Garden Trends – 20 for the 20s

It’s that time of year…

Chances are you’re starting to think about your garden. If you’re not sure where to take it we thought that with the start of a new decade it would be fun to have a go at predicting some of the garden trends and practices we’d expect to be seeing over the next decade. It might help inform some of the decisions you make in your own garden. So, in no particular order here are our 20 for the 20’s…

Purposeful. Gardens will be more than something to look at and enjoy; we think they will be increasingly designed and built to achieve things too. So, for instance, they might be helping to manage rain water within your property, or boosting wildlife habitat, etc.
Wildlife. We’d expect to see a more relaxed style to our gardens as supporting wildlife becomes ever more important. Increasing development plans brings with it decreasing wildlife habitat and we expect to see more and more people want to do more for our beleaguered wildlife.
GYO. As plant based diets, increasing food costs and the need to know where our food comes from continue to surge we’d expect to see more people growing their own.
Indoor. Houseplants sales have been a growing trend over the last few years and we’d expect that trend to continue, driven mainly by increasing urbanisation, pollution and lack of access to nature.
Containers. With increasing numbers of renters and gardens getting smaller and smaller container gardening is likely to make a big step forward as a portable, viable option for many dealing with little or no-soil spaces.
Vertical. We’d expect to see many more living walls appear driven mainly by lack of space and a changing climate.
Green roofs. Currently concentrated around London, Birmingham and Manchester we’d expect to see green roofs more widely spread around the UK. The benefits of them far outweigh any negatives.
Low maintenance. While we see the drivers behind people’s decisions about their gardens changing, time-poor people generally want to enjoy their gardens rather than ’maintain’ them.
Technology. Where there’s a will there’s usually an app for it! We expect the use of tech in the garden to grow over the next decade.
Sustainable choices. As awareness of the climate crisis grows we expect growing consumer demand for more sustainable options to elicit significant changes in garden related markets.
Soil. We expect to see soil care taking centre stage in gardens with no-dig outweighing dig methods, home composts and green manures being increasingly used.
Composting. We expect to see increasing numbers of people home composting driven by soil and waste awareness, and economics.
Organic. The organic market has seen consistent steady growth over the last six years and we expect to see that trend continuing through the next decade.
Plastic. Worth a mention of its own, the plastics battle is likely to rage throughout the 20s and beyond. In the design and gardening fields we expect to see a major shift in demand to natural and plastic-free materials.
RRR. We expect to see a buoyant reclamation sector emerge around the landscaping industry as people’s desire to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle materials grows. On more individual levels we expect to see a growing trend for personal upcycling/repurposing garden projects.
Water management. Future predictions for the UK weather points to hotter, drier summers and much wetter, warmer winters so water management is likely to play an increasingly important part of our garden planning.
Adaptive planting. Increasingly our plants need to cope with significant weather events so we expect to see more adaptive planting styles coming to the fore. Plants are likely to be chosen more for their adaptability than their looks.
Trees, shrubs & hedges. With their superior ability to help mitigate flooding, reduce temperature and support wildlife we expect to see a resurgence of tree, shrub and hedge planting across UK gardens.
Plant biosecurity. Increasing awareness of the potential import of foreign pests and diseases into our fragile eco-system will see the demand for reputable plant suppliers rise. However, with new customs practices and probable rise in plant costs we also wouldn’t be surprised to see a rise in black market plant sales potentially bypassing the plant passport system.
British grown. Linked to the above we expect to see a big rise in the use of British grown plants.

Up Front Garden Design

Up Front Garden Design

I thought I’d make a change from normal proceedings this time around, and rather than focus on a garden design principle or tip I thought I’d consider a specific area of our home: often overlooked, but always on view, our front gardens frequently get short shrift when it comes to imaginative home improvement.

Recent trends in front gardens have seen significant increases in full paving practices and substantial reductions in plants both of which have detrimental knock on effects to humans, wildlife and the planet as a whole. It may sound dramatic and it’s easy to think that ‘my little bit’ won’t make a difference but cumulatively lots of ‘little bits’ following these trends are increasing the possibilities of flooding, contributing to climbing urban temperatures and pollution levels, impacting negatively on wildlife and making our environment more fractious, depressing places to live.

