Gardens matter. Are you looking for a way to make a difference this year? Support local wildlife. Buy well-made tools. Plant your supper.
Here are 17 garden trends we’ll be embracing wholeheartedly in 2017:
Gravel Pits
Above: Photograph by Jack Thompson courtesy of Robertson Design.
Permeable gravel pits allow rainwater to percolate, filtered, into the ground.
Watering Can as Art Object
Above: Designed by Denmark-based House Doctor, a matte black iron Plant Watering Can is $47 from Scandinavian Design Center.
Buy the best garden accessories you can afford, and love them for a lifetime.
Live Edge Pools
Above: Photograph by Nelson Garrido, courtesy of Casa No Tempo.
At Casa No Tempo, a renovated farmhouse that’s been in João and Andreia Rodrigues’s family for generations, the couple recently renovated the property (now available as a rental retreat). A 4,000-square-foot swimming pool designed to reflect the landscape’s natural streams and ponds has a gentle, natrual shoreline.
Utilitarian Luxury
Above: From Hokkaido-based manufacturer Daiichi Gomu, a pair of Foldable Rubber Garden Boots made from recycled rubber tires is $128 at Rodale’s. The boots also are available seasonally (but currently are sold out) at Kaufmann-Mercantile.
See more at 10 Easy Pieces: Wellington Boots.
Pivoting Doors
Above: Photograph by Jack Thompson courtesy of Robertson Design.
Pivoting doors and gates have a minimal footprint.
Dead Hedges
Above: A time-honored tradition in Europe, dead hedges have “a long history in agriculture: peasants simply cut off their cuttings as a border marker between pasture and farmland, where they collapsed and gradually developed” into a low-impact hedge that provides habitats for nesting birds and other wildlife.
What starts as a dead wood is soon brought to life: birds build their nests there, hedgehogs find shelter, and protected winter quarters are also available for many other animals that are usually very useful in the garden.”
Get started by planting shrubs and small trees such as Chokecherry (€21), Medlar (€22.50), and Sea Buckthorn (€40); all available from Manufactum.
Florist Tools
Above: Use the right tool for the job. Makes all the difference. A stainless steel Rose Thorn Stripper is $4.95 from Scissors.
Built In Seating
Above: Move indoor style outdoors with built in seating to create an outdoor room. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
Soil Test Kits
Above: Worried about lead levels? Urban gardeners: check your soil. A Soil Test Kit is $18.50 from Basic Science Supplies.
No Grout Necessary
Above: Photograph courtesy of Everdell Garden Design. San Francisco garden designer Elizabeth Everdell planted Blue Star Creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis) between pavers.
Plant ground cover between pavers to create a permeable surface to avoid water runoff.
The Statement Leaf
Above: Designed by Alfredo Häverli, an Alfredo Vase Short is €135 from Makers & Brothers.
Why buy an armload of flowers from a florist when a single leaf will make a strong design statement?
Gabion Wall Kits
Above: Just add rocks. The steel grill framework for an Elevated Gabion Flowerbed is €178 from Manufactum (you supply the 660 pounds of stone).
Beyond Kale
Above: Photograph by Marie Viljoen.
Grow your supper—or at least your salad. Greens will grow in containers, on a sunny windowsill, or in a semi-shaded city backyard. For more, see Rehab Diary: A Year in the Life of a Brooklyn Garden.
Monitor the Atmosphere
Above: Made in the early 1900s, a brass-mounted Aneroid Barometer is $1,025.66 from 1st Dibs.
Scientific instruments—radiometers, barometers, and thermometers—measure the weather, the light, the world around us. (See our post later today on a light meter that’s an art object.)
Plant for the Future
Above: Trees convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. Plant one today, for tomorrow’s gardeners. Photograph courtesy of Niwaki.
Houseplant Tech
Above: An Aquameter to measure moisture levels in soil is €14 from Merci.
Take the guesswork out of houseplant care with a tool that lets you know if yours needs water.
Mini Greenhouses
Above: A brass Grow Anywhere Greenhouse is $135 from Food 52.
No outdoor space necessary. With a mini indoor greenhouse, you can sprout supper, coddle bulbs, and or coax tropical houseplants to bloom.
See how well our earlier predictions fared: The 10 Best Garden Trends for Fall 2016.
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