As we get further into 2025, our garden design style is evolving with exciting trends that promise to transform outdoor spaces into personalised havens of tranquility and style. Whether you’re looking to refresh your garden or start from scratch, these trends will inspire you to create a space that reflects your personality and meets your needs.
Top Garden Design Trends for 2025
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Sustainable Landscaping
Embrace eco-friendly practices by incorporating native plants, rain gardens, and solar lighting. Sustainability is not just a trend but a necessity, and it starts with thoughtful garden design. As our thoughts move towards plants that can cope with the extremes of weather we are seeing over the last years, more water-logging with increased drought too. Working with the extremes of weather while still creating beautiful gardens.
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Outdoor Living Spaces
- Extend your living area outdoors with comfortable seating, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens. Think of your garden as a natural extension of your home where you can entertain and relax. The kind of garden that is a pleasure to invite your friends and family and becomes the go-to place for outdoor get togethers, the one that they all think of as the prefect space. Add the same styling that you would to your indoors to your outdoor space and don’t forget the all important lighting. Heat sources, cooking and out door dining spaces as well as beautiful seating and coffee tables.
- Extend your living area outdoors with comfortable seating, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens. Think of your garden as a natural extension of your home where you can entertain and relax. The kind of garden that is a pleasure to invite your friends and family and becomes the go-to place for outdoor get togethers, the one that they all think of as the prefect space. Add the same styling that you would to your indoors to your outdoor space and don’t forget the all important lighting. Heat sources, cooking and out door dining spaces as well as beautiful seating and coffee tables.
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Edible Gardens
- Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs is such a pleasure. Edible gardens are not only practical but also add a lush, vibrant aesthetic to your space.Try combining vegetables and herbs within your flower beds to create a beautiful integrative look, think of beautiful formed vegetables like artichokes, courgettes and squashes or even try your hand at garlic and chillis. Herbs are such a fabulous addition to any garden, for beginners try planting in pots or large baskets to keep your herbs contained and also closer to where you will use them, I have my large baskets on wheels that I can move around to the best place at the time of year, I grow seasonal salad leaves and a combination of herbs and edible flowers, ideal for creating beautiful salads and herbal teas. I adore growing chamomile and mint for fresh teas but I find the mint does take over so that goes in its own pots. Try partner planting for your vegetables to keep flies and pests away, the handiest and most useful of these is tomatoes planted with basil and/or spring onions. If you have the room a small orchard is such a luxury, underplanted with spring bulbs, think bluebells under mixed fruit trees.
- Water Features
- Add a sense of calm with water features like ponds, fountains, or waterfalls. These elements bring a soothing ambiance and attract wildlife to your garden, great for sustainability and the water music brings something very special, especially if you are near a busy road, there is nothing better to mask the noise than the gentle sound of water. With lots of choices including lots of no dig options, I have the perfect rill all around the deck area which I use as my yoga deck which brings a peacefulness to that area. We do have some beautiful corten steel options that create magnificent pieces or if you don’t have the space why not use a waterbowl to create a lovely bird bath while adding ripples and reflections to an area.
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Vertical Gardens
- Maximise space with vertical gardens. Perfect for small spaces, terraces and balconies they add greenery without taking up valuable ground area. Add narrow troughs or clusters of smaller pots. Creating a more sculptured look with a simple tiered system or go the whole hog with a green wall, either can mitigate the effects of air pollution, absorbing harmful toxins and carbon dioxide. Air pollution is a serious issue in our cities; in places like London it’s frequently bad enough to trigger official ‘alerts’, while long-term exposure can lead to all kinds of health effects. This pollution can be exacerbated when it gets trapped between tall buildings. Plants and greenery have been shown to have the ability to filter out much of this pollution. This s the perfect way to grown salad and herb crops, creating a treat for all the senses as well as your favourites foliage plants with splashes of colour. Even try some smaller soft fruits like strawberries or blueberries.
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Wildlife-Friendly Gardens
- Create a haven for local wildlife with bird feeders, bee hotels, and butterfly-friendly plants. Supporting biodiversity is a key focus for 2025. Anything that creates a habitat for our fellow inhabitants is perfect, try making your own bee hotel alongside high nectar plants, a great task to get the kids involved in. Something as simple as leaving those dandelions in your lawn areas for as long as possible, you don’t need to leave the grass un-mowed just work around them as they are a crucial form of nectar in the earlier months. I not only have birds and bee hotel and feeds but also a hedgehog house and I’ve planted a wildflower meadow on top of a flat roof of the garage away, a food source away from where they will be disturbed.
Minimalist Designs
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- Less is more with minimalist garden designs. Clean lines, simple plantings, and uncluttered spaces create a serene environment. Gravel gardens are perfect for drainage, as you can see lots of these garden styles cross over, this one can be a great outdoor living space whilst also being highly sustainable. Try planting key feature trees like beautiful pines or multistemmed trees with limited pallets of things like simple prairie grasses within gravel pathways for a really dramatic look, add a couple of very tactile but beautifully designed chairs or a bench to capture the beauty of this space. Use textures and natural products to create something breathtaking.
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Sanctuary Spaces
- This one was featured in last years trends too but it doesn’t appear to be going away and rightly so, our need to unplug and relax in our fast paced lifestyles is more important than ever and creating sanctuaries to do that is incredibly necessary, so whatever your way to relax is then do it. We are all searching for ways to keep us healthier and happier for longer and if you are anything like me, taking as much as possible from those ‘blue zones’ for longevity is really high up on the list. Design your garden as a retreat for relaxation and rejuvenation. Incorporate elements like meditation corners, yoga or pilates spots, saunas, and hot tubs to create a personal sanctuary where you can unwind and reconnect with nature. For a really simple addition try creating a chamomile lawn in a small space where you like to relax with a cup of tea at the end of a busy day, when the weather gets a little better, walking bare-foot on this highly scented lawn that is known for its relaxation qualities, add some of your favourite scented plants (mine is Jasmine) and you have the perfect place to relax.
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Don’t forget those all important colour splashes
- While this years colour of the year is calm and tranquil, Mocha Mousse is still a much needed step away from the neutrals that we’ve seen for some years now, last year I gave the trend as stronger, more Mexican colour-ways, we have moved somewhat towards that but I think that its taking us a little longer to be as brave with colour but its is coming, maybe that is the designer in me. This years colour palettes are a harmonious grouping of colour inspired by the precious natural world.
At Caragh Nurseries, we understand that every garden is unique. Our expert garden design consultation service has been available to our clients throughout Ireland for over ten years and our Garden Build team, even longer than that. Our team includes landscape contractors, stonemasons, pavers and professional plants people to transform your garden space or commercial garden. We build gardens throughout Ireland, UK and also in Mainland Europe with gardens built last year in France, Switzerland and Portugal. We are here to help you bring your vision to life. Whether you’re inspired by the latest trends or have a specific idea in mind, our design team will work with you to create a bespoke garden that suits your lifestyle and preferences.
Why Choose Our Garden Design Consultation?
- Personalised design tailored to your needs
- Expert advice from experienced designers
- Access to a wide range of mature and specimen trees
- Comprehensive service from concept to completion
Ready to transform your garden? Contact our design coordinator to talk through your requirements and take the first step towards your dream outdoor space.
Contact Us:
- 045 879170
- info@caraghnurseries.ie