Gardening appeals to everyone, whether we do it to maintain our families or for beauty. Even before the pandemic, gardening is on track to gain appeal this year. People are spending more time at home, and a lot of them are taking up this enjoyable hobby. Whether you are just starting in gardening or your garden needs some tidying up this year, the trends listed below will help you become inspired.
Top 10 Gardening Trends
A great way to spend time outdoors, produce your own food, and even lessen your influence on the environment is by gardening. This activity is even more satisfying if you go the extra mile and include sustainable gardening techniques in your yard.
Making as little of a negative impact on our natural resources as possible while growing and collecting food in the backyard is the goal of sustainable gardening. In addition to maintaining the aesthetic attractiveness of your plot, these low-maintenance gardening methods place equal importance on resource conservation and the local ecosystem using organic methods.
Try out these environment-friendly gardening trends to contribute to a greener future.
Conserve Water
Since drinking water is limited in many areas of the nation, it is crucial that we practice as much conservation as possible. Stormwater management techniques include rain gardens and rock dams. Gardeners are able to use water that doesn’t originate from public or private sources thanks to rainwater gathering equipment like rain barrels.
Additionally, sustainable gardeners use ground coverings and mulch to prevent water from evaporating from their soil too quickly and running off or draining too fast.
Start Composting
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 30% of household garbage is made up of food scraps and yard waste. Why throw away nutrients that your gardens can benefit from? Composting your garden prevents debris from going to landfills, strengthens the soil, recycles nutrients, and provides other environmental advantages, including water conservation.
Plant and food waste can be quickly broken down by bacteria, fungi, and worms in a composting setting, creating nutrient-rich material that helps gardens flourish.
Inviting Good Insects to Your Garden
Your backyard ecosystem is not healthy if your garden is bug-free; bugs are necessary! While keeping out pests that harm and devour plants is still important, you should also draw beneficial insects to your garden.
Beneficial insects like ladybugs, ground beetles, and green lacewings can make your garden flourish. Pests like aphids, mites, caterpillars, and other animals eat your plants and can ruin your harvest. When indicators of pests start to show, learn which beneficial insects are predators and attract or introduce them to your yard.
Your garden needs to be pollinated in addition to being controlled for pests. There are many suggestions and flowering plants to assist you in doing this, so ensure you include plants that entice bees, flies, and other pollinators to your garden beds.
Stop Using Gas-Powered Landscaping Tools
Yard labor and gardening are made simple with gas-powered equipment but at a price. These kinds of products produce a lot of noise and air pollution, with gas lawnmowers accounting for up to 5% of it in the country. Gardeners using gas-powered tools are also subject to exhaust fumes, which may harm their health.
Although it requires a little more work, the setting isn’t as stressed. Use manual tools like rakes and shears instead of your gas-powered hedge trimmer or leaf blower because they are more enduring and time-tested. Alternatively, you can also reduce emissions by spending money on battery-powered appliances like cordless mowers.
Use Native Plants
Avoid purchasing plants from other regions the next time you’re at the plant nursery. Even though they may have a lovely appearance, if they are not native plants to your climate, they need disproportionate amounts of resources to survive.
The attractive simplicity of native plants is key in reintroducing them to your garden bed. Native plants are better adapted for your specific climate and more likely to thrive with less work. If you’re unsure which plants to pick, look online or consult local gardening professional. Choose durable, high-yielding plants when you plant native species in your garden instead of invading ones.
Low Impact Gardens
The carbon footprint that people leave behind is gaining importance in modern society. We wouldn’t normally link gardening with having a large carbon impact, yet it can. A plant or flower that isn’t often cultivated in a certain climate needs to be started in a controlled environment, and fancy gardening tools must originate somewhere. These kinds of activities all result in increased carbon footprints.
To reduce their carbon footprint, people are streamlining their gardening practices. They are raising both plants and veggies or plants that can be eaten. Additionally, repeat flowering plants will be in demand. Purchasing locally-made garden accessories or furniture is yet another option to reduce the carbon footprint. Not only does this help local companies, but it also reduces the need for significant importing.
Balcony Gardening
Not just homeowners with yards or those who live in rural areas are taking up gardening. This year, people who live in apartments or condos in metropolitan regions are participating in gardening activities.
Whether you are growing fresh herbs for that homemade pasta sauce or planting flowers for the perfume and as a stopover for honeybees, having a balcony garden is the trendy thing to do. It’s even feasible to cultivate some veggies in a balcony garden with the options offered. And if there are any local woodworkers, hiring them to create handmade planters for your balcony is a wonderful way to support them.
Avoid Using Harmful Chemicals
The traditional solution for insects, weeds, and other garden issues has been the use of herbicides and pesticides. However, you must stop using these sprays and granules if you wish to continue gardening sustainably. Fortunately, there are resilient defenses that will keep your yard safe in its place.
Insects can be repelled by companion planting, and plants are protected from invasive species. Plants that pests dislike are purposefully placed close to plants that they enjoy. For example, cabbage worms are prevented from consuming brassicas by the aroma of marigolds. Weeds can be manually pulled out or killed with cleaning vinegar or corn gluten flour. One of the secure homemade weed killer recipes is for mixing a spray bottle with a half-gallon of vinegar, a cup of salt, and two tablespoons of dish detergent.