It may sound trite to say that a little bit of garden design inspiration can help mitigate these very real threats to ours and our natural world’s existence but if we all start to really think about the space outside our homes as a ‘garden’ first and a car park or a bin store or a mere transition point from a pavement to our front door second, then we just might stand a chance of reversing these damaging trends. Don’t get me wrong, I still stand by the design mantra of ‘form ever follows function’ but there’s no ‘form’ in fully paving a front garden; it is functionality without form and it is that idea – that you have to sacrifice form entirely in order to get a car (as an example) onto your front garden – that I want us all to reconsider. With a little bit of imagination and an application of design principles there is no reason why we can’t have our cake and eat it too i.e. have a functional but still lovely front garden.

So, some top tips for achieving it? Read on…

Approach your front garden design as you would your back garden. Be considered!
Make a plan of your front garden so you know how much space you have available to you. Make particular note of boundaries and house walls too.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the only option available to you is to completely pave over your garden!
Minimise paving as much as you can, either don’t include any at all or combine paving with permeable surfaces so that rainwater can penetrate to the ground below. This will help mitigate the potential for flooding.
Make a list of what you want to use your front garden for. If its car parking for instance, consider how many cars you really need to park on your front garden (if space allows!). If the number includes ‘occasional’ or overspill spaces you can be more creative with that. For instance you can occasionally park on a lawn (especially if it’s been reinforced with plastic cell/mesh products!). And night time and weekend only cars can be accommodated with gravel options and drive over planting such as Thyme, Creeping Jenny (use this one sparingly, it can be invasive!) or Ajuga.
Aim to maximise planting – it reduces pollution, urban heating, can help reduce flooding, is great for wildlife and humans alike:
- Consider hedges instead of boundary walls or fences – hedges are great for screening, for wildlife and also act as a filter for dust from the street – they also look great!
- If you can’t use a hedge look at your boundaries and house walls for vertical and climbing plant potential.
- Use corners for planting opportunities – you usually can’t park in a corner! Consider small trees in corners that can add height and interest to your space.
- If you have very little space available to you utilise containers to their best effect – you can still get plants around you!
- Also consider green roofing – can you plant up your car port or bin store roof?

Hopefully this will give you some ideas of where to start and we can all begin to make our neighbourhoods lovelier places to be! Check out the RHS website too for more ideas about how to green your little bit of grey Britain.

Heatwave-proof your Garden

The heatwave really is upon us and if the forecast is anything to go by it could last for a few more weeks yet. If we're struggling and flagging in the heat just think about how our gardens are coping! We're not complaining because before we know it the summer will be over and we'll be into autumn, but it's important to plan for a heatwave next year as our climate is changing whether we like it or not.

Here's a few ideas on how to heatwave proof your garden:

Apply a mulch to your borders and containers in the spring, this will block out light and slow down how quickly the sun evaporates any moisture.
Consider the use of water retaining crystals and add them to your containers
Begin buying drought tolerant plants so each year the reliance upon you to save and collect water is reduced
Think about harvesting as much rainwater as you can whether that is from a water butt through to the big storage tanks that are buried under the garden or even under a raised decking area.

That's what we can do for the future but what can we do right now:

Move some of your containers into a shady spot especially those that are more needy like annuals, fruit or vegetables; the more sun they have the quicker any moisture in the soil will evaporate
Whatever you water do it in the evening, if you water during the day the sun's heat will evaporate any moisture in the area and any wet leaves will scorch when the sun hits them
Water slowly but thoroughly, think about watering to the depth of the plant's width and aim your watering can at the base of the plant not the foliage
Water containers daily
Water established borders every 4-5 days or a bit more often if you see them wilting
Water newly planted trees, shrubs and/or perennials every 3-4 days and at least half a watering can per plant
Established lawns can be left, even if they change colour as they are really tough and as soon as water is applied they will soon green up and will bounce back.
Newly laid turf will need regular watering, slowly but thoroughly.
Try to use greywater as much as possible - this is water that has already been used for example bath or shower water. You can also use water saved from dish washing as long as the water isn't greasy or has lots of detergent in, this grey water can be used on established plants and lawns.

