London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Leading garden designers reveal the 7 biggest changes in garden design

Leading garden designers reveal the 7 biggest changes in garden design

Members of the prestigious Society of Garden Designers discuss the ways our attitudes towards gardens has shifted in recent years

Gardens have never been more important to us. The pandemic has made outdoor spaces our havens and, for many months, our only source of entertainment. Yet the shift in the ways we think about and use our gardens began long before the pandemic.

For several years now, it's not just 'gardens', anymore. Instead, what many of us want is beautiful modern garden ideas that combine leisure, exquisite planting schemes, and sustainability.

The ways we design our gardens, what we do in them, and what we decorate them with has been influenced by prevailing fashions and changing lifestyles for decades. This year, as the Society of Garden Designers(SGD) celebrates its 40th anniversary, 10 leading garden designers and members of the SGD, reveal how tastes and trends have changed over the past four decades, since the Society was founded.

1. The shift to outdoor rooms




Probably the most profound change in people's garden design preferences has been the shift towards outdoor spaces that are styled as rooms rather than just green spaces.

'When I began designing 30 years ago” says James Scott, 'people viewed their gardens simply as a place to be ‘gardened’'. Over time, that perception has completely changed, he says, with gardens increasingly being seen as an extension to the house and offering the opportunity to be ‘styled' in the same way you might style a room.

As a result, 'garden design has grown up', says Juliet Sargeant, adding that they have become far more sophisticated and now incorporate a wonderful variety of materials, features, and plants that weren’t even considered 20 years ago.

Key to these, according to Andy Sturgeon, has been a gradual move towards the contemporary style of garden we know today with minimal use of materials and a more naturalistic, wild, and informal approach. Andrew Wilson agrees: 'We have developed a new Modernism in style', he says, 'with a move to bold color and simplified palettes.'

2. Wild meadows have replaced formal beds




It is undeniable that rewilding has become one of the biggest garden trends in recent years, with more and more gardeners opting for wildflower meadows instead of neatly manicured lawns, and looser, more relaxed planting schemes that seem a million years away from neat borders our grandparents would have praised.

Plants, more than any other aspect of a garden, are followers of fashion. From the traditional herbaceous borders of the 1980s and 1990s to the New Perennial Movement of the late 20th century and the unstructured wildlife-friendly aesthetic popular today, 'you can date a garden by the plants that have been used' says Sarah Eberle.

'When I started out, shrubs were the backbone of everything anyone did. Perennials were a sideshow, points out Andy Sturgeon, who designed his first garden in 1983. 'Today wildflower meadows, new perennial planting, and grasses have taken center stage.'

3. Adopting local landscaping materials




Unsurprisingly, a burgeoning appreciation of the role gardens play in protecting the environment, has led to a shift in the type of materials being used too. 'With sustainability at the forefront of our minds now, high quality, environmentally-friendly products such as porcelain and composite decking have been game-changing', says Andy Sturgeon.

'York stone seemed to be everywhere in the late 90s', says Andrew Wilson. Now, the provenance of garden materials is becoming increasingly important with many more people thinking about where materials come from and only using locally sourced materials.

'We use more indigenous stone than ever before, says James Scott and 'far less Chinese or Indian stone' that needs shipping around the world. Sarah Eberle has gone one step further. Since she began designing gardens 40 years ago, she says she has reduced her use of hard landscaping altogether favoring a softer, more ecological approach instead.

4.Getting creative with smaller gardens




With the average house and garden getting smaller year on year since the early 80s, garden design has inevitably had to adapt. Small garden ideas are incredibly popular right now, with gardeners keen to make the most out of even the smallest patch.

'Clients expect a great deal from a small space' says Andrew Duff. 'In a large garden you can create journeys, both visual and physical, but this has become more difficult as gardens have become smaller.'

James Scott has noticed a trend towards more zoned areas as a way of meeting the different needs of a household, while Jo Thompson has developed a multi-functional approach to her designs. 'A buttercup-filled meadow is a view, a seat is a piece of art, a rill is a wine cooler, a weeping birch is a shady picnic spot', she says.

5. Making space to relax and play




Put simply, gardens used to be mainly something to look at. Nowadays, we think of them as spaces where we take out leisure. If the 50s were all about ornamentation and decoration in the garden, the 80s was the decade that paved the way for the concept of recreation in our outdoor spaces. Since then, the popularity of recreational garden features has continued to soar.

'Long gone is the built-in brick BBQ, the terracotta urn placed on its side amongst pebbles dribbling water and the gazebo in the corner of the garden', says Robin Templar-Williams who began designing gardens in 1986. Instead, due in part to a warmer climate, we are seeing the rise of outdoor kitchen ideas, says Sarah Eberle.

More elaborate entertainment areas have also become more and more popular, to march people's dreams of a multi-functional garden, says James Scott. 'Outdoor seating areas have really caught people’s imagination in recent years, with features like the firepit extending the use of the garden later into the evening and into the colder months.'

6. From purely ornamental to sustainable planting




Gardens have not always been as green as they appear but a renewed focus on climate change as we moved into the new millennium, has meant more people are now aiming to create sustainable gardens with minimal harm to the environment.

'A greater understanding of biodiversity has definitely made people re-evaluate their priorities in recent years,' says Cleve West. 'With many more people aware of the issues when it comes to designing their gardens.'

'We have seen an understandably greater respect for sustainability and environmental issues,' agrees Andrew Duff. 'With a return to a more natural way of designing demonstrated by the careful choice and appropriate use of plants and planting compositions.'

'People are starting to consider garden planting as more than purely ornamental and as part of a habitat' says Andrew Wilson. Jo Thompson, whose designs have always had sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity at their heart, has noticed a significant change too. 'Whilst clients used to sometimes greet these concepts blankly, it is now at the heart of every initial conversation I have.'



7. Shift to professional garden design




Perhaps the most significant change in recent decades then has been our attitude to garden design itself. Hiring a garden designer was once thought of as an exclusive preserve of the wealthy but is fast becoming the norm for anyone who wants a nice-looking garden.

'When I started out people literally didn’t know what a garden designer was', says Andy Sturgeon, who credits Terence Conran and IKEA for teaching people the value of good design. 'Now everyone knows what we do and understands the benefits it can bring. Today, the attitude and vision of clients have allowed us to design some amazing gardens that were unimaginable years ago.'

'Over the last 40 years, garden design has entered the popular consciousness', agrees Debbie Roberts. 'In the 1980s it was very niche but soon, a well-designed garden will be as important as a well-designed kitchen.' We couldn't approve more.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×