Trends: The Good, The Bad, The Weird: You Decide!

It’s that time of year when every “expert” comes forth to tell us what landscape trends are hot. Depending on who you believe, your clients this year will be clamoring for edible gardens, cottage gardens, cut-flower gardens, zen gardens, “new” Victorian gardens, ultracontemporary minimalistic gardens, pollinator-friendly gardens, gravel and scree gardens, xeric/dry gardens, rain gardens, sustainable gardens, lawn-to-meadow gardens. And artificial turf! Go figure.

By Nina A. Koziol

In case you were wondering what exciting new color tastemakers are throwing at homeowners, the Pantone Color of the Year for 2023 is Viva Magenta, described as “vibrating with vim and vigor.” Or, maybe it’s just a deep Pepto Bismol. There are plenty of flowers that flaunt that hue. Wendy’s Wish salvia. Magenta Star dahlia. Mystic Magenta daylily. Pepto Bismol petunia. (Well, ok, I made that one up.)

Besides the fierce new color, there are all sorts of landscaping trends that may (or may not) prove to be long lasting. Time will tell. But, here’s a little inspiration to get those design chops going.

It’s a Small World After All

Smaller, more compact plants, covered with tons of flowers. That’s what breeders have been working on for years. You can now have petite Knock Out roses, compact PJM rhododendrons, Tiny Tuff Stuff® mountain hydrangea, Kelsey’s Dwarf Red-Osier Dogwood (30 inches tall and wide), and itsy-bitsy annuals like the 6-inch-tall Brainiac celosia, which has a blossom the size of a cauliflower, and Kitchen Minis— super compact tomato and pepper plants. Expect to see more of these new “dwarf” varieties of perennials, shrubs and annuals to use in your designs no matter what size the project.