Anybody who thinks gardening is boring clearly hasn’t scrolled through social media lately””it’s an endless sea of the weirdest gardening trends! I’ve always been into exploring the latest out-of-the-box, experimental design concepts for gardens in Edmonton. After all, we switch up our gardens year after year, so why not have some fun with it and think outside the box? Literally””ditch the boring plant boxes and try the weirdest new trends in the garden world.
Top Garden Trends 2019: Feelin’ Festive
Medusa Hair Statue Gardens
Remember those play-doh dolls that would grow long, colourful strings of play-doh hair out of the top of their heads? These are kind of like that, except way cooler. Artsy busts with the top of the head hollowed out make fantastic garden planters. Fill them with trailing vine plants like creeping jenny, hanging succulents like burro’s tail, or some long, ropey chenille plants (definitely a Bob Marley-approved trend). Feel free to get creative and try mixing different coloured and textured plants for a stylized look that’s a little less reggae, and a little more Cyndi Lauper. And you thought ’80s hair was a trend that would never come back!
Jack-O-Planters
Level up your Halloween decoration game with a Jack-O-Planter! Weird, statement jack-o-lanterns are a growing trend on Edmonton porches, and this artful method to pumpkin decorating will set you apart from the amateurs. Clean and carve out your pumpkin like you usually would, and then line it with some dark coloured cloth or burlap, so the soil you’re about to add doesn’t pour out its eyes in a way that’s perhaps too gruesome even for Halloween. Fill your pumpkin with soil, pick your plants, and boom! Your Jack-o-Planter is good to go. This year, I think I’ll do a Joker pumpkin, because A) I’m a nerd for DC movies, and B) giving him his trademark green hair will be pretty easy with some ornamental grasses. You know, green hair is starting to sound kind of cool to me now. Do you think I could pull it off? Yes? No?
Succulent Holiday Wreaths
Obviously, holiday wreaths are one of the most common holiday decor trends, like, ever. But this new twist on an old classic adds so much visual interest and variety of colour. Plus, they last way longer than the typical evergreen sprigs that dry up and scatter needles across the floor (which never seem to go away, do they? I swear I’m still picking spruce needles out of the carpet from the Great Wreath Incident of 1997). I love succulent holiday wreaths because they’re the perfect unexpected combination of two massive gardening trends: wreaths, and vertical succulent wall planters. With the right watering techniques and a bit of sun from a near window, you can enjoy this ultra-modern twist on a holiday classic all year round, and it won’t look out of place. Don’t worry, a succulent wreath in the summer doesn’t look half as strange as your neighbour’s light-up reindeer statues that she conveniently “forgets” to take down once the snow melts.
Outdoor Decor Trends 2019: New Twists On Old Classics
Terracotta Garden Domes
These globular garden displays are totally on-trend and delightfully weird. Start with a large styrofoam sphere from the craft store, and slice a bit off the bottom so it can stay in place without rolling away. Next, with the help of a hot glue gun, stick some terracotta pots all over it, covering the entire dome. If you use pots that are all the same size, it will look a little more uniform, but if you use a variety of sizes, it can look pretty cool. Once the glue has dried and your garden dome is ready, fill it up with some soil and a wacky variety of colourful plants. I’ve often seen it done with succulents, but there’s really no limit to what you can plant in these funky displays.
Anything But Green
When you think of gardens, you think green. The two go hand-in-hand since leaves are kind of a big deal in the plant world. But with all the different hybrid varieties and exotic plants available at greenhouses, you can find some gorgeous plants that have little-to-no green on them whatsoever. There’s an up-and-coming trend of planting flowers with grey foliage, like bluebeard, and other ornamental foliage plants like heuchera and fountaingrass that come in a whole spectrum of colours. The grey/purple/blue colour scheme is very on-trend and has a pretty cool, surprisingly regal vibe. Jeeves, bring the car around and call down Queen Liz for a spot of tea””this English garden is fit for the upper crust.
Garden Design Trends 2019: The Weirdest Of The Weird
Plants In Your Pants
Okay, this one’s definitely weird, but I kind of love it. Basically, you sew the hem of some old jeans closed, fasten the front side of the waist band up against a fence, stuff the pants with soil and organic matter (sorry, trying very hard here to resist the urge to make a crass joke about filling your pants with manure), and then plant some flowers in the top (plus a few little guys in the back pockets). Jeans are a fashion trend that will never go out of style””but as a garden planter? That one’s kind of a game-changer.
Toilet Gardens
Yep, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Pop an old toilet in the backyard (but for Pete’s sake, clean it first), fill the bowl and the tank with some organic matter (again, trying very hard not to make a crass joke here), and then pop some flowers in it! It’s an artful masterpiece. Well, maybe the Dadaist art movement would appreciate it. Marcel Duchamp made serious headlines with his bathroom plumbing art.
Have you seen any weird plant trends lately? Let us know! We’re always into checking out the latest styling trends for Edmonton gardens, whether they’re très-chic, or très-freak. Stop by Salisbury Greenhouse, and we’ll get you hooked up with all the gardening supplies you need to make your ultra-weird garden goals happen. Everybody loves an odd conversation piece!
