TALKING about garden trends for the coming year, Andrew Duff of Inchbald School of Garden Design (www.inchbald.co.uk), believes that there will be three main ones: gardeners will opt for native plants offering value for money; there’s likely to be an emphasis on low-cost options and we’ll see a merge of vegetables and flowers in borders.

“Next year is going to be much fluffier, but in a naturalistic way,”

he says. “Our native species need shouting about. We’ll see more of the viburnum, the oak and other plants which attract wildlife. We may still see manicured touches, but using native species.”

Andrew also predicts that colours will be moody – with fewer brilliant colours and more blood reds and blacks. Deep purple irises and blood-red aquilegias were the prevalent plants at Chelsea. Alliums, dahlias and tulips were not.

“People are only using things that are tried and trusted. They don’t want to splash out on designs that are going to be temporary,” says Andrew. “People are playing it quite safe. Now is not the time to make a mistake. They want cool, calm and subtle.

“At Chelsea I was expecting moody blacks and greys but I also expected some big wow-factor fluorescent colours like oranges, which is what is happening in fashion – but it’s not catching on in the garden.

“We are much more conscious about what materials we’re using and are likely to see a bigger sweep of British natives coming in.

“There’s a lot of black around – black walls, black fencing, black grasses – which is great for our grey skies.

There are some lovely blood reds, too. Black gives a great deal of depth to a small space and can be really effective in a small garden.

“Glaucous blue yuccas work well in front of a matt black wall. Another great trick to exaggerate depth is to plant small-leaved plants at the back and large-leaved plants at the front. It tricks the eye into thinking things are further away than they really are.”

Andrew also predicts that people are going to be growing more plants from seed because of the ongoing ‘grow your own’ campaign and the economic climate.

“We may see a revival of the old species such as purple runner beans and blue carrots, which naturally have a better colour foliage,”

Andrew adds.

“Putting vegetables in a flower border is a really nice idea that can work well. Space is at a premium and this is a good compromise, so you can have something pretty and something to eat.”

Ultimately, our gardens will reflect the release from the current stranglehold of the recession.

“Gone are the days of carefully manicured gardens,” says Andrew.

“There’s a more rough-and-ready approach, a return to allowing things to look slightly out of place.

Our houses have become very ordered and structured. The garden will give us a release from that.”