perfect for maximising vertical surfaces in tight city gardens.’
Mark Laurence
18. RENDER REVIVAL
‘Look out for Monocouche renders in 2020,’ says Mark Laurence. These renders are a rare application in garden design, having been used predominantly by the housebuilding industry. Mark says: ‘Monocouche renders are low maintenance, weather resistant and hard wearing plus they have great texture but they need professional application. A different look can be achieved with conventional render using mineral pigments (which are applied whilst the render is still green) and layered on in colour washes and absorbed into the surface, keeping the render breathable. I think the red or yellow ochres tones work very well in a garden setting.’
Mark Laurence
19. OUTDOOR PLAY
‘Young families want to encourage their children to get outdoors, prizing them away from laptops, tablets and TV’s,’ say Mandy Buckland of Greencube. ‘We have been asked to integrate outdoor play in many of our gardens in recent months and have been incorporating blackboards, sand pits, hammocks, balance beams, climbing frames and even mini wildlife ponds. We design them so that they are integral to the garden layout, repeating the material and use or colour.’
James Smith of Bowles & Wyer agrees, adding: ‘Gardens will increasingly become important for families, to connect at social gatherings and for mental health – a welcome antidote to technology and screens.’
Mandy Buckland
20. WAYS WITH WOOD
‘It’s not a new material but I think there will be a focus back on using timber next year,’ says Tracy McQue. ‘In the past it has been viewed as a material to use at ground level or for basic fences, but there are many elements in the garden that clever design can incorporate timber into. We use a local Scottish wood supplier when we can and I love the possibilities it gives us when we’re creating a new garden.’
Mandy Buckland
Mandy Buckland of Greencube agrees, adding: ‘There appears to be a continuing rise in popularity of charred timber for decking and the use of Shou Sugi Ban – the ancient Japanese wood burning technique.’