Top seven trends for gardening in 2022 according to experts - including outdoor cooking and tree planting

Whether you are growing a few vegetables or planting a tree in your garden, the experience brings about so many benefits to your health in all aspects.

The pandemic has negatively impacted our mental health and as a result, people have tried many different things to lighten their moods during enforced lockdowns.

Gardening has proved very popular beyond Covid-19 and here Angela Slater, a gardening expert at Hayes Garden World, explores the seven top gardening trends for 2022.

Investing in garden furniture

According to Ms Slater, people have swapped lavish holidays for luxury garden furniture over the last two years and she expects this to continue.

Block planting

This trend means spending more time in your garden with family and friends socialising and hard landscaping with targeted low maintenance planting in raised beds.

Block planting of one particular species means cultivating a crisp, contemporary look. Ideal plants for this include lavender, heucheras and perennial grasses.

Outdoor work office

Since the majority of us have been working from home, we try to find other ways to make it feel normal. One of them is utilising the garden as a workspace when the weather permits of course.

This means turning your outdoor dining space into a workstation, using a parasol to protect you from the sun and outdoor heating to keep you warm if you are working late into the evening.

Outdoor cooking

Everyone loves a good barbeque, especially when during the summer, when it’s sunny and hot outside.

Whether it’s a meaty burger or a classic pizza, there is plenty to cook with the wide range of outdoor cooking items.

There is a trend for a whole outdoor kitchen set-up with prep areas, sink, fridge, storage and a variety of cooking surfaces including BBQ, pizza oven and smoker.

Growing your own produce

The past couple of years has seen an increase in the ‘grow-your-own’ movement and according to Ms Slater, it’s set to be even bigger this year.

You don’t need a big garden for this, any windowsill or small plot of land would suffice to grow some delicious fruits and vegetables.

The perfect starter plants for beginners are strawberries, radish, Chantenay carrots and cherry tomatoes.

Wildlife haven

Climate change is going to take over our thoughts and actions as more species start to become extinct and this is going to filter down to our own little patch.

Regardless of how small our outdoor space is, we can all do something to revive our local wildlife - even if it is just a little pond in a barrel or a small shrub where flowers bloom in early spring to give bees an early source of nectar.

You can buy a bird feeder to attract a variety of birds, build a home for a hedgehog, rip out the wooden fence and replace it with a wildlife friendly hedge or even just sowing a patch of wildflowers.

Planting trees

According to Ms Slater, trees are expected to be very popular in 2022 as this year marks the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and she has launched a Green Canopy initiative where we are all encouraged to plant a tree.

This will inspire many more people to include a tree in our gardens even if it is just a small ornamental tree in a container.

Trees are vital for the environment and for our health as the oxygen they release and carbon dioxide they remove from the air is significant.