Garden and outdoor design trends that will make your home an oasis

Spring isn’t here just yet, but it’s a good idea to turn your thoughts towards now towards turning over a new leaf and cultivating your green thumb as a way of brining renewal and growth into your life.

In the last couple of years, people have continued their fascination with outdoor spaces and things that grow. But it’s more than a pandemic hangover—it’s part of our need to cultivate natural harmony in a chaotic world. Here are the top trends and some tips and picks for getting the garden of your dreams.

The garden can be a marvelous thing, a space of expression, calm, and beauty, and often a portal through which to connect with nature when our surroundings can make it feel distant. With so many ways to go about creating this space, getting started can be a daunting task. However, garden experts PergolaKitsUSA have revealed five top garden trends that have emerged through 2023.

Japanese Garden

Asymmetry, enclosure, borrowed scenery, balance and symbolism. These are the essential elements of, and the essential design principles, seen to define the Japanese Garden. Posts including the hashtag ‘#japanesegarden’ were huge this year, getting over 26 million views on TikTok alone.

These spaces were designed to evoke quiet contemplation. As well as encouraging a deep connection with nature, they are often suited to spiritual practices like prayer and meditation. These draw inspiration from beautifully crafted outdoor spaces originating in Eastern Asia.

Get the look: This exquisite stone garden pagoda will bring calming Japanese zen to your outdoor space.

Garden Art

From intricate sculptures, figurines, and statues, to self-decorated pebbles, art pieces have proved popular in the TikTok gardening community. Posts with the hashtag ‘#gardenart’ received over 12 million views in 2023.

It is good to choose pieces that fit with the aesthetics, and the size of a garden, so considering placement and scale often holds the key to tastefully embellishing your space with an art piece. However, as with all art, preference is personal, so incorporating a piece that takes you, can have stunning results.

Get the look: This large outdoor Buddha will add the right touch of relaxation to your oasis. Feeling crafty? This mini pottery wheel will get you started making ceramic pots and sculptures for your garden.

Garden Bar

An addition to accentuate any garden experience is, of course, a tipple. So the inclusion of a bar in the garden is an unsurprisingly popular trend in the world of TikTok. Posts with the hashtag ‘#gardenbar’ amalgamated over 12 million views this year.

From a small, simple setup, kitted out to perhaps accommodate a few bottles and glasses, to elaborate structures with stools, fridges, spirit dispensers, beer taps, and even pub games like darts, a garden bar can open up the floor to a range of social activities. Whether catering for a chat over a glass of wine, or a full-scale garden party, a garden bar is sure to be of envy to those who aren’t invited!

Get the look: This all-weather Islander Tiki Bar has been inspired by tropical Thailand and comes with ample storage and two bars stools.

Rustic Gardens

Rustic aesthetics are a classic style choice throughout homes and gardens. Much loved by gardening enthusiasts, and now those on TikTok, posts with the hashtag ‘#rusticgarden’ were among the most popular garden-related trends on the platform in 2023.

Usually embracing warm, natural, and earthy colors and features, the rustic garden really taps into a nostalgia that transports any reveler in the space to a simpler time. Whether it is weathered oak features, or old bricks and cobblestones, the rustic aesthetic can have a powerful effect on a garden’s ambience.

Get the look: These wooden vertical raised garden beds are perfect for planting a variety of flowers or herbs and will give your outdoor space a touch of Provence.

Sensory Garden

A sensory garden is all about stimulating the basic five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. ‘#sensorygarden’ was another top trend among gardeners of TikTok.

In creating such a space, a sensory garden can provide an intense connection with nature and encourage an awareness of the natural world around you that can not be rivaled. From vibrant yellow tulips to deep blue hydrangea, colorful flowers are sure to stimulate the eyes while fragrant azaleas and hyacinths can add a new dimension to the enjoyment of the sacred space of a sensory garden.

Get the look: There’s nothing like some premium climbing heirloom roses to give your terrace or garden sensory appeal through color and fragrance!

A spokesperson from PergolaKitsUSA commented on the trends: “Garden trends vary in their nature year to year, and nowadays, the ways in which trends are established is also changing. Anyone who loves the world of gardening should embrace the influence that new platforms like TikTok can have, for instance as these trends show, spreading beautiful garden inspiration to millions of people. It is of course interesting to see what features and styles in gardens have proved popular to this platform’s audience.”