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No Quibble GuaranteeTop 10 Trending Plants 2022
Top 10 Trending Plants 2022
As we emerge, blinking, into the new year, our attentions inevitably turn to the months ahead and the pending spring with all its joyful vigour and vitality. For those with an interest in gardening (and if predictions have it right, this will continue to be increasing numbers of us), now is often when we start to think about improving our growing spaces with the addition of a few new plants.
The seemingly limitless array of options can be overwhelming, often making it difficult to know quite where to start. Thankfully, we have been busily researching horticultural trend forecasts, to bring you what we think will be the Top 10 Plants of 2022. Stay ahead of the crowd and get inspired!
Grasses
As we become more aware of environmental issues, we seem increasingly drawn to a more naturalistic style of garden. Ornamental grasses are key to achieving this look, as well as being easy to grow. As such, demand was already on the incline when bolstered further by the ‘Chelsea effect’ of last year’s flower show. The later than usual event (held at the start of autumn) gave designers the opportunity to use a different palette of plants, chief among which were grasses.
With such prominent exposure, the popularity of grasses is certain to continue. Here are our tips for the stars of 2022:
10. Miscanthus sinensis 'Boucle'
A new, award-winning cultivar, ‘Boucle’ is expected to become the next big thing in the world of grasses. Possessing the classic tapered, green foliage of miscanthus, all seems perfectly normal until late summer when ‘Boucle’ reveals itself to be a little bit quirky. Inflorescences emerge, packed together tightly and displaying what can only be described as an old-fashioned ‘pin curl’ hairstyle. Once they have opened the effect is softened although each flower strand remains distinctly crimped in appearance.
Unusual, playful and just a little bit eccentric. Use several of these joyful plants dotted throughout a border for greatest effect.
9. Stipa tennuissima 'Ponytails'
To achieve the swaying movement and soft texture associated with naturalistic garden designs, this is a ‘must-have’ grass. Manageable in size, quick to flower and with a gentle propensity to self-seed; planting a number of ‘Ponytails’ (and in our opinion, you really cannot have too many), is the best thing you can do in a quest for a dreamy and natural garden.
Fittingly known as Angel’s Hair, this grass has fine, wispy foliage and tufts of bleached, buff flowers. Combined with taller, heat-loving plants such as verbena, echinacea and gaura, ‘Ponytails’ provides an almost instant ‘designer’ garden. When you see it glowing in the late afternoon light, there really are few better plants.
Wildflowers
One of the four major horticulture trends for 2022, as predicted by the Flower Council, is ‘Traditional Sentiment’, whereby the uncertainty of current times will prompt us to seek solace in concepts and styles associated with the past. In planting terms, this is expected to include a desire for wildflower meadows, with their connotations of a more wholesome, simple and bucolic way of life. Add to this their environmental benefits and a major trend seems inevitable. No garden shall be complete without its very own wild patch for soothing fretful spirits and sustaining cherished wildlife.
Indeed, many gardens at last year’s RHS shows featured wildflower meadows, inspiring Hayloft to put together two new collections. It would, of course, be cheating to put entire collections into the Top 10. Instead, here are a couple of examples of the type of plant included.
8. Leucanthemum Vulgare
Commonly known as ox-eye daisy, this glorious plant is a familiar sight in meadows across the land. A tall member of the daisy family, its large, open flowers are a magnet to pollinators. Known as a ‘pioneer species’, ox-eye daisy is able to grow and mature quickly while other wildflowers take time to establish. As such, it is often one of the main features of a newly sown meadow, naturally scaling back after a few years as other plants take hold.
An obliging and cheerful wildflower, providing quick, eye-catching results. We love it!
7. Achillea Millefolium
Also loved by pollinators (as are all the plants in our wildflower collections) achillea, or yarrow, has white (sometimes pink), flat clusters of flowers and feathery green foliage. Umbel-like in appearance (think cow parsley, wild carrot), it provides the same delicate, white, platform of flowers while being slightly more substantial and easier to establish.
With a long season of flowering and a willingness to self-seed freely, we rate yarrow as an essential member of any wildflower meadow.
Foliage
Driven by the major ongoing trend for houseplants, foliage continues to be extremely popular both inside and out. Tending to be fairly easy-going on the care front, foliage plants are an easy way for those with less time (or inclination) to achieve pleasing, stylish results. Our picks for reliable, impressive leaves this year are as follows.
6. Outdoors: Dryopteris affinis
Reaching up to 1.5m in height, this majestic fern provides showstopping results whilst being remarkably easy-going. From full sun (if the soil is kept moist), to dry shade, this magnificent, upright, shuttlecock fern will perform well in most locations. Little surprise that it has been granted the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Not to be missed by anyone looking to create a lush, verdant environment in their outside space.
