Contemporary Garden Design Trends

Contemporary Garden Design Trends

The garden is a natural haven, and current trends lean into that reality. From fully transparent greenhouses to semi-random paving methods, today's hottest garden styles reveal the raw and celebrate the organic.

All Glass Green House

Giving your green thumb a go has never been easier, or more beautiful, than in an all-glass greenhouse. While traditional greenhouses have made their way into backyards and residential areas more and more over the past ten years, glass greenhouses have taken the trend to a whole new level. Because a glass greenhouse means your yard reaps the benefit of being able to see whatever you’re growing inside, the greenhouse simply acts as a frame for your plants. 

These greenhouses come in all sizes and shapes and can be created to fit the style and shape of your yard. Find a list of the best plants for your greenhouse here.

Raised Flower Beds

Raised flower beds have long been popular in gardens, but over the next few years, you can expect to see raised beds all around the yard mixed in with the decor. Raised beds are an easy way to bring a little green to a patio or a sun room and can be installed, brought in, or built-in.

While concrete and slatted wood are two very popular raised bed materials right now, take time to find a medium that works well with your yard and your budget. If you’re feeling extra excited, you can even DIY your own. 

What you plant in your raised bed is totally up to you. Make sure to think about the seasons where you live, consider durable plants, and think about adding a pop of color with a flower or a well-manicured green bush.

Head Planters

Face planters are a big gardening trend right now because they infuse a little fun and personality into a yard. These planters come in full faces, heads that resemble traditional Greek busts, or partial faces and heads that only show part of the face—mainly the nose, lips, and chin.

You can purchase these head pots at lots of local craft stores or gardening stores, or you can DIY your own by hollowing out an old doll head and plastering and painting it or using plaster or cement and a head pot mold. 

Though most of the time the plants in the pots are meant to resemble hair, you can really pick anything that you want to go inside your head and face planters.

Crazy Pave

Crazy paving isn’t as nuts as it sounds. Crazy pave uses the broken pieces of and fits them all together like a puzzle instead of using traditional pavers. Crazy pave can be more cost-effective than traditional pavers, but it does require a little more ingenuity on your part to get all of the pieces to fit cohesively together.  This concept is also referred to as flagstone.

If the crazy paving trend is one you’re not anxious to hop on, you can stick with traditional pavers and bring other modern elements to the yard instead.

Vertical Gardens

Vertical gardens have made their way into homes and yards over the past few years. These tall, green structures add color and life into any area—especially the back yard. These vertical gardens are generally constructed of slatted wood where plants can be placed in individual pots and then grow together.

Viney plants are a popular pick for these structures because the vines grow quickly and cover the wood fast. The ultimate goal is to cover the entire structure with lots and lots of growing green.

The Farmer's Garden

Chickens and goats and bees—oh my! Bringing the farm to the garden, even in urban areas, is rising in popularity. Whether it’s to cut food costs and eat what you produce in your own home, or it’s simply for love of creatures, chickens and other farm animals have become staples in homes across the country.

Check and make sure you’ve got the green light before you build a chicken coop in your garden or go full amateur beekeeper, but know that a little farm infusion in your garden is a sustainable, trendy garden option.