Now that spring has officially sprung, landscape trends talk has escalated. Horticulture experts across the country are touting the most popular ideas emerging in their local landscapes.
Here are 4 more landscape trends people are talking about this year.
Landscape Trends: Younger Generations Embrace All Things Green
As younger generations become homeowners, customer expectations are changing.
According to Garden Research’s 2018 National Gardening Survey, those between the ages of 18 and 34 have set a record high, making up 29 percent of all gardening households.
Additionally, according to a recent survey by National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), “81% of all Americans have a lawn, and a vast majority – 79% – say a lawn is an important feature when renting or buying a home.” Interestingly, the research continues, “younger generations of Americans place an even higher value on lawns than their parents and grandparents. For instance, a nice size lawn was the No. 1 home feature priority among millennials, beating out even an updated kitchen. While young people are so often found glued to their phones (and tablets and laptops), this new research validates that Americans of all ages have a great appreciation for the value healthy lawns bring to their lives.”
Landscape Trends: Low-maintenance Landscapes
A common theme among homeowners, regardless of age, is a majority don’t have time to care for their landscapes.
So they either ask for low-maintenance designs and plants or hire landscape professionals to do their outdoor work.
As a means to simplify their landscapes, the experts Garden Design interviewed suggest the following tips:
- Include mostly perennial plants that will returng annually, and group them together based on their watering needs. Some easy-to-grow plant ideas are coming from Proven Winners’ 2019 National Plants of the Year list.
- Remove messy trees or shrubs that don’t provide benefits. (For instance, a tree that drops leaves in a pool.)
- Invest in an irrigation system that helps keep watering in check.
- Select hardscape materials that don’t need regular cleaning or repair.
Landscape Trends: Privacy & Multipurpose Spaces
More homeowners today want to have private, secluded nooks in their staycation backyards to create cozy areas for de-stressing.
As NALP member Gachina Landscape Management, Menlo Park, California, said in Total Landscape Care, “Many residential estates and some commercial properties are asking for small, secluded spaces within the landscape area to celebrate family reunions, meetings, etc.,” says William Cruz, the company’s senior branch manager. “These areas are normally small Japanese gardens with natural hedges for privacy. We are becoming more familiar with these kinds of secluded areas as we are doing more business with different cultures from different parts of the world.”
Landscape professionals are helping homeowners section backyards into multiple spaces for entertainment and relaxation. Capital Landscaping’s Phil Glaser says pizza ovens incorporated into fire places are trending in the outdoor kitchen and entertaining space. Mix that with smaller sitting areas so homeowners can entertain two distinct groups. As Glaser says, “Men can have beers in one areas and ladies have cocktails in another.”
Landscape Trends: Including Edibles in Landscape Design
Sure, growing food isn’t a fresh trend, but more homeowners, particularly those with limited spaces, are finding ways to incorporate edibles into containers, as well as weave them into traditional landscape beds.
Garden Design’s article suggests adding containers, checking out ornamental edibles that can mesh into current landscape designs and growing herbs on walls via vertical planters.
