A survey by Glee has revealed that garden landscaping category sales grew by 8% increase last year, with overall garden retail sales appearing to be extremely positive. The rise is believed to be partly fuelled by homeowners who realise that landscaping the garden can add from 5-10% to the value of their house.

Research also suggests UK households spend an average of £123 a year on their gardens, with keener gardeners spending up to £30,000 over their lifetime on a variety of garden products

So, what landscaping trends do we need to watch out for during the rest of 2016?

A key ongoing theme is easy maintenance. When time they can spend caring for their gardens is limited, consumers want gardens that are easy to maintain, whilst still being pleasant and relaxing places as well as a place to entertain family and friends.

Cost- and energy-efficient LED lighting is increasingly popular, and many people now use automatic irrigation systems to keep plants in good condition.

Colour will become more of an important focus, with greens and dark blues featuring on fences and garden structures to create foils for plants as well as blending with the garden. Large, elegant structures such as contemporary arches are providing a modern take on a traditional idea. The move towards greater entertaining at home is also set to become more evident, with pergolas and terraces forecast to be popular additions to patios and decking. 

Immaculately-manicured lawns, however, are losing popularity as a more naturalistic, rustic approach to gardens takes over. Some home owners are opting to remove front lawns altogether to replace with gravel, stonework, brick and paving. The amount of lawn space in back gardens is also declining, with decking, gravel and paving now a more common alternative.

Consumers are becoming more savvy about how they use their outdoor space. The concept of ‘outdoor rooms’ involves the use of eye-catching garden features to help ‘zone’ different areas according to mood, whether for relaxing, entertaining or storage. Leading garden structures and fencing company, Grange, offers an extensive range of on-trend collections with which to separate these ‘zones’, including timber planters, screens and pergolas.

Meanwhile, UK consumers are now spending around £5 billion a year on plants - more than the nation spends on chocolate!

 ‘Grow your own’ remains a popular trend, and 2016 can expect to see more innovative ways to grow vegetables. Where space is limited, planters and window boxes are also ideal, especially when placed near the kitchen, and container gardening, whether flowers or vegetables, will continue to thrive.  Portable gardening, particularly in urban and city areas, will prosper, as more people are living in homes without gardens and more people are renting, so it is anticipated there will be an increase in sales with high impact big planted containers and hanging baskets.