6 Cutting-Edge Garden Trends from Australia

Australia is on the cutting edge of garden design trends. They were planting succulent gardens, growing living walls and enjoying fresh fruit and veggies grown at home before any of these became trendy in the U.S. According to Matthew Cantwell, the director of Sydney-based Secret Gardens, today’s top trends are productive gardens, swimming pools, and great furniture.

Other rising trends he’s noticed include an emphasis on professionally designed gardens, less hardscape and an increased focus on the greener parts of the garden. Additionally, planting styles are becoming more varied and mixed, with a higher degree of qualified and experienced professionals able to design a plant palette at a more sophisticated level. As far as declining trends, Cantwell is getting fewer requests for water features and garden bling, which he defines as the need to create an outdoor entertaining area with everything you could imagine.

Take a look at these six outdoor spaces created by Secret Gardens to discover what else is popular in Australia right now.

GLASS POOL SURROUNDS
The centerpiece of this garden is a swimming pool and raised outdoor lounge. A glass surround encloses the pool to keep children safe. “This is a legal requirement. Australia has just introduced even more stringent pool guidelines so it is essential when designing pools that the surrounds are correct or it won’t be approved by councils,” explains Cantwell. Glass surrounds provide a much cleaner view than a fence and also offer wind protection. “Having glass allows the pool area to still feel like part of the outdoor area. It ticks the boxes for the legal requirements without being so intrusive in the landscape design.”

CUSTOM-BUILT FURNITURE
Cantwell reports that one of the major trends in Australian garden design is great furniture. Secret Gardens has responded to this trend by creating custom-built furniture for their clients. “On our projects, we always try to maximize garden space as well as customize to suit. Because Australians spend a lot of time outdoors due to our great weather, they want a spot that is already set up and ready to go,” says Cantwell. Built-in seating delivers on that promise, while looking incredibly stylish.

FEATURE WALLS
Many gardens designed by Secret Gardens have a feature wall that acts as outdoor art. “We apply similar design principles outdoors as are used indoors, this includes artwork,” Cantwell says. Here a red wall creates warmth and adds energy to a small courtyard. On another one of their projects, a patterned design was painted on a wall by the homeowners themselves.

SPECIALTY LIGHTING
Another popular trend Cantwell has noticed is specialty garden lighting. In many of their designs, Secret Gardens use light fixtures to create a unique visual display on a wall. “Depending on the light fitting, the globe and the wall finish, you can achieve a vast array of effects,” he says. “Lighting is crucial in a garden. It extends your use of your outdoor space and allows you to highlight aspects of the garden such as a beautiful tree, or this wall to act as a feature at night.”

ROOFTOP GARDENS
Rooftop gardens are a rising trend in Sydney. “They are growing in popularity as councils encourage new developments in Sydney to have a dedicated green space and as more people buy apartments,” says Cantwell. Rooftops offer an opportunity for outdoor entertaining space that many city-dwellers would envy. This particular design by Secret Gardens shows a rooftop garden that takes maximum advantage of city and water views.

MODERN LANDSCAPES
While Sydney has many older homes whose front facades are subject to regulations, many homeowners will modernize the rear of the building or the whole home if a new build was allowed. “For modern landscapes, we like to mix our planting styles to include tropical and native plants. But we have also used traditional plants shaped with a modern twist,” explains Cantwell. He points out that every garden, every project and every client is different. But, in many cases, decking and wood or stone can often be used to soften modern architecture. “In other cases we find that continuing the clean, modern lines of the house with the exteriors is what works best.”

Secret Gardens
Sydney, Australia