Back

2022 gardening predictions: what trends will we see?

What a year 2021 has been for gardening! An icy spring, plant shortages, an upsurge of interest in grow-your-own and a peat ban. So what does 2022 have in store? Guy Barter gazes into his crystal ball

In 2019, which seems like a lifetime ago, we were quietly satisfied with the advance of gardening into communities, families and, through houseplants, to a new generation. Then came covid, lockdowns, and a nation reeling with the effects of the pandemic. The response was to seek sanctuary in the great outdoors and we turned to gardening, gardens and plants for respite.

Home horticulture will never be the same again

Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticulturist

People suddenly valued their neglected gardens, saw the potential in green spaces to help nature, found their wellbeing enhanced by plants and were comforted in uncertain times. Home horticulture will never be the same again – here are some of my predictions for 2022.
 

Sustainability and a sales boom

Re-used and recycled elements are finding a place in even the smartest urban gardens
The phenomenal surge in gardening during the initial pandemic period continues, with sales of gardening goods remaining high. After their first taste of success, new gardeners will be tempted to invest in everything from cold frames and raised beds to big ticket items such as conservatories, greenhouses and sheds. 

However, with return to work and a resumption of commuting, time to garden will decrease. Time and labour-saving activities, products and services are likely to be especially popular; including growing kits, pre-planted hanging baskets, troughs, and garden maintenance services.

Gardeners will be less willing to use plastics, water, pesticides and will accept paying more for sustainable products – organically-grown garden plants and glasshouses rather than plastic greenhouses for example. The current supply chain crisis will encourage re-use, recycling and buying second hand.

Edible evolution

Knowing where your food comes from and how it is produced is increasingly important to gardeners
Growing your own is an example of a long-term trend that evolves in waves. Firstly it was seed-raised vegetables, then fruit, then on to perennial vegetables and next to permanent or forest gardens. My colleague at RHS Garden Wisley, renowned fruit specialist Jim Arbury, tells me that there has been movement towards red-fleshed apples such as ‘Rosette’. Not only are they very attractive, juicy and sweet, they’re full of healthy anthocyanins too.

© Frank P Matthews
Apple 'Rosette'
Coming up in 2022, we welcome more naturalistic, lower input gardening; growing edible crops with no digging, no fertiliser, little watering and a different approach to dealing with weeds, pests and diseases. Using this approach doesn't reduce yield and quality as much as traditional gardeners might expect, and proponents point to other aspects that they hold more important, such as environmental benefits.

How we use our gardens

Whilst alternative leisure activities have re-opened, many people are still wary of public indoor situations. This suggests that high levels of visiting gardens and garden centres will persist.

Climate change remains highly topical and with it, our national obsession with the weather. Activities that revolve around weather will remain important as shown by interest in RHS gardening advice on how to enhance gardening at each end of the growing season. ‘All weather’ gardening is of interest – the boom in gazebos and shelters during lockdown and subsequent shortages of garden furniture suggest this will continue.

An appetite for colourful plants

Dahlia 'MT New Pink Single'
Zinnia 'Pulcino Mixed'
Many people have realised that their previously somewhat neglected gardens are rather under-planted. The new-found appetite for plants and planting is likely to continue, making use of the very wide range of easy to grow, quick-flowering and affordable offerings from the horticultural industry: these include clematis, hydrangeas and roses, for example.

The relative scarcity of strong colours in the recent autumn RHS Chelsea Flower Show suggests the tastemakers are still wedded to green. Pastel colours brought comfort in the troubling times of the last 18 months, but as people’s confidence returns so will a taste for more strident tones of blooms.

Part of this is driven by more cut flowers being grown. Vibrant dahlias and zinnias for example, have opened people’s eyes to colour. Fuel costs will inhibit tender bedding plant production (pelargoniums and petunias, for example) but low-temperature plants such as plug-raised

perennials will remain affordable.
 

Potted pleasures

More time at home has cemented many people's love of houseplants
Houseplants, health and wellbeing remain deeply embedded in people’s engagement with plants and gardens. Nurturing is a key factor for wellbeing and taking care of houseplants plays its part here. 

Having limited space to garden, even if the growing space is temporary, for example when renting a home, has played a part in helping boost houseplant growing. Shortages of potting compost in the past 18 months shows how container cultivation has surged as people literally ‘make space’. 

Eco-friendly gardening from the ground up

Letting lawns grow long for wildlife is a trend that shows no sign of abating
Wildlife gardening has long been part of mainstream gardening, but increased awareness of the current biodiversity crisis has raised the profile of activities supporting native plant and animal species. Letting lawns grow is the latest example.

Long-lasting trends tend to develop as aspect after aspect seizes interest; with soil health having likely to come into greater focus for 2022.
 

Grow peat-free

Get tips and the latest information on using peat-free compost and help fight climate change.


This page is an adaptation of an article published in the January 2022 edition of The Garden magazine, free to RHS members every month when you join the RHS.

Save to My scrapbook

You might also like...

Keep your garden looking great all year

Keep your garden looking great all year

How to create a feel-good garden

How to create a feel-good garden

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.