Landscape Design Trends in 2022 | Reds Landscaping and Design

The Landscape Design trends we are seeing in Melbourne owe much to practicality as well as the aesthetic. These trends reflect the lifestyle of summer in Melbourne but are also provide a practical landscape design with drought tolerant plants and low maintenance gardens.

We have listed the top design trends being followed by landscape designers.

1. Mid-century Palm Springs landscape design style

This is a landscape design style associated with cacti, granitic sand, concrete paving, and breeze-blocks. Often, this takes the form of hard landscaping in light grey or stark white, contrasting with splashes of colour from the plantings. The result is typical Palm Springs glamour with low maintenance and drought resistant gardens.

Palm Springs style landscaping - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Palm Springs style landscaping often features cacti, and succulents such as agave with plants to provide a splash of colour.*

The dry desert climate of Palm Spring, with its warm winters and abundance of space, is ideal for outdoor entertaining areas. Often, these will feature a fire pit area or a swimming pool as a focal point.

Custom Design Lap Pool - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Outdoor entertainment areas with a swimming pool and a fire are often features of the Palm Springs design style.*

Despite the low rainfall, the courtyard swimming pool in Palm Springs is a “must have” even in the smaller landscaped gardens.

Palm Springs gardens often provide a splash of colour with hot torch lilies, geraniums, roses, and bougainvillea.

Palm Springs Landscape Design Style - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Palm Springs Landscape Design Style with Agave and Colour contrast provided by red hot poker plant (Kniphofia uvaria).*

For the drought tolerant garden, succulents, ornamental grasses, and especially barrel cacti, proliferate. The Palm Springs landscapers also make use of the local gravel, abundant boulders and the native palms from the area.

Palm Springs Landscaping Style with Barrel cacti and boulders - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Palm Springs Landscaping Style with Barrel cacti and boulders.*

The barrel cactus (echinocactus grusonii), also known as the “Golden Ball Cactus” or “Mother-in-law’s Cushion,” makes a bold statement in landscape design. This plant, which is native to east central Mexico, is actually endangered in the wild.

Rancho Mirage near Palm Spring in California - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Rancho Mirage near Palm Spring in California is an example of Palm Springs resort style landscaping. Agave and palms with contrasting splashes of colour contrast with the white walls of the buildings.*

Succulents like agave thrive in the warmer subtropical gardens and can survive the occasional dry spell.

Indian Canyon Palm Springs - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Indian Canyon Palm Springs. The abundance of boulders and the indigenous palm trees heavily influence the Palm Springs landscape design style.*

2. Tuscan Mediterranean style

The design style of the Mediterranean or Tuscan garden is rooted in the choice of landscaping materials, textures, and colours. Garden features such as cobbled paving, tiles, stones, bricks, and especially terracotta, will enhance the Mediterranean feel. Neatly clipped hedges, gravel mulch, and soft colours contrasting with brightly coloured tiles are often found in the Mediterranean and Tuscan gardens. For landscaping Melbourne gardens, consider mixing this with less formal, drought tolerant plants and plants that give off a pleasant aroma.

Tuscan garden landscape design style - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Tuscan garden landscape design style with vines growing over a rustic pergola.*

The rustic Tuscan gardens are often associated with Italian rural villas and are much less formal than the Italian Renaissance gardens. These gardens often feature deep blues complementing the terracotta pots or roof tiles, as well as olives, agaves, and deep green mosaics.

Landscaping with olives in pots on a white balcony - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Landscaping with olives in pots on a white balcony. Olives are often a feature of Mediterranean Gardens.*

The Boboli Gardens in Florence are an example of a more formal Italian design style - Reds Landscaping & Design — *The Boboli Gardens in Florence are an example of a more formal Italian design style, but the crushed granite and earthy colours are also features of the rustic Tuscan gardens.*

3. Modern contemporary landscape design

This design style features concrete cantilevered steps and black steel water features with lime green structural planting.

Concrete cantilevered steppers floating steps Modern Contemporary - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Concrete cantilevered steppers floating steps Modern Contemporary.*

Balance and symmetry are features of this design style, and it is the ideal design style for contemporary homes. In contrast to the design and colours of the Tuscan garden, industrial style raw concrete is common in this style of garden, as well as stone and wooden garden ornaments.

Landscape design with structural lime planting - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Landscape design with structural lime planting and Italian pencil pines.*

Patio with Lime green structural plantings - Reds Landscaping & Design — *The symmetry and balance of contemporary landscape design. Patio with Lime green structural plantings.*

Modern Contemporary landscape design style video

4. French Provincial design

The French Provincial Landscape Design Style features hedges, ornamental pears, cobblestone driveways, and anduze pots. The hedges are often box hedges (buxus) and flowering plums (prunus).

Anduze Pottery - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Anduze pottery has been made in the Anduze commune in the south of France since the early 1600s. The design style influenced by Florentine pottery.*

A French Provincial garden with patio and Anduze pots - Reds Landscaping & Design — *A French Provincial garden with patio and Anduze pots.*

The French Provincial style has many similarities with the Tuscan landscaping design style.

French Provincial house - Reds Landscaping & Design — *The French Provincial house is an influence on this landscape design style.*

French Landscape design is influenced by the cobbled streets of France - Reds Landscaping & Design — *French Landscape design is influenced by the cobbled streets of France.*

5. Coastal Garden Design Style

This design style features loose plantings of native grasses like Lomandra, native shrubs, and whitewashed timber batten screens. Local boulders are also a big part of this landscape design style.

The coastal landscape design style is often used for hardy, low maintenance commercial landscaping of public spaces.

Coastal Garden design style is often used in commercial landscaping - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Coastal Garden design style is often used in commercial landscaping.*

Hardy Australian native grasses make an attractive and drought resistant garden.

Australian grass Swamp Foxtail, Cenchrus purpurascens - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Sunlight shining through the feathery flowerheads of the native Australian grass Swamp Foxtail, Cenchrus purpurascens. Also known as Fountain Grass.*

Coastal gardens often require clever solutions to protect plants from the fierce ocean winds. One solution is to use a white washed timber batten screen. The gaps in the screen allow some of the air to move through the screen, thereby minimising the turbulence that occurs with a solid fence. The white batten screens can be used as a design feature and provide contrast with grasses or Xanthorrhoea and Anigozanthos in the garden.

White timber batten screen - Reds Landscaping & Design — *White timber batten screen.*

Coastal garden plants have to endure salt spray, wind and often not very fertile sandy soils, so Lomandra is ideal for landscaping coastal gardens as it is a very hardy and drought resistant Australian native grass with attractive foliage.

The green lomandra makes a great contrast with this grey stone wall - Reds Landscaping & Design — *The green lomandra mass planting makes a great contrast with this grey stone wall.*

Lomandra plants - Reds Landscaping & Design — *Lomandra plants being planted in a new coastal garden in Hampton.*

Energy Saving Landscape Design

With the increasing price of energy a trend towards landscape design to reduce energy costs can be expected. This is where the landscape design makes use of deciduous trees to provide shade in summer and allow the sun’s warming rays through in winter.

Commercial Landscaping Design Trends

In the commercial landscaping of public spaces, the design trends are towards sustainability through the use of drought tolerant plants and the handling of rainwater through rain-gardens and permeable concrete. Modern public space design also requires a welcoming and accessible area where people can relax with a range of activities. As with residential landscape design, there is a strong trend towards outdoor entertaining areas where people can relax around a public barbecue.