5 Gardening Trends Taking Over Outdoor Spaces in 2025

Gardening is always in style, but certain trends are becoming more popular this year. Gardens offer access to nutritious food, improved mental and physical health, and a simple way to connect with nature. Some garden lovers are in it for the physical activity and sunlight, while others focus on aesthetics. If you’re planning to start a garden, or update the one you already have, these are the gardening trends experts expect to be big this year.

Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening isn’t just about having some climbing plants. It’s a space-efficient option to grow greenery in small areas, such as balconies, patios, or exterior walls. Not only is this ideal for households with minimal yard space, but it also works well in areas where water conservation and drought are top of mind.

Andrew Bunting, vice president of horticulture for Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, says more and more vertical gardening systems are being developed and becoming available to consumers to meet this trend. “Some of these [vertical gardening systems] are for ornamental plantings on walls and others are for growing vegetables in tight spaces in vertical systems,” he says. “Many of the systems employ hydroponics and capturing and recycling of water.” Plus, while natural light is ideal to help your garden thrive, he says many of these products have their own lightning systems and can operate with no natural light.

So, vertical gardening is a way to make do with whatever space or location restraints you have.

Edible Gardens

Grocery prices continue to rise, so why not grow your own food? According to a 2024 survey from the National Gardening Association, 43% of Americans are growing some of their own food at home, which is a 17-year high. With inflated grocery prices showing no signs of stopping, edible gardening is expected to continue becoming increasingly popular.

Tess Kuracina, the New York Botanical Garden’s director of living collections and curator of herbaceous collections, says those who are already growing their own food are choosing their plants very carefully. “For edible gardening more broadly, we will continue to see a resurgence of growing heirloom varieties,” Kuracina says. “If gardeners are putting in the time to cultivate a vegetable garden, they want to be sure to grow a variety that is truly special and cannot be bought at the supermarket or farmer’s market. Many heirloom varieties are ornamental, in addition to being delicious.”

Kuracina adds that many heirloom varieties of plants are often unavailable at big-box stores, so she recommends looking for a seed exchange event online or finding online companies that offer these unique crops.

Waterwise Gardening

Another trend that’s a direct response to negative conditions is the increasing efforts to grow resilient plants. Driven by climate change, both droughts and floods have become more frequent and intense, which means it’s important for gardeners to grow plants that can withstand these conditions.

“We’ll be seeing an increase of edible and ornamental plants that thrive in the stress of growing in shallow soils that are fast to dry out,” Kuracina says. “Gardeners will be planting more Mediterranean herbs like ornamental oregano, (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’), purple sage (Salvia officnalis ‘Purpurascens’), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), and thyme (Thymus sp.).”

Many native ornamental grasses, such as switch grass (Panicum virgatum); prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and the little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) can withstand long periods without moisture. This makes them a smart choice in drought-prone areas.

On the other side of things, it’s important that gardeners are prepared for extreme flooding and a mass inundation of moisture following storms.

“In general, gardeners can be mindful of these changing weather conditions and pick plants that have ornamental attributes and also have characteristics that make them tolerant of these conditions,” Bunting says. “For example, the popular trees, red maple (Acer rubrum) and the river birch (Betula nigra) both can withstand very wet conditions brought on by flooding and standing water.”

Lived-In Gardens

“In today’s home and fashion world, people are moving away from pristine, new, and perfect—and they want the same in their gardens, says Katie Dubow, president and trendspotter with Garden Media Group. This means gardeners are opting for landscapes that feel authentic and seasoned, rather than overly manicured, she explains.

“The trend embraces spaces that look naturally nurtured over time and reflects a desire for gardens that tell a story and offer a sense of comfort, filled with mature plants, varied textures, and a lived-in charm,” Dubow adds.

If you want the lived-in garden look without all the years of work, however, she recommends planting fast-growing varieties, like milkweed, hydrangeas, Encore® azaleas, canna
lilies, leyland cypress, and lombardy poplar.

Gardening for the Benefits

There are many reasons to garden, including growing your own food or improving your curb appeal. However, one major benefit is less about the garden itself and more about the gardener. More and more studies have shown that gardening has a number of benefits, with the potential to improve both mental and physical health—and even help you live longer. So, it’s no wonder than more people are wanting to garden for self-care purposes—and even young people are getting involved in the hobby.

For beginners looking to get started, Bunting recommends finding a community of gardeners to join and learn from. “This might be a local community garden or many municipalities might have a local garden club, horticulture society or EAC (Environmental Advisory Committee),” he says. There are also regional plant societies that help newbies meet other novice gardeners and knowledgeable experts.