Transform Your New Home with Top Garden Trends for 2024
If you find yourself wishing for a bit more room for entertaining or fancying a quiet reading corner, the answer could be right outside your door… Making an area of your garden into an “outdoor room” can make all the difference to your living space.
We take a look at some of the top trends for 2024, which could help you transform your garden into a whole new livable space.
Embrace the Outdoors – Extend Your Living Space
Today’s outdoor living is about comfort, creating a space that you can really relax in. Garden sofas became big during the spring and summer lockdown in 2020 and have remained popular. Fire pits, chimineas and patio heaters help you extend your outdoor entertaining season, while parasols and awnings keep you comfortable in sun and rain.
You can have as much fun furnishing your patio as you would your sitting or dining room (just make sure all the materials can handle the great outdoors).
Effortless Entertaining & Low-Maintenance Fun
We’re great enthusiasts for outdoor entertaining: red wine on the lawn is better than red wine on the carpet. You can also invite a lot more people to a garden party.
Fire Up the Fun with Fire Pits
Fire pits remain on trend for 2024, and we love the way they open up the garden for year-round and evening entertaining. If you have the budget, you can expand on this idea by adding an outdoor kitchen with a grill and cooking area. However, a simple chiminea is enough to cook a few sausages on and to warm your cockles on a cooler evening.
Unwind and Connect with Comfortable Seating
For low-key entertaining, plump up the sofa cushions and settle down for civilised drinks and chat. Faux rattan sofas with waterproof cushions are super-easy to look after as well as comfy: If you enjoy eating outdoors, think about investing in a quality outdoor dining set, complete with comfortable chairs for those long, lazy lunches.
Your Personal Oasis
Don’t feel compelled to entertain in your new garden. Create your own outdoor haven where you can enjoy a quiet lunch on your day off or curl up with a book in a patch of sunlight.
Design for Relaxation with Low-Maintenance Plants
We’re not all gardeners, and the idea of looking after an outdoor space can be a bit stressful. Make a low-maintenance oasis by focusing on the other elements such as the furniture and lighting, and maybe introduce some easy-to-grow plants in colourful pots. Hardy geraniums, succulents and grasses all make good container plants: sit back and enjoy their beauty without worrying about their care.
Create a Tranquil Escape with Calming Elements.
Think about all your senses when you design your outdoor haven. Planting herbs like lavender and rosemary will naturally create a relaxing aroma, and the gentle humming of visiting bees creates a soothing background sound. A water feature like a solar-powered fountain adds to the ambience.
Growing Green Thumbs
A big trend for 2024 gardens is “Edimentals”, plants you can eat. Go architectural with artichokes and fennel or choose colourful veg like “Bright Lights” chard and dramatic dark-leaved kale.
We often talk about “maximising vertical space” indoors, and you can apply the same principle to your patio. Some varieties of tomato and strawberry do very well in hanging baskets, or grow herbs in pots on outdoor shelving.
Embrace the Benefits of Vegetable Gardening
Even if you’re simply growing a bit of thyme or mint, there’s such joy in stepping out of your kitchen and plucking fresh produce from your own garden. Start small, with some herbs or strawberry plants.
Sustainable Solutions with Eco-Friendly Gardening
Today’s gardeners need to be green-minded as well as green-fingered, and the 2024 garden is designed with the environment in mind. From water butts to bee-friendly plants, there’s plenty you can do to make your garden eco-friendly.
Simple Steps for a Greener Garden
Plant for the pollinators. Get the kids involved with choosing pretty bee-friendly wildflowers and building a bug hotel
Conserve water by planting native and drought-resistant plants that won’t need too much watering
Install a water butt to harvest rainwater, taking advantage of the British climate…
Be conscious of what you buy. Choose peat-free compost and grow-bags, and look out for organic plant food
Make your own compost from waste like vegetable peelings, lawn clippings and used coffee grounds. Know any ponies? Excellent: your plants will love some well-rotted horse manure
Keep your lawn lush and healthy. Super-useful grass traps carbon dioxide, helps clean the air, keeps the temperature lower in your garden (good news for bare feet and paws) and improves the soil.
The Finishing Touches
You have plants, furniture, heat and even food. Now it’s time to add those final finishing flourishes that make a garden, well, a home.
Here are a few ideas for finishing touches:
Outdoor mirrors, clocks and shelving add unexpected details
Solar-powered lights have come a long way. Festoon your outdoor space with string lights and use stick lights to light up flower beds
Bright outdoor scatter cushions, throws and rugs add a pop of colour and personality
Vintage touches, like old watering cans, milk churns and sinks (and anything galvanised), are super on-trend for today’s gardens. Be playful with quirky pieces
Conclusion – Your Dream Garden Awaits
A new garden offers so many opportunities. Whether you’re designing an al fresco kitchen-diner or simply want a nice space for your weekend coffee, the latest garden trends will help you create that perfect outdoor room.