What will our gardens look like in 2025? The thing about opinions is that everybody’s got one. The same can be said about predictions.
One group with a pretty good track record is Katie Dubow's Garden Media Group, a public-relations company serving plant breeders, nurseries and others in the green industry. Its annual Garden Trends Report forecasts how environmental, fashion, food, retail, media and other trends will trickle down into the gardening realm.
In 2006, GMG foresaw the beginning of the native plants movement; in 2009, it predicted a surge in vertical gardening; and in 2018, the mainstreaming of forest bathing.
So, what’s in store for gardeners this year? I talked with Dubow and other experts:
Living fences
In the U.S., 84% of newly built single-family homes sold in 2022 were part of a Homeowners’ Association, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So, it follows that Dubow foresees more homeowners trying to differentiate their HOA properties from their neighbors’ without running afoul of the rules.
Planting living fences that incorporate various plant types, including native species that support wildlife, will impart an eco-conscious individuality to cookie-cutter property borders.
Foraging
Floral foraging is another naturalistic trend predicted for next year. That means going into your garden or into the wild to gather shrub and tree branches, stems and flowers, and using whatever you find outside to create something beautiful to bring inside.
“People are craving a connection to nature,” Dubow said, “and foraging helps them do that.”
Most people don’t have designated raised-bed cutting gardens, said Megan McMullen, learning and development manager of Homestead Gardens, which has three store locations in Maryland and Delaware. “But they do have landscaped garden spaces, and we wanted to help them think about those spaces in (untraditional) ways,” she said.
So, over the past year, the nursery offered customers a series of foraging workshops, during which participants learned how to select wild elements and prune shrub parts to use in homemade bouquets.
To ensure a steady supply of foraging materials, McMullen recommends giving careful thought to interesting year-round elements like seedpods, cones and twigs when selecting garden plants, rather than just planting for summer flowers and foliage.
“There was a lot of interest for something that’s a new-ish garden trend,” McMullen said. “It was the right time to be talking about this because people are starting to think about it.”
Tyrannical cuteness
Citing the prevalence of unnatural scenes created by artificial intelligence, coupled with a Pinterest trend toward “tyrannical cuteness,” Dubow predicts a preference among home gardeners for plants with “never-before-seen colorations” and “surreal pastels” as they attempt to replicate those over-the-top, “cute” AI images at home.
One example is the genetically engineered Firefly bioluminescent petunia, which glows in the dark. Introduced earlier this year by the biotechnology firm Light Bio of Sun Valley, Idaho, the effect was created by inserting genes from luminous mushroom into a petunia plant.
It follows that whimsical plants that appear to have emerged from the pages of a Dr. Seuss book, like alliums, cardoons and sea holly, may also grow in popularity.
Fairy gardens may see a resurgence, as well, Dubow said.
Lived-in gardens
A $600 pair of dirty-looking Golden Goose sneakers. A $3,800 Balenciaga “worn and aged” concert wristband bracelet. And a report that vintage Rolexes are outselling new ones. What do these cultural trends imply?
“They show us that people want the idea of something that’s had a lifetime,” Dubow said. And a typical pristine, symmetrical landscape doesn’t provide that.
Next year, she predicts a move toward “lived-in gardens” with rambling roses, bulb lawns, native plants, mature trees and densely planted, layered garden beds.
Holy Moley plants
Finally, Dubow draws a parallel between the celebrity “cutout” dress fashion trend and fenestrated plants --- those with holes in their leaves, like split-leaf Philodendron and Monstera. Although those plants have been wildly popular for the better part of a decade, she cited a 600% increase in Google Trend searches for Monstera in the first half of 2024.
But I have to ask: Is this plants imitating life or life imitating plants?
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Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.
Jessica Damiano, The Associated Press
