For the visitor, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an incredible source of new landscaping and planting trends and inspiration that we expect to emerge in home gardening in the coming seasons.
This maze of different plants, unconventional houseplants and outdoor decorations has an impact not just in London or the UK but worldwide. So it’s only natural that you’d want to keep up with the most exciting of them garden trends showcased at this year’s event, wherever you are in the world and whatever the style or size of your garden.
5 trends to take away from Chelsea Flower Show 2022
From interior designed greenhouses to promoting (good) bacteria, this year’s garden ideas are as provocative as ever.
1. Mindfulness
(Image credit: RHS / Tim Sandall)
Mindfulness and well-being are arguably the most striking trends emerging from Chelsea this year. As the interior design world increasingly explores colors and decorative items that promote better mental health, the garden is certainly no exception. Many spaces, including designers, paid homage to mindfulness in some way Nikki Holler (opens in new tab)container garden.
“My garden supports mindfulness with its colours, plants and water features. A pond, water feature or fountain can have positive health benefits, primarily lowering blood pressure and stress levels, as well as improving physical and mental health,” Nikki shared H&G.
The designer suggests that the increased focus on mindfulness is a response to the current pressures of a world that is “chock full of technology, stress and pollution” – so anything that can improve our mental health is positive.
“Water features and ponds can instill a sense of calm and serenity and allow us to enjoy our surroundings even more by reducing the noise pollution around us,” says Nikki.
If you’re looking for another way to improve well-being in your garden, the designer recommends investing in sensory plants, whose organic benefits can support your health. She suggests “choosing roses for their scent, mint for infusing tea, and grasses to run your hands through and help you connect with nature.”
2. Interior designed greenhouses
(Image credit: Hartley Botanic)
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chelsea is just a festival for green-fingered enthusiasts, but this is it greenhouse idea proves that it also has an impact on those who admire interior design. This stylish trend consists of transforming your greenhouse into a space that mimics your indoor spaces, allowing you to continue your space outdoors and transform a “practical” space into a fashionable haven.
Greenhouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic (opens in new tab) exhibited the space shown above – complete with decorative pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in your living room.
“Excellent design always combines form and function,” says their CEO Tom Barry. ‘The team wanted to highlight the emotional value of a greenhouse with its ‘unparalleled beauty and style in the right context’.
These greenhouses allow you to continue your favorite outdoor decorating ideas, allowing you to transform a functional space into another space in your home. ‘[We wanted to] demonstrate what our greenhouses could look like in our customers’ gardens. But most of all, we want visitors to have an emotional response. To feel calm and relaxed and to realize how a wellness-focused garden can achieve that in style,” adds Tom.
3. Yellow planting
(Credit: RHS / Sarah Cuttle)
Following trends doesn’t always have to require a significant investment, and the surge in yellow planting is an example of one of Chelsea’s most accessible statements this year. Many gardens including the Swiss Sanctuary (designed by Lilly Gomm (opens in new tab)) featured yellow flowers in some form – but the demand for this garden color scheme comes as no surprise to Nikki.
“Yellow is bright and cheerful. I feel like after everyone has gone through the doom and gloom of the pandemic and other world events, a simple pot of yellow daffodils or swaths of gems on a border and fields of sunflowers can be an easy way to brighten our day,” explains Nikki. This cheerful idea for the cottage garden will lift our spirits and shine through the sunny season without any commitment worth mentioning.
4. Bacterial goodness
(Image credit: RHS / Neil Hepworth)
According to Cityscapes Director and Landscape Designer Darryl Moore (opens in new tab) (who designed St. Mungo (opens in new tab)‘s (opens in new tab) garden above), this year there has been a growing understanding of ‘good’ bacteria and their uses for garden health.
“There’s a lot of new science coming out about how the relationship with bacteria circulates in soil, air and plants, and how we breathe, which is part of our microbiome in our gut,” says Darryl.
Discussing his garden, Darryl shared that there are many interactions between plants – and it’s important to recreate their diversity in your own garden.
“The planting is very dense and includes many different species, like a natural, wild plant community. We’re trying to expand that diversity so it’s better for us and better for all the other wildlife that share this garden with us,” he adds.
5. Mushrooms
(Image credit: Malvern Garden Buildings)
That mushroom plant Trend is so unconventional that we already had to investigate it further. This function comes from the stylist James Whiting (opens in new tab) with whom has worked Malvern Garden building (opens in new tab) to create the Planet Studio (above). In this studio, the designer used mushrooms as houseplants around his home bar – to make an edible statement that is second to none.
“People cook these at home and they’re pretty expensive to buy in stores. So if you love growing things and love house plants, then mushrooms are stunning. They’re yellow, they’re pink, they’re real and it’s just mesmerizing,” the stylist shared.
James recommends starting with oyster mushrooms, which you can observe before ending up with a tasty result. “You can observe how things develop and change, and you can take your plant on a journey. You get proud of what you create,” he adds.
Will a mushroom be one of the best indoor plants of the year? Only time can tell.