The importance of an outdoor space has become ever more apparent in recent years, and those who were lucky enough to have a substantial garden to relax in during the pandemic certainly counted their blessings. For many it was a chance to regain a love of their outside spaces, creating a welcoming retreat and ensuring there were some comfortable places to sit, entertain once allowed, and even partake in some work from home in stylish new surroundings.
The low maintenance garden has skyrocketed in popularity with busy schedules unable to contend with the hours it can take to maintain a gorgeous garden, yet standards are high among those who wish to enjoy their gardens to their full capacity. The good news is that it doesn’t matter if you have a sprawling space complete with a pool and acres of lawns and trees, a compact garden with a lot to fit in, or even a balcony in your city space, a stylish and useful outside area can be yours.
From outdoor kitchens to smart gardening, it can be difficult keeping up with what is popular in the gardening and outdoor living world, which is why we asked those in the know at GardenSite to outline the top five luxury garden trends to look out for in 2022.
The return of the greenhouse
More people than ever are growing their own fruit, vegetables, and plants at home, and are adding structural accessories such as a greenhouse to expand their growing area, protect their plants from the elements and also provide the best possible environment for them to thrive.
Whether you’re looking to grow some tasty treats for the whole family to enjoy or you need a space to cultivate a collection of beautiful flowers, there will be a greenhouse suitable for you, from stand alone structures to lean to options and those made from aluminium or wood along with space saving interior additions to ensure you get the most of the space.
Creating comfortable outdoor living
A garden isn’t complete without somewhere to recline, and these days it isn’t just about having a lounger or two and a table to eat your deliciously barbecued food at, but rather having an entire outdoor living space. Whether this involves reading a book upon your stylish garden swing, entertaining friends on your oh-so comfortable outdoor sofas or dining at your functional yet flashy outdoor dining set, garden furniture certainly has come a long way.
Update your space and create tranquil retreat complete with an outdoor rug, with matching throws and cushions, carefully positioned lighting, a decent sound system, heating to suit your space and a television or projector and screen for those cosy movie nights outside.
An outdoor kitchen
Just as outdoor living areas have evolved so have the cooking areas, and outdoor kitchens are set to become the biggest trend of the year. A space dedicated to all things food, an outdoor kitchen is an area where all of your delicacies can be prepared in one place with all of the tools you need to hand rather than having to make repeated trips indoors.
We will see outdoor kitchens going bigger and better this year and if you want to create one of your own to impress you will need a sleek design, units for prepping food, a built in fridge, sink and storage for tools, a pizza oven and not forgetting barbecues for outdoor kitchens are pretty much an essential here.
Getting smarter with the latest technology
We’ve all heard of the robotic lawn movers that do the hard work for us while we get on with our busy lives, but what other garden technology will come to the fore this year? Battery powered pruners, self-watering pots, smart sprinklers and gardening apps to give us all the gardening advice we need, smart gardens, expandable pots, and smart plant monitors are just some of the handy devices we can utilise to let our gardens thrive while we sit back and relax.
Making a small garden look bigger
With more extensions being created to incorporate increased indoor space, this inevitably means a loss of square footage outside, but we still need our gardens to provide us with all that we need during those warm spring and summer months.
This year we will see people not compromising on their beautiful garden dreams, and if you have a small garden, you can utilise a few tricks to make your space appear larger than it is. Open up the space and use vertical planters or shelves to display your growing garden; keep the area light in colour when it comes to painting fences or choosing patio slabs; utilise the edges of the garden for growing and trail plants up fences, and create zones for relaxing, dining and cooking.
