Are garden trends actually useful… or are they just nonsense invented to fill magazine pages?
This week, James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift take a rebellious look at the whole idea of “trends” in gardening — from the ridiculous to the genuinely transformative.
Because every year, somewhere in a slightly dreadful publication, a journalist phones a garden designer and asks the same question:
“What are the garden trends for 2026?”
Cue a deep sigh.
In this episode the pair explore whether trends even make sense anymore — and if they ever did in the first place.
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This episode is sponsored by Kress, the global leaders in robotic lawn mowing. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/
About our hosts
James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers.
Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.
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20 Comments
I think big design things are far more a "movement". Whereas trends to me are smaller things, well thats what i thought until listening to you, now I've decided trends dont exist 😂. My biggest hate is "colour of the year", I believe this year is the most ridiculously named Panatone. Gardens evolve and therefore you can't have a colour of the year without being wasteful.
Garden trends don't work for the average gardener for a few reasons:
1. Space.
2. Right plant right place.
3. Garden worthy varieties vs Brand spanking new varieties which die within days.
4. Design wise, I think that the RHS (who are supposed to be about gardening) are missing several tricks:
a) When we receive the information about Chelsea gardens, we aren't given the full design brief, so we can't learn about garden design.
b) In my view, Chelsea gardens (which are a fake snapshot of plants because of things brought on, or retarded to perform on the day) should need to incorporate a list of plants that would work with the design to extend the interest within the garden over the year.
5. Gardener's World, having been turned into a boutique dog show, seems to be less and less about actual gardening. Percy Thrower used to sow seeds and do a follow along as they grew. Nowadays, a tray of perfect plants appear from nowhere to be planted out, with the glib line, "I sowed these six weeks ago." How does that help the beginner gardener?
6. Garden lighting I have a problem with, because it has a detrimental effect on the wildlife that we are supposed to be bringing into our gardens.
7. Erm Joe, I rather think that historically, exotic gardens have been happening since the time of the rococo, especially during the era of the plant hunters. Consequently So you might be said to have reinvented it.
Hi! loving the jazz! Ive just got a long handled hoe come weed grubber. The handle unscrews. Its very long and im very short! So i tried the handle a bit shorter it was okay! I reckon they could become a trend! Not very glamourous! The working part is painted black i thought that would come off it hasn’t. Mind you i only used it for a few minutes! Its okay! It still needs a big strong man! Made in China of course! Whatever can a minimalist garden do for anyone. Sorry
My neighbour has a tiny garden full of exotics. Mine is for wildlife and also small – little bit bigger! My house is modern ( well in a cheap estate kind of way!) hers is faux Elizabethan!
I hate yellow since having jaundice ( although i do love sunflowers) Do you know birds love yellow flowers they eat them! I love the idea of outdoor rooms but, in the winter it all gets black. It would do where i live!
My husband wants to power wash the patio but, i say no! It kills all the little creatures.
I got five little blueberries on one of my blueberry plants. I picked them on a sunny day and ate them. Absolute heaven, so sweet!
A thoughtfully planned foundation planting unites your home and the landscape, creating a seamless and inviting appearance. Avoid the typical row of evergreens by incorporating low-maintenance shrub roses bordered by neat perennials. Enhanced with the charming spread of clematis, this garden adds a whimsical, romantic touch.
silly thumbnail 🤮
Love you two, always a pleasure to listen! Greetings from Norway, Britta
How about no dig gardening? Thats surely a movement
Thanks for another great episode! I hope you might consider singing together again, it was a weird but charming kind of harmony that I miss very much!
One of the reason i watch Gardener's World is because it is about plants. There is definitely a trend here in the USA for outdoor rooms with minimal plantings.
Thanks for such a good episode (always!). Here in Maine, nouveau gardens = hardscaping run amuck with harsh, useless lighting, and a "mine is bigger than yours" mentality. End result: faux bragging rights and the epitome of ugly. Bring back the plants!! (And bring back your singing!) ❤
My least favorite trend I’ve noticed is the growing commercialization of gardening. Increasingly expensive plants, over-emphasis on named cultivars (ex Proven Winners in the states), and marketing of superfluous garden products.
I predict the Green Wall to make a comeback as a trend but with. an arty twist or the cactus growing in a half burried pot of sand trend
I don't think that there is a trend in nature focused gardens – there seems to be still the trend to be the opposite of that but a good/ large bit of media spin and at shows and on screen that there is wildlife/sustainability type focus. For real big trends, look at people's actual gardens, and what you increasingly see is more hard material, concrete, paving, astroturf, and gravel coverings and less and less plants and planting. Most gardens have less and less trees and plants every year, but now you can concrete you garden over, then leave a few dandelions and spin it to called a nature garden to pat yourself on the back.
I think you are right about a more recent leaning to tropical palms etc, if there was a trend. The evidence is go to not garden centres, but discount home stores like the bargain shops and supermarkets etc and you see so many rows of small palms. Those places only sell what is high throughput selling, so it does point to that kind of thing.
Thirsk is not in the North East! It’s in Yorkshire & Humber 😂
I think the wooden decks and squarish lawns reign supreme in most peoples yards. But they may not be considered gardens yet, perhaps?