Top Gardening Trends for 2021
We did a little "digging" and unearthed some wonderful ideas you'll see sprouting up this year. See the list!
Now that we’re all setting our sights on spring, it’s time to plan that garden! What’s hot this year? Gardens in 2021 will be booming—and blooming—everywhere with new ideas developed by creative minds itching to get outdoors. Even gardening itself is trending right now. We’ve been watching its popularity grow since the start of the pandemic as more and more people want access to fresh food and to have more control over where their food comes from. A new wave of first-time gardeners has sprouted up, and they’re looking for tips, techniques, and advice. We’re here to help!
And gardening isn’t only about vegetables: flower gardens are also going to be big this year—if you’re working from home, you want beautiful views and lush greenery to enjoy from your workspace.
1. Balcony Gardens Will Be Big
City dwellers love green spaces as much as anyone with a big backyard, but when space is limited, your back patio or balcony becomes the place to create a green haven. We’ve been saying it for years: you don’t need a lot of space to grow your own food. You can grow just about anything in pots just about anywhere.
2. Houseplants, Indoor Gardens, and Windowsill Gardens
This is yet another trend driven by stay-at-home workers who need a bit more green. People are bringing the outdoors inside as much as they can. In a smaller spaces, make use of windowsills to keep a few houseplants—but if you’ve got the room and the light, herbs and vegetable planters are a possibility, too.
3. Bringing The Inside Outside
You’ve just seen how more people are bringing the outdoors inside, so it might surprise you to learn that they’re also taking the inside outdoors. Bringing the inside out means creating an outdoor space with comfortable patio furniture, a firepit or fireplace, or perhaps an outdoor kitchen or an outdoor projector screen where you can hold movie nights. Just like bringing plants indoors, taking elements of the inside outdoors helps everyone get more nature into their lives.
4. Tiny Gardens Galore
Tiny is everywhere. Tiny houses, and now tiny gardens are a cool new trend that are all about making small spaces look bigger. Tiny gardens might be the answer for you if:
- you have limited space;
- you want to do something unique with an unused corner of the backyard;
- you have lots of growing room, but want a variety of small spaces, each with its own theme.
The idea is to create a small space packed with plants—but use borders, vertical vines, and paths to make the tiny garden feel more expansive.
5. Permaculture Practices
Natural and native gardening has been on the rise for years as people seek to replicate the ecosystem, increase the number of native annuals and perennials, create safe havens for pollinators, and provide habitat for local wildlife. This year, the natural gardening trend is evolving yet again to permaculture! Permaculture is actually a combination of the words “permanent” and “agriculture;” the premise being “to live in harmony with nature” and turn waste into resources. So that means gardens with more purpose: growing the food to feed livestock, planting vegetables that help surrounding plants thrive (such as in companion planting), or creating nutrient-rich garden beds using lawn debris, known as hügelkultur. Read more about permaculture gardening practices here.
6. The “Cottage Core” Aesthetic
The “cottage core” trend (also called “farm core” or “country core”) is a movement in design that gives a nod to countryside nostalgia. In the garden, the cottage core look means creating a charming English countryside garden, full of traditional favorites like foxglove, roses, sweet pea, and more.
7. Online Gardening
No, online gardening isn’t a massive garden simulator—though that does sound like a great way to get your rainy-day garden fix! Rather, the rising trend of online gardening means attending virtual gardening classes, gathering design ideas and advice online, and browsing the Farmers’ Almanac web site to learn how to start your seeds! You’ll see lots of Pinterest boards popping up for garden inspiration.
Gardening by the Moon
Wondering when it’s the Best Day to plant, harvest, weed, kill plant pests, and more? Refer to the Farmers’ Almanac’s Gardening by the Moon Calendar!
Amber Kanuckel
Amber Kanuckel is a freelance writer from rural Ohio who loves all things outdoors. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics.
-
Amber Kanuckel#molongui-disabled-link
-
Amber Kanuckel#molongui-disabled-link
-
Amber Kanuckel#molongui-disabled-link
-
Amber Kanuckel#molongui-disabled-link
had hoped to have some tomatoes & peppers in pots this year. the pandemic is making that unlikely.
I love the bee hotel. Does it have to be cleaned out in the fall or do bees overwinter in it?
Thanks!
Great gardening articles, love ’em. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment now with little sun, instead of the country and mountains where I once did and had gardens. But love to see these types of things.