Top Gardening Trends for 2026

Lisa's Landscape & Design ♦ 12/28/2025 ♦ Leave a comment

At the end of every year I love to look to the interwebs to see what new gardening trends will take over the minds of those seeking out my assistance. However, this year and the past many years, I am pleasantly surprised to see that the work I have been doing for the last 25 years is as popular as ever.

Design and installation by Lisa laPaso, Lisa’s landscape, austin

It is comforting to see that the education I have been providing to my clients all of these years was the wave of the future. That’s because it makes sense, it is ecologically sound, environmentally conscious and by far the most effective for wildlife and water conservation. So let’s revisit a few of the gardening trends that many others are catching on to. 

Native and Adapted (non-invasive) Plants

While many people and organizations promote a hard stand on “natives only”, I am a firm believer that there are other perennial choices that can be very beneficial and effective in a Central Texas garden when chosen carefully and organically amended. 

So for example, I would never recommend someone plant azaleas or hydrangeas in the central Texas area even if you wanted to spend time, amending the soil and watering the daylights out of them. There is nothing sustainable about that and those plants don’t provide food or shelter for wildlife. However, there are adapted plants like the Mexican Bush Sage, the Pride of Barbados, the Jerusalem Sage or even a bearded Iris that requires little to no maintenance or additional watering once established. They are non-invasive, and pest and disease resistant, so why not include them? 

All of that being said, native plants and trees should ALWAYS be the bulk of any garden in Central Texas because they are here for a reason. That reason is that indigenous wildlife depends on them for food. Many native birds, animals and insects rely on those plants for survival. These plants are also accustomed to our annual rainfall, crappy soil and extreme heat and cold blasts. 

Maximalist Planting is a Top Trend

Well, this here is my jam. Much like interior design, it varies wildly from minimalism to maximalism to shame you into changing your entire space. But I have always been a maximalist when it comes to gardening because I plant in Central Texas like I live in the rainforest. Now, before you clutch your pearls, let me explain. I plant in layers from the canopy to the ground cover and everything in between must be a symbiotic relationship of like-needed plants that will have room to grow to maturity without covering one another up and becoming a blob. Just like the forest where trees display “crown shyness”, the landscape must grow enough to occupy its space entirely without overlapping, or overcrowding the other plants. 

Design and installation by Lisa LaPaso

This garden is a literal cornucopia of native and adapted plants that all love full sun, low water, and required little to no maintenance. This space was very content with semi annual composting and a light mulch application. It required the spring cleanup after the hard freezes, and the rest of the year. It just did its thing with little help from the homeowner. Additionally, this garden has no irrigation. It was watered by hose end sprinklers as needed. 

Eco Friendly Gardening is Trending in a Big Way

While this top gardening trend is always first and foremost, there are some defining details that make each year a little more unique and this year it is about light pollution. Landscape lighting has always been a big decision for home owners because we needed to find the soft spot between feature and function. Safety that lighting provides seemed to be as much of an asset as the garden details the light provided. However, over the years we have learned that light pollution is a major concern for wildlife. Many of us are aware that lighting up the night sky blocks our view of the stars at night, but we may not realize that those accent lights are throwing off the feeding and mating cycle of bats, owls, and other nocturnal creatures. 
Additionally, the bright lights people use for security have been proven to be ineffective protection against crime. The far better option for security is motion lights and they are far better for wildlife as well. 

Above is a an example of soft ambient lighting with citronella candles in planter hanging baskets. Solar lighting with soft white lights and motion sensors are a huge trend in 2026 and beyond. 

Bold Colors are Trending 

Another one of my faves is designing with bold colors, bold, bright colors are trending right now and particularly jewel tones, but I say you choose whatever makes you happy. If you prefer pastels, by all means go for it, but if you can add in a bold color for contrast you will find that they will really stand out against bolder colors, making them more impactful. 

Edible Landscapes are Deliciously Trending

With the current prices of groceries, it’s no wonder growing our own fruits and veggies is trending in a big way. I have been promoting and designing edible and perennial landscapes for my entire career because they go hand in hand. Not to mention, nothing tastes better than food you grew yourself. Below are just a few of the photos of food I have grown over the years.

Food gardens have a reputation of being far more complicated than they really are, but with the exception of squirrels, they are pretty darn rewarding with minimal effort when done correctly. The trend towards food gardening has a lot more to do with the unique types of planters and techniques than it does with the overall ease. While the correct type of planters that are safe for food and the techniques for watering and vertical gardening have vastly improved, growing food successfully comes down to 3 basic steps and they are plants, soil and sunlight. 

1) Choose the right location. Food plants and trees need at least 6 hours of sunlight and that doesn’t mean afternoon sun. In fact, in Central Texas morning or mid day sunlight is optimal because of the of the intense heat of our afternoon sun. 

2) Make the proper plant and tree selections for your hardiness zone which is 8a/b for the Austin area. You have to select the right plants for the job and they must be for our ecosystem. Do not introduce plants from other countries that could become invasive in our environment. The Internet is your friend here. 

3) Quality is key and it must be rich, compost filled and airy. Raised beds are optimal because it is easy to just add depth from the ground up. But, if you’d like to add food to your perennial beds as I do, just dig as deep as you can and back fill with raised bed, garden soil and you’re ready to go.

Education is Also a Top Gardening Trend!

With so many design and plant Apps, software and blogs like mine, there is no reason to be misinformed about the right plants, timing and sunlight requirements. For those who navigate YouTube, the internet and  gardening books with ease, the information you’ll need can be right at your fingertips. For those who prefer a more hands-on approach for guidance, contact a local Landscape Designer and/or Educational Consultant like me for an in person or online personalized service.

Lisa LaPaso, landscape Designer and Educational Consultant

Trends are fun to grow inspiration and ideas, but the goal is for these ideas to gain long term success and production. Take the process in in bite sized, doable pieces starting with the plan. Then choose the right plants and trees, install your hardscapes, irrigation, and bed preparation. Finally, you’re in the planting stages and you want to start with the trees and large shrubs then move your way out of the beds towards the front so as not to damage the other plants roots and compact the soil. 

Be sure to use lots of quality compost, native hardwood mulch and learn the proper planting techniques for each plant. Soon, you will be enjoying both the fruits and flowers of your labor into the new year and beyond. 

Lisa LaPaso

Lisa’s Landscape and Design

Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”