4 stunning garden trends for spring — and how to work them into your space
A change in seasons is the perfect time to tackle tasks and projects that will leave your home feeling refreshed for spring. From how to prep your lawn for spring to gorgeous gardening trends to try, Everything Awaits you at Canadian Tire.
Now that spring has finally arrived, it's time to unlock your gardening shed and dust off your trowels — since Canadian gardening season waits for no one.
This spring's gardening trends are all about creativity and sustainability. Bring your love of the farmer's market to your own backyard with easy-to-grow fruits and vegetables, and create a backyard paradise with eye-catching garden designs.
Live in an apartment or home without a backyard? No problem — there are plenty of ways to mimic a full-size garden in even the smallest spaces.
Learn how you can save money while helping the planet with sustainable gardening practices and tap into your inner child using fun garden accessories.
Below, we run down some of the hottest gardening trends to try out this season.
Growing your own veggies
Spending more time at home and in the kitchen has led to a renewed interest in edible gardening. Whether you're growing fresh herbs and vegetables in your kitchen or pumpkin vines are taking over your backyard, more Canadians than ever are turning to edible gardening as a way to simultaneously relax and stock their pantries.
No matter the size of your garden, you'll require a few necessities if you want to cultivate a high-yielding crop.
A good garden starts with good soil. Most vegetable crops prefer a blend of Golfgreen Organic Flower & Vegetable Soil and compost. While pre-bagged compost is a safe bet for new gardeners, green thumb-enthusiasts can just as easily make their own while simultaneously cutting down on their household waste. With the help of a compost accelerator, food scraps can be transformed into a nutrient-dense substance in as little as a month.
Next, if you plan to use a raised garden bed or planters, you'll want to ensure they're large enough for the size of your intended plant. Tomatoes lettuce, and radishes, for example, don't require a lot of space, but raspberries, peas and corn crops prefer more legroom.
Finally, and most importantly, a healthy garden requires two things: sun and moisture. While balcony gardeners can get away with a simple watering can, we recommend investing in a trigger nozzle and hose for larger spaces.
Sustainable gardening
As our attention increasingly shifts towards sustainable practices, it shouldn't come as a surprise that sustainable gardening is becoming a significant agriculture trend.
Sustainable gardening means gardening in an eco-friendly, circular way. It's all about giving back to Mother Nature and adopting greener alternatives to replace chemicals and pesticides.
One of the cornerstones of sustainable gardening is creating and using your own compost. As previously mentioned, plants love compost. As an organic fertilizer, compost benefits the health of your soil, helps protect plants against disease, and can safeguard roots from temperature fluctuations. Besides recycling food scraps, creating compost can be as simple as collecting dead leaves, grass clippings, and fallen flowers. In combination with organic fertilizer, the nutrient-rich substance will help produce a healthier and more nutritious crop.
Another sustainable gardening practice to employ in your backyard is collecting rainwater. Water is a precious resource and should be treated as such. By utilizing a rain barrel, gardeners save themselves and their water bill the trouble by using rain as a free and natural resource.
Make it monochrome
Stylish and serene, monochromatic gardening makes use of a single colour to create a cohesive garden design. By focusing on one colour and playing with its variations of shades and textures, gardeners can create a visually appealing landscape.
If you want to focus on the colour green, for instance, combinations of rich green grass, emerald planters and assorted lush green plants can create a backyard oasis.
To grow a space full of life and colour, plant a medley of pink and red tulips, azaleas and beautiful pink begonias — your local Canadian Tire has tons of gorgeous plant selections to choose from. Remember to plant your flowers in nutrient-dense soil to ensure they grow to become healthy and vibrant.
Getting creative with your space
Alongside the fresh air and reconnecting with nature, one of the best things about gardening is flexing your creativity. Your garden is an extension of your home, and because of that, it should represent who you are.
Get creative with your outdoor space this spring by growing new flower and plant varieties. Try your hand at kid-friendly watermelon or gamble with the ancient grain amaranth. Cover your garden in gorgeous red amaryllis flowers or heavenly blue morning glory.
Because your garden is a space to let your imagination run wild, do just that. Garden statues like this adorable reading rabbit and this solar-powered lighthouse add personality and character to an outdoor space.
With enough sun and water and help from nutritious soil and fertilizer, your garden can be anything you want it to be this spring. Time to get planting.
