Garden Trends for 2024 |

This week on the Good Growing podcast we chat with horticulture educator Emily Swihart about garden trends to be on the lookout for in 2024. We talk about the rise in popularity of incorporating native plants, trying to make our landscapes more biodiverse, and also just plain fun horticulture trends like colors and using our gardens at night.
Skip to what you want to know:
0:28 Hey Ken and Emily!
1:06 It's time to talk about the "art" side of horticulture. What are our references? Is it just our opinion?
5:45 Has Emily noticed any over-arching garden trends? - Yes. The trends of ecology and biodiversity in the home landscape and then fun and exciting new plants hitting the market.
8:05 The trend to accept insects as a good thing.
16:26 The trend of eco-optimism.
18:44 The trend of native plants.
20:40 The trend of densely planted landscape beds.
24:41 Chris attempts to start a trend.
25:25 The trend of improving our urban forests and putting a stop to the maple trend.
29:17 The trend of environmental justice.
32:19 The trend of the color of the year - chartreuse.
37:19 The trend of the gothic garden (dark colors).
42:36 The trend of cemeteries as a park-like space for the public to gather.
45:52 The trend of nighttime gardens. Night-flowering plants and night lighting.
49:49 The trends we want to let go.
54:58 Thank yous and coming up next week.
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[@yellowwidget3902]

Wow, what an insightful episode! I loved hearing about the garden trends for 2024, especially the focus on eco-optimism and incorporating native plants. The idea of using our gardens at night and exploring darker colors in the gothic garden trend is so intriguing! Can't wait to see how these trends shape the gardening world this year. Great job, Emily Swihart and the Good Growing podcast team! (Love the blooper reel 😍)

[@tonim91]

Great show!!

[@xiezicong]

TIL - Gothic Gardens, Moon Gardens, Eco-Optimism/Eco-Anxiety, and Plant Colors of the Year. Very informative for an casual native plant person.

[@IllinoisExtensionHorticulture]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@katharine5606]

I like the chartreuse color foliage in the mix of typical green because it helps my eyes differentiate the plants, particularly when they're not flowering. Dark foliage and flowers are okay, but need to be balanced by lighter colors, in my opinion. I'm just a home gardener though, not a horticulturist, so just my thoughts. I was unaware of the unfortunate maple tree plight.