So now that you have watered, pour yourself a glass or mug of something lovely and sit and enjoy the garden you have created so far!

Pledge for Pollinators

Pledge for Pollinators

Here at Blue Daisy we’re really passionate about saving our humble British bumble bee and other pollinating insects like hoverflies, moths and butterflies. The decline in our pollinating insects, especially bees, has been noticed through various studies over the last 50 years or so, the reasons are far reaching but one has been the reduction of our wild-flower meadows through the use of chemicals. Recently it has become a hot topic with many organisations including the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) taking up the mantel led by Sarah Raven, to help gardeners identify the best plants in garden centres. They have introduced a badge called ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ which will be on plant labels in all good garden centres.

Why are we interested in pollinating insects? Well in brief, they transfer the pollen from one flower to the next allowing it to be fertilized, which means it will have the ability to set seed or produce fruits. This is really important for us all, if plants aren’t able to set seed we risk reducing the amount of plants we can have as they could become endangered or extinct. The worst case scenario is that the pollinated flowers don’t turn into fruit which means it could have a huge impact on what we are growing and eating, or not eating as the case may be! The pollination would need to be done by hand, it would be such a laborious task taking so many hours that the products themselves would subsequently be so highly priced the average person in the street may not be able to afford them.

We rely on insects to pollinate apples, raspberries, strawberries, red and blackcurrants, plums and pears so that we may eat and enjoy them. It doesn’t just stop at fruit the bean family i.e. broad beans and runner beans also the marrow and pumpkin family too are pollinated by insects. The value of insect-pollinated fruit and vegetables grown here in the UK is a staggering £220 million every year.*

What can we do? There are so many things that we as garden owners can do to help the bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies. Did you know that the combined area of our gardens is larger than all of our nature reserves combined? It goes without saying if we change but one thing in our garden we are helping the biodiversity for our community which in turn will have a beneficial effect for our diets, also our colour and variety rich gardens. Here are just a few things you can do:

Avoid ‘doubles’ or showy blooms because they have been bred specifically for show, there is either little or no nectar available making it so difficult for the insects to find.
Plant insect friendly plants in a sunny spot clumped together so they can be visited without too much effort of flying a huge way to find a food source
Don't use pesticides
Attract moths by planting nocturnal flowering plants
Leave a small amount of fallen fruit under a tree in the autumn as butterflies feed on the over-ripe juices.
Leave an area in your garden to nature, let the grass and weeds grow a bit longer.
Have clean water available as all insects need to drink, make sure there is a shallow ledge or a few stones in there so they can stand safely whilst drinking.
Consider growing all types of plants from trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals to encourage a wider range of insects to visit your garden.

Here at Blue Daisy this year we will be encouraging our customers to consider the insects in their gardens. We will be advising which plants to buy to extend the pollinating seasons and above all we guarantee that all our planting plans will have pollinator friendly plants incorporated.

Blue Daisy is asking you to consider what you can do to help our insects, asking you to think about what new plants you are buying and making sure that at least 50% of them are pollinator friendly from now on. You don’t have to start from scratch in your garden it’s about being realistic, it’s about understanding what is in your garden now and what you can add to make it more friendly.

From now on please consider our pollinating insects every time you buy new plants for your garden or as presents for friends and relatives. Blue Daisy is a small business but if we and all of our customers, old and new, commit and if we can convince anyone else to along the way, together we will hopefully be starting a wave of change! So please, commit now yourself and use our social media buttons at the bottom of this article to get the message out to others! We really can't afford to lose our pollinators and we CAN do something about it, so please, let's try.

