The Trends That Matter: Gardening Industry

Gardening is one of our most popular pastimes so whether you’re a longstanding avid gardener or have recently taken it up as a hobby it’s good to keep in touch with the garden industry trends and growing customer behaviours.

Many people took advantage of the time at home during the pandemic months to start up gardening as a new hobby, and the industry saw a boom across the board which continued to grow (pun intended) with around 7 million new gardeners by May 2022.

I analysed the wider gardening industry and identified the current trends we’re seeing that you need be taking advantage of right now.

Action for the environment

Eco anxiety has been growing in consumers over the past few years, driving a higher intent to personally take action. This is translating into many practical digital trends and the garden industry is already starting to take note and respond. Take a look at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show and all the exhibits addressing climate and environmental change.

There are 3 key trends that I’ve identified that reflect this new purpose for eco-friendly gardening approaches:

1. Native plants

The demand for native flora has grown recently. Planting local wildflowers can support local wildlife and ecosystems while reducing the overall maintenance required for the gardens as native plants will also create more resilient gardens with species that respond well to localised soil types.

2. Circular economies

Eco-friendly gardening techniques that include waste reduction and products that embrace the circular economy are becoming more and more popular.

Smart water systems, sustainable building materials and top carbon capturing plants can all help a garden be more eco-friendly and also tend to reduce costs (which is another considerable driving force during the cost-of-living crisis). There are many online communities dedicated to spreading information on this and helping consumers create their systems, most notably is Ecotok on TikTok.

3. Chaos gardening

The 2023 movement of giving into nature is here to stay, but perhaps with a bit of refinement this year. The idea of mixing all types of seeds together and letting them grow wild and free is a romantic over-correction from the conventional, non-native only, overly manicured gardens of the past and with some refinement it could help gardens really prosper.

Mixing native plants, wildflowers and edibles in a non-uniform way can be very effective at bringing nature and energy back into your garden.

Space at home

Following the pandemic and our refocus on maximising space at home, the garden continues to be a frontier for space making and the trends have evolved as new lifestyles become more permanent post-pandemic.

3 key trends to create space include:

1. Multifunctional outdoor living spaces

By extending the home out into the garden consumers can optimise the space they have and find ways to utilise it effectively and not just during spring and summer.

Outdoor living spaces are now being designed to cater for multiple needs, including comfortable furniture, functional kitchens and heating solutions. Garden buildings have evolved from traditional needs and the temporary DIY setups of the pandemic to offer multiple solutions for entertaining, relaxing, working or even storage.

2. Permanent workspace

The garden office is here to stay with the continued popularity of work-from-home roles, and products are now reflecting that need for more bespoke solutions on the market. Some Gen Zers have only ever known WFH or hybrid and are unwilling to go to the office full-time and there will be continued innovation in this space to satisfy the demand that isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Unlike the other types of garden building that dropped in popularity following the spike in popularity during the pandemic, demand for garden office solutions has stayed steady over the last for years as this new reality continues to take hold.

3. Personalisation

Gardens designs are becoming more personalised and unique as we move away from the hyper-manicured lawns and precise flower beds of the past and embrace more wilderness. This is reflected through online experiences that allow visualisation and configuration of a space.

Expect this trend to continue as expectations for gardens are elevated,

Planting for all

I’ve already touched on the native plant trend, but it goes deeper. Consumers are now looking for seasonal and hybridised flowers that they can cultivate.

Here are some more significant trends in planting that reflect the current typical consumer lifestyle and needs:

1. Grow your own

More than ever consumers are looking for ways to grow their own food, whether that’s a small herb box on the windowsill, or full allotments of fresh fruit and veg. With the cost of living crisis and the price of food higher than ever, supplementing weekly food shops with homegrown plants is more popular than ever.

This is possibly best demonstrated by the community growing projects that are taking seed right across the country.

2. The return of the houseplant

Biophilic design is having it’s moment again and people re trying to find ways to bring nature back into the home, maximising opportunities for natural light and bringing back the houseplant jungles.

This trend seems to be partly from a wellness perspective as the natural light and cleaner air that plants bring to the home will naturally create a healthier living and working environment and can also help improve mental wellbeing.

3. Small space planting

The UN has projected that 89% of people will be living in urban areas by 2050, and as such there has been a revolution to create more green spaces in cities.

Instead of thinking horizontally, gardening is becoming more vertical with the lack of available space in urban areas, and trailing plants can offer a new dynamic to these small spaces. Search volumes for ‘trailing plants’ have increased consistently for the last 15 years, with the exception of the pandemic peaks, and vertical garden solutions are becoming vastly more popular.