06 Gardening Trends to Watch and Try in 2020

06 Gardening Trends to Watch and Try in 2020

As we head into 2020, green, local and indigenous are still the buzzwords in the garden this year. We’re forming stronger ties with Mother Earth and looking beyond ornamental, thinking: “Sure, it’s pretty, but can I eat it?” Forward-thinking gardeners are ripping up the green concrete—their lawn—and planting front yard veggie patches and hedges of corn, even in the heart of the busiest cities or most lawn-obsessed suburbs.

Backyards have become havens for the birds and the bees with fruit trees and native species while chicken coops and even aquaponics are blending form and function. It seems as though everyone—not just folks with land—is feeling that pull: urban tower-dwellers just need to plant up, growing vertical gardens in containers, on rooftops, and in windowsills.

1. Straw bale gardening

Strawbale gardening is taking container gardening to new heights of green. This is where gardeners use bales of straw—not hay, there is a huge difference, hay is full of hayseeds—as a container for planting everything from flowers to saplings to veggies. We love this for a number of reasons: it’s fully compostable, it raises the garden up, which is great for our knees and backs, it’s neat and tidy and doesn’t require hauling bags and bags of soil, and it lets those with poor, toxic or hard, rocky soil garden. What’s not to love? (click Next)