The best garden trends for Summer 2020

We don’t know about you, but we’ve been spending an awful lot of time in our garden so far this year! As the days get longer, and the nights get (slightly) warmer, we’ve been looking at ways to spruce up our outside space, and make it an enjoyable and relaxing place to spend those long lockdown days.

The Fifth Room

We’re hearing this phrase being thrown around a lot this year - many garden enthusiasts, bloggers and experts are referring to their garden as ‘the fifth room’. It’s long been a popular phrase, but with the current worldwide situation, and the fact that less and less of us are moving house as much as we once did, those with gardens are looking for ways to utilise their space better.

Whether it’s matching outdoor furniture sets, or creating a play area for the children; gardens are amazing spaces to customise. And if you’ve only got a balcony space or a small courtyard, don’t be disheartened, Pinterest is a hub of ideas no matter the size of your outdoor space. If you’re spending a lot of time outside, our cooler tables are the perfect accessory to ensure those trips back to the kitchen are a lot less frequent!

Bold Colour

The era of pastel colours is over, and bold colours are back! Many garden and patio sets on sale this year are including bright and beautiful colours, and that’s a trend we can get on board with. 

But, you don’t need to be spending loads of money to get on trend. If your wooden patio set could do with a lick of paint, go for a bold colour such as this Farrow and Ball yellow or spruce up with this Sandtex Red. Alternatively, purchase some brightly coloured outdoor cushions and throws, or use what you’ve already got and let the kids go wild on some cushion covers with fabric paint and glitter!

Grow Your Own

I know you may think we’ve missed the boat on this one, but if you’re keen to start growing your own, there are a few plants and herbs that are still available to sow throughout May. 

The RHS advises that vegetables such as french beans, runner beans, mange tout and squash are suitable for sowing in May, directly into outdoor beds. Sweet corn can also be sown, as can cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli - though you won’t be able to reap the benefits of these until next winter.

If herbs are more your thing, this time of year is still appropriate to sow seeds of chervil, coriander and dill, directly into the soil outdoors.

Local garden centres are still currently selling fruit and vegetable plants if you don’t fancy starting from scratch. Most plants will produce fruit in August and September.

Outdoor Wine Coolers 

You should have been expecting this one! Outdoor wine coolers are the perfect outdoor and garden accessory. You can achieve two trends in one with these too, as they come in a number of bold and beautiful colours.

Whether it’s to keep the family garden picnic chilled, or as a champagne cooler and ice bucket, these versatile outdoor accessories ensure that time spent outside is simple and easy. They can even double up as a table surface for those with a little less outdoor space.

Climate Change Gardening

With our ever-changing climate, this is going to be a big trend going forward. Climate change is inevitable and will have a huge impact on the way we garden. Sally Morgan and Kim Stoddart at The Climate Change Garden do a stellar job of explaining the effects of climate change and how we should adapt our gardens to suit.

There are a number of pieces of research from the RHS, too which are great resources to help you understand how you can protect your garden, and the types of fruit, plants and vegetables you should be growing in our ever changing climate.

Vertical Gardening

Green walls are back in fashion, and many of us are living in city-centre accommodation with little outdoor space. The result? Vertical gardening is back in fashion. 

Vertical gardens can take many forms. Vertical flower beds, hanging baskets and containers, and trellises with climbing plants are all great additions towards a vertical garden. However you choose to create your green walls, try to make sure that your plants have access to direct sunlight!

With many of us spending an increased amount of time at home, it’s fair to say that 2020 is the year of the garden. However you choose to revamp your outdoor space, make sure you leave enough time to enjoy the fruits of your labour with an ice cold drink in the sunshine. If one of our iconic drinks coolers has caught your eye, we’re able to make it to order.

Check out our range of cooler tables via our shop and if you have any queries simply fill in the form on our contact page, or email us at contact@outsidegang.com