5. Indoors: Corokia cotoneaster 'Silver Leaf'
Being several years into the fashion for a dense, indoor jungle effect, this year will see us starting to look for something a little different. The stark, angular, wiry appearance of this New Zealand shrub (also known as Maori ‘Silver Leaf’) offers a welcome departure and looks set to become one of the next big names in houseplants. Place in front of a plain, white wall to see dark stems at their striking best.
Natural Materials
Over the past couple of years, our homes and gardens have come to be places of work and leisure, as well as somewhere to sleep and eat. Consequently, many of us are now looking to create distinct spaces to meet these needs, which can necessitate the addition of screens and boundaries in the garden.
As environmental awareness grows, use of man-made materials in the garden is in noticeable decline. Instead, many of us are turning to natural, sustainable, wildlife-friendly solutions – hedges!
Whether it’s a low demarcation or tall, impenetrable barrier required, here are our new and exciting suggestions.
4. Euonymus japonicus 'Green Spire'
As the continued spread of box blight and box tree caterpillar diminishes the appeal of old favourite Buxus sempervirens the search for viable alternatives continues. For a while, the top recommendation was Ilex crenata, however many gardeners have found this fussy shrub difficult to establish in their conditions. Enter Euonymus japonicus ‘Green Spire’. Evergreen, compact, dense, fast-growing and most importantly tolerant of a wide range of conditions, this easy-going, handsome shrub responds well to clipping. Currently our favourite box alternative!
3. Pyracantha coccinea 'Red Star'
As an ornamental hedge, this pyracantha, or firethorn, ticks all boxes we can think of. A lesser known, evergreen relative of roses, apples and cherries, pyracantha offers year-round appeal. An abundance of white, hawthorn-like blossom appears in late spring, followed by clusters of gleaming, scarlet-red berries throughout autumn and winter, all with a backdrop of glossy, dark-green leaves. Pollinators adore the flowers, and the berries provide a welcome feasting opportunity for birds during winter months. Firethorns were possibly avoided in the past due to the vicious spikes from which they get their name, however we think this cultivar will transform attitudes! The result of a long-term breeding programme, ‘Red Star’ has far fewer thorns as well as increased resistance to disease.
Colour
Global trends must start somewhere, and where colour is concerned, they can often be traced back to the Pantone Colour of the Year. Used widely throughout creative and retail industries to inform designs and product selection, the far-reaching influence of this annual announcement cannot be overstated. Hot off the press is this year’s ‘Very Peri’, a powdery, dusky, periwinkle blue. Look out for this shade cropping up everywhere in 2022, from fashion, to advertising, to social media and beyond. You heard it here first!
Get ahead of the trend by planting your own ‘Very Peri’ backdrop. Here are our top two suggestions for achieving the look.
2. Vinca Minor
It will come as little surprise to discover our top choice is periwinkle, a widely used (though until recently underrated), low-growing, ground-covering evergreen.
There are many varieties to choose from and, if you cannot decide we even have Vivacious Vincas Collection to cover all options for you. Small, less vigorous and more manageable than Vinca major (greater periwinkle), Vinca minor packs no less of a punch with its dense, weed-suppressing habit and long-lasting display of vivid, star-shaped flowers. Happy to grow virtually anywhere, vinca is a reliable and easy way to bring the trendiest colour of the moment into your garden. Consider planting at eye level to achieve maximum effect, perhaps in a container, trailing over a wall, or on a slope.
Combine with contrasting rich, warm colours in anticipation of another predicted trend; the use of pastels juxtaposed with bold, autumnal hues. A nearby drift of Erysimum ‘Apricot Twist’ or smattering of Hesperantha coccinea ‘Oregon Sunset’ will work wonders in your outdoor spaces.
1. Myosotis scorpioides 'Semperflorens'
Similar in colour to periwinkle, though more delicate and, dare we say it, Instagram-able, the forget-me-not looks set to be the most-wanted flower of 2022 (online searches for this member of the borage family have already increased by a staggering 2104%).
Our favourite is this moisture-loving species, which will romp away happily beside ponds, or indeed anywhere with reliably moist soil. Perfect for growing in a container if kept standing in a dish of water. Overwatered pots shall be a problem no more!
Again, pair with bold, rich, sunset tones to be achingly on trend. With similar growing requirements, Ranunculus acris ‘Multiplex’ fits the bill perfectly, its frothy cloud of orange-yellow blooms providing stunning contrast to the true blue of forget-me-nots.
