How your 2017 garden could look: the guide to the latest trends in gardening

I have been asked to look at some gardening predictions for 2017 by one of the world’s biggest tool manufacturers, EGO Power Plus. So… I’ve dusted down my crystal ball and I’m going to take you on a journey into a garden that is more environmentally conscious, yet easier to maintain.. and with a few cutting edge technology advances that might leave you just a little speechless!

Throughout my 18 years as a New Product Developer, I have seen a lot happen in the gardening world, not just in the style of gardens, but also the plants used in them, and the machinery recruited to keep them as neighbour-envying as possible.

1. In search of eternal youth.

Many of the new plants that I introduced were because of their improved garden qualities, with one of the most important being flowering period. Gardeners looking to spend less time in the garden should choose longer flowering varieties. We often turn to the traditional choices such as Delphiniums, Lupins et al, but they’re actually surprisingly short in their flowering period. One particularly sparkling intro of the last few years has been Gerbera ‘Sweet Series’, an outdoor variety which stretches it’s flowering period from May to October! Other plants with stamina include Digitalis ‘Illumination’ and Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’, which will bloom until only the coldest frost stops them in their tracks!

2. Growing fruit and vegetables anywhere.

We always hear about people sitting on allotment waiting lists for many years, but have they thought about how they CAN actually grow in the space they have already!? Window boxes are a brilliant way of adding a garden to your house when you don’t have one. Cascading tomato plants are undervalued and are actually so much easier than their upright cousins, for one you don’t need to side-shoot them, so no more smelly tomato leaf hands! You can try root veg too, for example you can grow those flavoursome stumpy carrots we often buy from the supermarket, or baby beet. If beans are your thing, you can easily grow those in a window box too, and they’ll dangle down clean and ready to pick, not dragging in the soil like they usually do in the veg garden!

3. Eat your greens, and yellows, and reds, and blues.

As UK homes become more health conscious, we are more aware of the goodness that comes to us from the food we eat. Learning there’s as much vitamin C in a strawberry as an orange was a particular highlight for me! I’ve also been utterly obsessed with edible flowers for the last year too, and fascinated that they offer some vitamin goodness too! Pansy flowers are not only pretty, almost too pretty to eat, but wolf them down because they’re packing a little dose of Vitamins A and C you know! The world of edible flowers can transform our kitchen creations too, and you’ll be constantly surprised by what you can actually eat- from begonia and peony blooms to tulip petals!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Living interior design.

Don’t just settle for curtains with a flower print fabric, there’s now an ever-increasing trend to use houseplants in our homes. Yes, I know many of us have known about this for years, BUT houseplants have reached the masses, and especially succulents! Succulents are cute, pretty, colourful, shapely, and most of all- SO easy to grow! This is one of the main reasons they’ve been embraced by non-gardening converts everywhere! Many a box shelf or kitchen worktop now has a carefully chosen succulent in a slate effect pot, and I’m loving it! The first taste of growing for many!

5. Your new favourite garden toy.

My last prediction is about tools that are right for the job! Despite all my predictions for convenience, people still love to have a lawn, but the maintenance can sometimes get in the way! Now I’ve never been a fan of mowing the lawn, I must admit, and even when I did I was always too late, as there are simply never enough hours in the day! However, I’m predicting big things for a lawn mower that has taken away ALL my excuses in regards to mowing the lawn! The Ego Power + 50cm models are rechargeable thanks to the lithium-ion battery. That battery is actually transferable across the range of EGO products too!

Thanks to the battery technology, there isn’t a cord to trip over/put yourself and your pets in danger with either. However, the thing that blows my mind- you can use it in the dark, thanks to the LED headlights, AND the refreshingly quiet motor sound! The EGO mower is a much better choice for the environment than fuel-driven mowers too, there no fumes or awkward pull cord starts either, it’s a simple push button.. You can cut your lawn less often too, with blades allowing a 20 inch cut capacity! Then, once you’ve finished your midnight trim, you can pack it away easily and compactly, thanks to the truly foldable design!

Lastly, and most importantly, the lack of fumes means it’s an environmentally conscious choice, keeping you, AND the animals and plants in your garden happy!

Visit their website now to find out more about this 2017 trend!