15 big gardening trends for 2025: from cutting borders to edimentals
This year looks set to see gardeners embrace sustainability at all levels, from plant and tool choices to growing from seed and weeding a bit less. Could it be the year when we see more traditional gardening practices overtaken by methods such as no-dig and growing brownfield-style in sand and rubble? Let's deep dive into the biggest garden trends for 2025.
1. Chocolate brown tones
With the Pantone Colour of the Year, Mocha Mousse, causing a stir, look out this year for the chocolatey tones of Digitalis parviflora 'Milk Chocolate', a foxglove with silvery-green foliage and subtle earthy flower shades, great for meadows, wildlife borders, or underplanting shrubs and trees. Plant for textural contrast with sedge grass Carex Milk Chocolate ('Milchoc'PBR) in partially sunny spots.
Digitalis parviflora
2. Cottagecore
The team at Marshalls Plc has identified cottagecore as one of the most searched-for garden trends for 2025. Incorporate this aesthetic into your garden with natural stone walls and cobblestones to add traditional charm to patios and paths, and combine with overflowing flowerbeds for that cottage-garden, rustic feel.
3. Front gardens
We’ll be paying a lot of attention to our front gardens this year. Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the RHS, says 'the EV revolution could usher in significant changes to what front gardens look like.' Space for electric charging points and permeable surfaces will become increasingly important. Low-maintenance, low-level planting will accompany these landscaping choices as we reintegrate the space in front of our houses into our gardens to help with rainwater runoff.
4. Waterwise gardening
No longer just about drought-tolerant planting and conserving water, after the erratic rain patterns in the last few years, being waterwise is equally about how to channel and absorb excess rainwater. Developers and local authorities are increasingly being urged to incorporate planted areas, community gardens, and pocket parks as plants help to slow the flow of rainwater before being soaked up by the soil. These 'sponge cities' can help to counteract flash flooding.
When it comes to saving this resource, water butts are the simplest way to collect rainwater from sheds, greenhouses, and rooftops. Rainwater is better for plants, particularly for ericaceous azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons. There are plenty of stylish options to suit gardens of all sizes. Rain gardens are another innovative solution in areas prone to heavy rainfall or flooding. By strategically planting water-tolerant plants, your garden can help to divert and absorb excess rainwater.
5. Out with bedding plants
Traditional bedding plants will fall from grace as gardeners move towards more sustainable seasonal colour options that are either easy to sow hardy annuals or longer lived, less thirsty, and more robust perennials. Alternatives might be salvias, heather, and dahlias which offer a lower maintenance option with good colour and pollinator appeal.
6. Cutting gardens: bringing the outdoors in
Not a new concept, but the popularity of a cutting border is growing as more people seek sustainable ways to enjoy fresh flowers indoors, using bulbs and perennials like gladioli and dahlias, lupins, Shasta daisies, and asters. Even pot-grown flowers will allow you to enjoy the beauty of your garden inside and out, and a homegrown bunch of flowers makes a wonderful personal gift.
7. Future floristry
In commercial floristry, the trend for locally grown blooms is also increasing alongside more natural and foraged looks. David Denyer from Eflorist predicts the popularity of wildflower styles, single-colour displays, and zingy lime green and neon accents: 'You can expect to see vibrant wildflower bouquets incorporating cornflowers, cosmos, and daisies, with an emphasis on cheerful hues like yellow, purple, and deep, deep blue. This bohemian aesthetic encourages a more relaxed approach to floristry.'
Also, with a more sustainable emphasis, dried flowers will continue to be popular for their subtle tones and long life. 'Lavender, dried eucalyptus, and pampas grass will be at the forefront, embracing shades like dusty rose, sage green, and other pastel hues. We’re seeing these muted arrangements used in both home decor and event styling, adding a sophisticated, rustic charm to spaces,' adds David.
8. Light-touch gardening
The less manicured garden is a style that’s taking hold. It doesn’t mean letting it all go, but it’s more about cutting yourself some slack and learning to appreciate plants as they go through a full cycle of seasonal changes. By balancing beauty and productivity, leaving seedheads, spent flowers, leaves, and bare stems, we can learn to love plants year-round. Wildlife benefits too, from hiding places and food sources through the winter.
9. Brownfield gardening
Pioneering planting design projects by John Little at Hilldrop and in the Walled Garden at Knepp are offering a radical alternative to traditional gardening practices. Growing plants in a sand and rubble mix can have amazing results in terms of planting displays and biodiversity. It takes the 'right plant, right place' message to a new level, all while encouraging a more sustainable approach to managing gardens and tapping into the natural resilience of plants—they will seek out water and nutrients once they have established a sound root system.
10. Sustainable power tools
Amanda Kincaid at Stiga observes that the trend in battery-powered gardening tools and mowers continues. 'Research shows that this thriving market will continue to surge massively. They produce considerably fewer emissions than petrol-powered alternatives, and the convenience of battery-powered tools is another factor, as they require far less maintenance compared to traditional petrol-powered models. With lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries expected to lead the market, you can trust that these tools will offer superior performance and longevity,' she explains.
11. Greenhouse living
The use of partitions in greenhouses is becoming increasingly popular as they double up as both growing and living spaces. Dividing greenhouses allows for tailored microclimates for different plants and creates additional space for dining, relaxation, or work, say the experts at Hartley Botanic.
12. Seeding success: growing plants from seed is back in the spotlight
Saving seed and growing from seed is fun and economical, and research shows that locally grown strains help plants to grow stronger and cope with whatever the climate throws at them. Try sowing sunflowers if you’re a first-time seed sower for a rewarding start. Look out for your nearest seed swap event to source plants from your local area.
13. Bulbs in pots
After a year of terrible tulip blight, caused in part by the excessively damp conditions, seasonal tulip displays will be better off planted in pots than in the ground. But spring pot groupings can be just as effective as a border, with many bulbous plants benefiting from being planted in free-draining compost and grit. It makes a seasonal colour impact easily achievable in gardens of all sizes, from the smallest tabletops to patios.
14. Homegrown produce
The RHS predicts fruit trees, edible shrubs and perennial veg coming to the fore in 2025 due to their ability to suit smaller, more compact gardens while performing ornamental and productive duties, as well as offering habitats and food for wildlife. Easy-to-care-for honeyberries, members of the honeysuckle family, are the new fruit bush to look out for in gardens and community growing spaces.
Honeyberry
15. Edible landscaping
The edimental approach will continue to be popular as it makes productive gardening achievable, whether you have a balcony or a bigger plot—from perennial vegetables such as rhubarb adding ornament with their bold foliage, to cut-and-come-again kale and salads that produce over a long season and make great annual displays, to edible flowers from nasturtiums to dahlias. Garlic and onions also double up for their culinary and aesthetic qualities, with flowers, blooms, buds and bulbs being good to eat and look at.
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