*Source: www.rhs.org.uk

Good Pollinator Plants

The RHS has produced a list of plants that are perfect for pollinators and here are a few of our favourite plants from that list:

Winter:
Sarcococca hookeriana (winter box)
Galanthus nivalis (single snowdrop)

Spring:
Chaenomeles x superba (Japanese quince)
Geranium phaeum (dusky cransebill)
Ribes sanquineum (flowering currant)

Summer:
Buddleja davidii (butterfly bush)
Lavender cultivars
Verbena bonariensis

Autumn:
Anemone hupehensis (Japanese anenome)
Dahlia cultivars (single flowering )

Useful Pollinator Links

Coping with Drought

Drought tolerant gardens are the way forward…

When we're designing gardens the subject of climate change sometimes crops up and we're now often being asked whether it is possible to ‘drought proof’ a garden. One garden that has succeeded famously at this is the Beth Chatto Gardens in Essex and her ‘Gravel Garden’ has been an inspiration to gardeners and designers alike. Her gravel garden works with nature and does not fight against it, she used plants that will cope in dry conditions for example, Lavender, Cistus, Bergenia, Allium, Sedum and drought resistant grasses that have not been artificially watered since around 1992!

If you are thinking about having your garden designed and are starting with a blank canvass you could consider installing an underground rainwater harvesting system, a huge undertaking to be completed before the hard landscaping begins but well worth considering. Harvested rainwater has many uses around the house, for example flushing the toilet and for use in washing machines, but it can also be used to water the garden. Today a lot of people have water butts – which are great – but they don’t last long during a period of drought which we all saw this April when we had no rain for most of the month! It is also very important to choose your plants and the location of them carefully; you need to include plants that can cope with little water yet look good most of the year; after all you do want a beautiful garden.

High water use areas are lawns, vegetable patches and flower gardens so whether you are creating a new garden or adapting one you already have some ideas below show how you can reduce water useage:

Planting choice

Plants that have the same watering needs can be grouped together
Look out for drought tolerant plants, although they will need to be watered quite a lot in the first few years they will soon become independent
Consider using limited annuals

Planting location

More needy plants can be located nearer the house making it easier to get water to them

Soil structure

Improving the structure of your soil by using manures, leaf mould etc will help soil retain water for longer

Lawns

Consider whether or not you really need a lawn or really need such a large one

Mulches

Using a decorative mulch will keep those pesky weeds down as they compete with plants for water
It reduces the effect of water evaporation

Watering

Watering the garden in the evening will ensure there is more water available to the plants for longer before the sun rises and it begins to evaporate
Plants become stronger and are more able to resist some pest and disease attacks if watered correctly, therefore watering for longer and less often encourages the plant roots to grow down through the soil rather than horizontally near the surface.

So you see, you can still have a beautiful garden if you work with nature and consider what else can be done and incorporated into the design to deal with our ever changing weather.

Lawns Gone Wild!

Just let it go…

I recently read an interesting article by Frank Ronan in Gardens Illustrated (May 2010) called ‘Live and Let Grow’ which has inspired us to write another lawn related blog. It is something that we really like the idea of and have recently seen some great examples. Some people can be quite obsessed about their lawns ensuring they are highly manicured, so if you recognise yourself in that description, the following may be quite a scary concept for you!

Consider letting your lawn or an area within your lawn just grow long and wild. The grasses will eventually flower and other flowers will self seed and look beautiful and natural as they sway in the breeze. Not just good for aesthetic reasons alone it also encourages a whole new level of bio-diversity into your garden.

The best way to do this is to mow an edge around the proposed meadow area for two reasons, one is for ease of maintaining and keeping pathways clear. The other is to provide a ‘frame’ for the meadow area making a feature of it so that it can be admired by your friends and family members.

How to do it? Well simply just leave an area not mowed in the springtime and as it all begins to grow it will provide an area for small insects and as the flowers set seed the birds will have a feast! Leave the grass long overwinter as it can provide a useful habitat for small creatures to hibernate. Next spring just cut it back and let it grow all over again!

Wild areas in the garden whether it is the lawn or a pile of logs needn't look messy – get creative as insects, animals and birds don’t really mind as long as they can access the nectar, seeds or simply take shelter in longer grasses, so make it look chic!

If this is something that you’re interested in and live in or near to Kenilworth we’d love to help you create that meadow look either with or for you.