Top Garden Trends For 2018 To Revamp Your Luxury Outdoor Living Spaces – Although we are already in July and the first part of the year has already passed, there’s still plenty of time for you to restyle your garden and enjoy a new wildlife refuge. One of the most popular posts published by CovetED Magazine in 2017 was about the top garden trends for 2017 so, let’s get up-to-date with what is trendy now and meet the hottest garden trends for 2018 for you to be inspired and get hands to work.

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Small garden ideas

Nowadays, space is at a premium. However, designers are determined to make even the smallest of gardens useful and attractive. While small gardens are by no means new, we’ve noticed great progress in the way they are designed. In this case, less really can be more. How? First, with multipurpose features, such as a concrete fire that can be merely a decorative bold element and functional, being also a planter and warmer during cold weather.

Then, another solution is container combinations. One of the best ways to appreciate and explore combinations is in a container. A plant may be exquisite on its own, but its assets can be magnified when placed in a context—with plants that complement its color, structure, or textures.

Outdoor dining spaces 

For years, outdoor dining spaces have been conveniently located just off the house, near the kitchen. However, we’ve noticed dining spaces being pushed out into the garden.

Here are three tips for creating the ultimate outdoor dining destination:

• Surround the dining room with in-ground and container plants for a lush feeling
• Turn your dining area into a sanctuary with special flooring, lighting and furniture
• Include pre- and post-dinner entertainment spaces nearby, such as a fire pit or pool

Here are some inspirations:

Design and Craftsmanship

Industrial and mass-produced products surround us all the time. But the most special and unique things are those produced by hand. Things that are made by true specialists, the most professional designers that create pieces of art by hand with such an exclusiveness and uniqueness that there aren’t two pieces alike. And that applies to garden design. Garden handcrafted is always best. We hope to inspire you to seek out an artisan next time you add a structure or other important element to your property, outdoor or even indoor.

Lew French, based on Martha’s Vineyard, builds pieces that look as if they have stood for eons. His Three Walls project was a collaboration with landscape designer Wes Wirth. French’s original design for the opening over the pool ended with the straight lintel. Unsatisfied with the way it looked, he added the arch of granite wedges.

An arbor adds intimacy to the garden and can also screen the neighbor’s yard. Vines and climbing plants are a great way to introduce color, fragrance, and texture—or even an edible landscape on a vertical plane.

If you have grandchildren, then you definitely need to consider placing a playhouse in your garden. Even if it is a small area, there are plenty of solutions that can fit any garden size. Besides being extremely charming, I’m sure it will make your grandchildren’s days.

Restoring habitat at home

Most gardeners are aware that bees and butterflies are in decline, but did you know that habitat loss is also impacting birds, frogs and even turtles? If you are considering redesigning your garden to better support local wildlife, here are some of our favorite takeaways for creating a habitat garden:

• Grow both seed-producing and berry-bearing plants
• Restrict or stop using insecticides
• Consider replacing some or all of your lawn

Grow Unusual Edibles

It’s wonderful the willingness of gardeners to try new things. This year, there is a continued experimentation with new plants and how they are showcased. And this is one of the three ways you can add some botanical variety to your garden or home. There is a big, wide world of diversity available to gardeners through seed companies, seed swaps, and community gardens, so make your veggie garden reflect this trend and try a few new-to-you crops.

Get Creative with Houseplants

Instead of limiting yourself to the typical pothos or focus in a corner, try to think of houseplants as integral design elements in your private sanctuaries, fulfilling the same roles they do in the garden outside: leading the eye, creating focal points, providing repetition and contrast, framing views, and lending texture, color, and form. Precepts of feng shui are particularly helpful in plant placement.

For instance, placing plants near the front door connects the interior to the exterior.

You can also try to set up a window box indoors to enjoy a few square feet of garden all year round.

Cultivate a Succulent Collection

Plants like the same conditions you do: warmth, fresh air, sunlight, and dryness. What once was exotic is now available at your local nursery or via mail order. Even potentially immense succulents stay small and manageable in pots, which are portable and can be moved and sheltered where the weather turns too hot, too cold, or too wet for their liking.

Create a sense of enclosure

The most common method for enclosing a garden is with a fence. It’s true that fences have functional purposes, such as containing pets or preventing trespassing, but it’s also true that they aren’t always the most attractive solution. This is why we love the new style of enclosing gardens with lush plantings that offer privacy, yet are more attractive and welcoming. 3 easy steps to get this look:

• Create a scrim of foliage with lacy-leaved small trees like Japanese maple and variegated giant dogwood
• Hide a meditation bench along a side path for a secluded place to sit
• Lightly screen the street with a deep planting bed between the curb and lawn

Push the seasonal boundaries

Another extraordinary garden trend is that gardeners are putting more thought into their winter landscapes. Even the most devoted snow lover has to confront a harsh truth sooner or later: An empty landscape is a dreary landscape. However, during the dormant season, dazzling color and sophisticated textures can enliven the garden.

Low-growing plants provide a lush carpet.

When selecting plants for winter interest, look for the following:

• Deciduous shrubs or trees with colorful or peeling bark
• Evergreens that change color in winter
• Early bloomers that bring late winter flowers

Seek inspiration in person

There’s no better way to get inspiration than visiting world-renowned gardens in person. Each year, incredible trips and local tours are planned specifically for gardening enthusiasts—and 2018 is a great year for exploring gardens near and far. Here is a suggestion: Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, located between the French cities Nice and Monaco, has magnificent gardens worth exploring.

Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild

The garden of Landcraft Environments’ Dennis Schrader and Bill Smith was part of the Garden Conservancy’s 2017 Suffolk County Open Day.

See also:

BEHIND THE SCENES AT VILA VITA PARC RESORT & SPA IN ALGARVE

HOW TO DECORATE YOUR LUXURY GARDEN WITH TOP GARDEN TRENDS FOR 2017

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Source: Garden Design Magazine and Pinterest