Designing a Better Garden
Everything in your garden has an effect on the ecosystem and resources in your backyard. To reduce the carbon footprint of your landscape, you must carefully select and place the objects and plants in and around your garden beds.
Write down specifics about your garden or sketch out its plan, taking note of the subtle natural variations in each location. Choose the best location for growing the right kind of plants. Place plants that prefer the sun in locations with the best exposure, those that prefer the shade in the shadows of the former, and those that like water in areas where moisture tends to collect. To save money on energy, plant deciduous trees where they can shade and cool your home in the summer while yet providing some space for the sun to warm your home during the winter.
Saving Your Seeds
It can seem like a minor resource conservation contribution to learning how to harvest your own seeds. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from businesses that ship seeds locally, nationally, and occasionally even globally makes a difference.
Pick simple beginner plants like peas, beans, peppers, and tomatoes if you’re just starting with storing and collecting native plant seeds from your own garden. After harvesting, keep your seeds in a cold, dry location, such as a pantry or closet. After drying, seeds can be kept for years in the refrigerator or freezer in airtight containers.
Embracing the Imperfection
More resources are used by meticulous, well-kept gardens than by sustainable ones. It’s possible to fall into the trap of putting aesthetics above all else, but simpler, more natural gardenscapes offer plenty of beauty.
A sustainable garden has much more to offer in return than a conventional yard, even though gardeners devote a lot of time and energy to their plots. Adapt your perspective on your garden; it can have a purpose beyond just being aesthetically pleasing. Remember that dandelions are edible, attract pollinators to your yard, and are a part of the local environment rather than lamenting their emergence.
Using Indoor Space
You don’t have to lose out on the fun just because you don’t have enough outdoor space! Experts predict that the popularity of indoor gardening will soar this year, particularly as indoor growing kits gain popularity. You may quickly and cheaply create your own hydroponic garden if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a prefabricated kit. You’ll be amazed at how much you can produce with just a few basic tools, water, and light.
It’s also a great method to teach others about gardening indoors. People who may not have been particularly interested in veggies before can become enthusiastic about them by starting an indoor garden in a classroom or at your workplace.
Family-Friendly Gardening
Why not involve your family in gardening if you have children? Kids’ participation in food production can promote a positive relationship with fruits and vegetables. Like adults, children who participate in growing and preparing their food are more likely to like it and feel connected to the finished product. Give them the freedom to choose one (or a few) vegetables to grow. Together, plant them, delegate watering duties to the youngsters, and take pleasure in the crop as a family. Even better, show kids how to grow new edible food from leftover fruits and vegetables for something quick, easy, and cost-free.
Maximizing Small Spaces
No place is too small for gardening, as seen by the surge in do-it-yourself projects and time spent at home. There are many methods to make the most of the space you have, whether you live in a small city flat or simply want to get started. There are many plants that may be grown in individual containers, even if all you have is a short stoop outside your door or a balcony. You can have fresh ingredients on hand, save money, and gain experience growing food by cultivating a tiny pot of herbs or microgreens.
Wildlife Friendly Gardens
A wildlife-friendly garden has the cool feature that, depending on the type of species we want to attract, it can take on a totally varied appearance. Certain plants and blooms will bring certain animals, such as honeybees and unusual insect life if we want to attract them.
The presence of big water features like ponds or streams will also draw wildlife. Rewilded gardens can be great wildlife attractants. They receive an experience that is comparable to what they would have in the wild. The fact that our gardens maybe some of these animals’ only homes in urban areas is one reason to think about creating a garden that is hospitable to wildlife.
Final Words
To sum it up, here are the trending ideas that can be helpful in enhancing your gardening experience. After reading these 15 best gardening trends in 2022, you can make your garden better than before. Keep everything in your mind and use sustainable techniques to improve your garden. These methods are best for every kind of garden, even if you have a small or big garden. Keep reading our blogs to know more about the best gardening tips and products you can buy online.
FAQ
Why is Sustainability Important in Gardening?
Because of the scarcity of water, the unpredictable nature of healthy soil, the need for pollinators, and the dependence of plants on these factors for food production, conservation is crucial. Because sustainable gardening is essentially the future of our world, it is extremely important.
How Does a Sustainable Garden Work?
In order to prevent the loss of natural resources, sustainable gardening emphasizes the adoption of techniques that also help the environment. Sustainable gardeners find the best ways to grow what is required by collaborating with nature rather than driving the earth to create what we want and need.
What Plants are Best for a Sustainable Garden?
Before choosing plants, trees, and shrubs for your landscape, inquire about drought-tolerant species at nurseries and garden centers. For a low maintenance and drought tolerant garden, think about creating a rock garden with a mixture of succulents, cacti, cabbage trees, yuccas, native grasses, and flaxes.
What is a Self Sustaining Garden?
Planting crops that need little to no maintenance is the fundamental idea behind a self-sustaining garden. Therefore, it is suggested that you look for the native plant species that flourish in your area rather than choosing any crop.
