Root of the matter!

'Which garden design trends are here to stay, and which are passing fads?'

- POLLYANNA WILKINSON

Every year as the weather improves, the same question comes up: “What are the latest garden design trends?” And every year, my reaction is the same – I climb up on my high horse and declare that we shouldn't really be following ‘trends’ in our gardens, as that my friends is the path (pardon the pun) to a very dated garden in a few years' time.

But with the best will in the world, even if we manage to resist faddy aesthetics, even our beloved, and arguably more timeless, plants aren't immune to falling out of fashion, so let's look at what to embrace and what to leave behind this year...

We need only look to the conifer craze of the 1970s to see how certain plants can swiftly fall in or out of favour. But they can also make a triumphant comeback. Take dahlias, for example - not long ago they were seen as deeply uncool, relegated to granny's garden. Now? Show me an influencer not posing among them come summer. And the same is happening with the glorious gladioli, once dismissed, they are now very much on the rise. I am an enormous fan of the moody Gladiolus ‘Espresso’, a dark crimson confection which brings drama to the late summer border, and the classic