Top Five Design Trend
By Audrey | Landscape Trends
Each year brings new design ideas and styles and your garden landscape is no exception. Some years it is a a simple as outdoor ornaments or a patio fire pit or as involved as a new philosophy like going native/naturalized free and all the entails.
This year is no different and the trends run from simple ornamentation ideas to recreating a native plant prairie. However, there are two overarching themes: bringing the indoors out and the further rise and evolution of the philosophy of sustainability.
Moving the Indoors Outside
The trend to make more use of our garden landscape by making it more comfortable and easier to relax in continues to grow and evolve. Softer furnishings and greater access to amenities are the desire of homeowners wanting to invest in making their homes a ‘vacation spot’ rather than fighting crowds and airport security to travel.
Sustainability
This term has been around a long time and has finally moved into the home landscape. When applied to the landscape sustainability means creating a landscape that blends the house into a natural setting while using plants and planting techniques to keep maintenance and water usage to a minimum. Native plants usually feature prominently and tender, high maintenance plants are avoided.
1. Expanded and Extended Outdoor Rooms
While outdoor kitchens have been around a while, they are being expanded and extended to include more formal dining areas. Activity specific areas are also being added, a place for yoga, a canopy bedroom, and a place for Fido or a ‘catatrarium for Fluffy.
Outdoor entertainment is important so extending the Wi-Fi to the patio and adding a sound system is also a popular addition. There iss no cure for the glare on a device screen but they are improving and some are outdoor ‘friendly’. However, some folks are installing outdoor screens and a projector to make their own drive in movie theatre.
2. Natural Products
Many people are going country. They are embracing a down home look with the use of natural materials like twig furniture, naturally weathered cedar and rustic ornamentation. Think 1920’s cottage and cabin chic. Nothing kitschy; a handmade, natural materials look.
3. Small gardens
The smaller gardens are not necessarily a choice for homeowners, but it is reality we have to deal with.
A smaller yard however, forces us to be more creative and innovative in our designs. The smaller space will need to accommodate multiple uses, sometimes simultaneously. It is important to be creative in mixing hardscapes, potential water features, and how you put the lawn in and how the landscaping revolves around the lawn.”
The key element to designing in smaller gardens is to keep your needs in mind and be very deliberate about how the space will be used. You want to make sure you are screening the things you don’t want to see. That is usually done with plant material. Keep looking at the view corridor to make sure that the view that you want to see is being framed by the plant material that you’re putting in.
4. Dog-centric landscape design
Dogscaping is becoming more and more popular. Landscapes are trending towards people wanting in make their outdoor living spaces pet friendly.
Pets are members of the family as well as having unique needs like a doggie ‘pit stop’.
5. Fire Features
Where local laws allow, many people car incorporating fire pits in their landscape plans. Portable ones are suggested, especailly in a smaller garden.
Portable fire pits allow homeowners to maximize their patio space if they only use it sparingly.
A fire pit can even extend your patio use into the colder weather.
Overall people are looking for sustainable, easy care landscapes that are extensions of their home and to create a space to enjoy the outdoors and entertain.
People want more hardscaping, kitchens, fire pits, seating areas, and covered porches. “They’re looking to expand their outdoor living, People want more outdoor living space, not necessarily more plants.
Do you have any landscape or gardening plans this year? Do any of these trends resonate with you?