Twelve Best Garden Trends 2022

Acacia Gardens announces the Twelve Best Garden Trends 2022. As climate change becomes top of the global agenda, it will also be important for homeowners and their gardens. Extreme weather conditions will be a consideration for soft landscaping, from rain gardens to drought-resistant planting and rockeries. Garden drainage for heavy rain and overhead canopies to avoid excessive heat will be necessities. We will explore the positive benefits of gardening to improve our mental health with wellness plants. The significant investment will be a bespoke garden building as a place to work, exercise or relax. Garden designs with natural, organic and homestead cues will be prevalent, while contemporary garden designs will favour environmentally friendly materials. Let’s take a look at the twelve best garden trends for 2022 in more detail.

Acacia Gardens Twelve Best Garden Trends 2022 List

Climate Change

As climate change becomes top of the global agenda, individuals assess how they can do their bit to help. Homeowners will consider planting more trees, using less water, conserving energy and incorporating recycled materials where possible. It’s time to ask questions about outdoor heater emissions and think about what you do in your own backyard. Our team can advise on energy efficiency and environmentally friendly materials for your garden.

Photography by Eleanor Walpole
Garden Design by Bob Richmond Watson

Rain Gardens

Create a rain garden that helps wildlife thrive. Simply divert the run-off water from the roof of your home or an outbuilding using a channel fitted to a downpipe directly onto a portion of your garden that has a slight dip and porous materials. It is best to consider plants that love waterlogged land. If you want more control over how much water your plants receive, we recommend using a water butt/barrel. Gravel as a permeable product will be popular next year.

Garden Drainage

Staying on the subject of rainwater, if you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you may want to consider garden drainage. We’d recommend consulting an expert to assess your garden and provide the best solution. As part of the drainage project, we can advise how to harness rainwater while avoiding flooding dangers.

Photography by Steve Franck
Garden Design by Acacia Gardens

Drought Resistant Garden

If you’d rather conserve water, a drought-resistant garden is an alternative. Good cultivation of the soil is imperative using organic composts if possible. Cover the bed with mulch to retain the moisture. Rockeries will make a return with arrangements of stones that have soil/ gravel and rock plants between them. Plant choice is crucial to ensure their survival, so we recommend that you consult a soft landscaping specialist in advance.

Garden Shade

Due to more extreme heat, shade in the garden will become necessary. Small backyards can benefit from a portable sun sail that is easy to hang up and provides a screen from the glaring sun. Gazebos are perfect if you are hosting a garden party. Pergolas are permanent structures over alfresco dining or children’s play areas. We recommend using FSC certified wood for construction and covering the pergola with climbing plants for an environmentally friendly solution.

Smart Gardens

As homeowners become more familiar with using smart devices to heat their homes and switch the lights on, they will want to do the same in their gardens. Smart controls and apps can help you save time, money and resources. We recommend that you think about the environment and use your smart devices to help rather than hinder!

Mental Health Focus

Mental health became a trending topic during the pandemic. Spending time outside can help improve your mental health and has other benefits, such as boosting your Vitamin D levels. Making the most of your outside space, no matter how small, is essential. We recommend adding seating or a dining area so you can sit down and relax or socialise.

Photography by Eleanor Walpole
Garden Design by Bob Richmond Watson

Wellness Plants

Continuing the mental health focus, wellness plants are worth considering. These include plants with healing properties that you can use in cooking or for making tea. Peppermint, chamomile, rosemary, turmeric and aloe vera are perfect. Growing your vegetables, salad, and fruit is worthwhile because it tastes better, you get a sense of satisfaction, it keeps you active and ultimately well. Grow a few scented plants or ornamental grasses that sway in the breeze to provide a soothing sound that can help you relax. If you have an established garden you may want to experiment with pollarding, a method of pruning to keep shrubs looking smaller, it’s an easy gardening trend to try.

Photography by Steve Franck
Garden Design by Acacia Gardens

Neighbour Sharing

With more people growing their veggies at home, excess food can be shared with neighbours. If any of your plants thrive in your garden, it’s a lovely idea to offer your neighbour cuttings and seeds. Small gestures such as giving the family next door your home-grown tomatoes will reap significant benefits to community relations! If you want to go further, we recommend setting up a community WhatsApp group to share seeds, cuttings and produce.

Photography by Steve Franck
Garden Design by Acacia Gardens

Bespoke Garden Buildings

Due to Covid and the popularity of people working from home, this trend is here to stay. Because moving home is expensive, homeowners can maximise their outside space by building a bespoke home office in their garden. Garden gyms and yoga rooms are also likely to be in demand. Alternatively, create additional room in your home by relocating storage items to a custom-built shed in your garden. We recommend making your garden building flexible so that it has multiple uses.

Photography by Eleanor Walpole
Garden Design and Build by Acacia Gardens

Thoughtful Garden Designs

Garden designs will consider extreme weather conditions, ways to save resources and how to improve our wellbeing. These elements lend themselves to organic garden designs with soft edges, natural materials and planting with a homestead quality. In juxtaposition, contemporary garden designs will retain their sleek appearance but incorporate recycled and environmentally friendly materials with smart controls to curb waste. Trending garden materials will include charred timber and composite decking.

Photography by Anna Omiotek-Tott
Garden design by Taryn Ferris Garden Design

Trending Garden Colours

The interiors world has released its colours for 2022. If you are painting a fence, shed, or other garden structure, you may want to select one of the hottest colours for next year. Dulux has nominated Bright Skies as their key colour, an airy and fresh mid-blue shade. Graham and Brown are also promoting a mid-blue colour called Breathe. Farrow and Ball is favouring five colours; Stone Blue No.86 is a lively blue, Babouche No.223 is a cheerful yellow, Breakfast Room Green No.81 is a gorgeous green, Incarnadine No.248 is a classic crimson and School House White No.291 is a soft off white. We recommend that you choose a mid-blue which is the overriding colour of choice.

Contact Acacia Gardens About Your Garden Design and Build Requirements

Please contact us here if you would like to discuss your garden design and build or landscaping project with Acacia Gardens. We can help realise the potential of your outside space using elements from these trend ideas.

Whether you require a new garden design, a garden re-design, a new patio, decking, fencing, soft landscaping or hard landscaping, we can help. Our in-house design team can help you realise your garden dreams. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Please take a look at the Acacia Gardens Pinterest Boards for further inspiration and ideas.