Winter in New England is a time when a limited amount of outdoor gardening can be done and with the weather having been mostly very cold these past weeks I for one have been more inclined to read about gardening rather than do any. The turn of the year is also a time when various organizations and experts expound on trends that we will potentially see in the coming year, and in case you have been devoting your spare time to something other than horticultural matters, what follows is a distillation of my reading of articles from both US and UK publications.

1 Climate Resilient Plants

Weather patterns are changing and it is fair to say that we are generally experiencing warmer seasons and rainfall patterns that oscillate between all or nothing. With water restrictions becoming more common during summer months, many gardeners are looking for plants that can tolerate these weather stresses. This is leading to a greater interest in drought tolerant plants, which can often lead to my second trend:

2 Native Plants

This trend is not new this year, but is continuing to increase in popularity for several reasons. Native plants are by definition perfectly adapted to the region they are from and therefore can cope with climate stresses better than some introduced plants. There is also an increased appreciation of their value as part of local ecosystems, providing habitat and food for wildlife. For native perennials that are drought tolerant and generally tough as old boots look no further than Baptisia with its deep tap roots and Solidago and Symphyotrichum both of which have species that flourish in the toughest of conditions.

3 Growing Vegetables, Fruit and Cutting Flowers

This type of gardening saw an upsurge during COVID and while it has dipped since then, those gardeners that stuck with it are influencing a couple of trends reflecting the way we live our lives these days. Thus there is interest in compact vegetable plants, suitable for raised beds, containers and even being grown indoors. Where fruit is concerned, there is interest in growing more exotic types, which if they are plants from warmer climates also necessitate being container grown and compact so as to be manageable indoors during winter. Plants such as bananas and pineapples spring to mind.

Although if you’re looking to go native, plants such as cranberry and huckleberry can scratch that novelty itch and our native paw paw has seen a surge of interest recently.. A recently emerging trend is growing flowers for cutting. Increased interest in cut flowers is leading certain gardeners to devote space to cutting gardens in order to have a ready supply of their favorite cut flowers. Many of these are annuals and as such are an easy and budget friendly way to experiment with growing new things.

4 Houseplants

The attraction of indoor greenery is as strong as ever and plants from the Aroid family are still hugely popular. However, under the umbrella of houseplant cultivation there are several trends appearing. Go big or go small seem to be two ways to go, depending on space as much as anything. Collections of small plants obviously have appeal for those living in smaller spaces although from what I’ve seen it doesn’t stop those that wish to go to the other extreme and create an indoor jungle. Collecting species and hybrids of certain plants is a growing trend as well as growing those plants that can serve an ornamental purpose in the garden during summer. Croton, tradescantia and ferns spring to mind where this trend is concerned.

5 Technology and AI

While this might not be making an impact in every gardener’s life at present, it is becoming an increasing part of how some of us garden. Smart technology is already influencing the horticultural industry where production growing is concerned and it is making steps into homeowners’ lives. Smart lighting is not just confined to indoors and where plant cultivation is concerned, technology is becoming available to help take the guesswork out of watering and general cultivation. This is noticeable where houseplants are concerned as there are several smart planters on the market which monitor the health of your plant via sensors linked to an app. Some of them are even interactive in the way the Tamagotchi toy “pets” were a couple of decades ago.

6 Garden Design

There are several styles trending at present. Meadow gardening/rewilding is still going strong, although there are signs that we no longer feel that we have to rip out everything non-native in order to be providing a suitable environment for wildlife. We are learning that balance and doing what we can is perfectly acceptable and that natives and introduced plants can co-exist in our gardens and still provide benefits to the creatures that live in our yards. It seems we are also learning that meadows and rewilding need some structure within the confines of a garden. Hence the trend to border or edge our wilder plantings is something that is going to become more common. That and the realization that even ‘wild’ areas need some curating in order to look appealing. Invasives are invasive because they can out-compete native vegetation and therefore any area that is being allowed to grow wild still needs attention to prevent non desirable plants from taking over. For those who are not ready to fully embrace rewilding, cottage gardening, being generally a style of less rigid planting and mixing up different types of plants, is a way to capture that natural feeling, creating a soft romantic vibe.

Outdoor rooms is another design trend that is popular and patios, pergolas, fountains, fire pits and outdoor kitchens still remain current. As people wish to use their garden as an extension of their home, plantings are also used to create a lush, personal space. As well as the furnishings of these outdoor rooms, planting trees for shade and using containers is part of this design aesthetic..

Another trend that is becoming noticeable with certain gardeners is the creation of pet friendly spaces. This involves designing spaces that allow for exercise (lawn or pathways), places where pets can rest in shade during hot weather and cultivating plants that are not harmful, whether thorn-free or non-toxic.

7 Color

More than one organization comes out with its color of the year, but the one that seems to make the horticultural publications is Pantone’s choice, which this year is an off-white called Cloud Dancer. However, if you do not feel inspired to create your own white garden à la Vita Sackville-West another trend that I’ve come across is called Kusumi, which in this case means dullness, lack of luster. While this might not immediately suggest something appealing, it is a color palate that looks faded and dusted by ash. Think faded pinks, sage green, eucalyptus gray, smoky lavender and faded terracotta.

8 “Lemonading”

This might just be my favorite for this year and can best be summed up by this quote from BBC Gardeners World Magazine: “Lemonading is all about embracing the imperfection in your garden and not shying away from failure. When a patch of your hard work dies or doesn’t grow the way you’d hoped, instead of ripping it out from the roots and starting again, ask ‘What can I do with this?’ By embracing setbacks and seeing them as opportunities, we become much more

in tune with the natural rhythms of our garden, and become much less attached to the so-called ‘perfect look’.” This reminds us that gardening is something to bring pleasure, and yes, while there will be setbacks, it will also bring achievements. So what if the end result wasn’t quite what you planned, sometimes it’s the journey that’s the important thing.

And on that note, I hope you’ve found something to pique your interest, because while gardening styles and fashions are many and can come and go like waves on a beach ultimately we should choose to do what makes us happy.

Sources: Gardeners World Magazine, Country Living, PENNLIVE, House & Home, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society