2026 Local and Global Landscape Trends
What’s hot in landscape design?
Fire tables. Gone are the smoky, circular fire pits of the past. While in some situations they are the perfect, cozy solution, they can look outdated in the modern landscape.
Fire tables come in various lengths, with a gas burner down the center and decorative stone. Often built with social situations in mind, they have wide caps for setting food and drink, and can be built at a multitude of heights and lengths, custom fit to work in your space.
With the right design, they easily fit into a new landscape, a renovation, or a commercial application. They work with natural gas or propane and can be upgraded with an electric start. This hot aspect of landscape design has really taken hold in our Wisconsin climate!
What’s new in landscaping materials?
What’s trending in hardscapes?
For a long time using one product line to create your hardscapes was the way to go. You could choose a color and style and have a cohesive look across the board. Hardscape have taken the leap from standard to artistic by using a multiple of coordinating materials to create a custom, unique look that won’t be duplicated by the landscaper doing your neighbor’s yard.
Pro Landscaping Tip: Accessorize!
Like an amazing outfit, a top-notch landscape is accessorized. Considering adding containers for annuals or herbs, benches, arbors or trellises for vines, small water-features, or a piece of art or statuary as a focal point.
Plan your landscape with intention
We all have different goals for our green spaces. What is the purpose of your space? Planting for pollinators or bird friendly yards? Edible landscapes? Pet friendly? Simple and low-maintenance? Drought tolerant? Minimalistic? Abundant? Eco-friendly? Let your designer or landscape maintenance technician know how you want your yard to function; it is the key to working towards that goal.
Technical advancements in landscaping
There are so many technological advancements that can enhance your landscape. Lighting, irrigation, and music all can be run by the touch of a button on your phone. AI and the internet, of course, are valuable sources of information for all things landscape. Just remember to cross-reference or use multiple sources to gain your information. Working an expert in the industry is going to be one of your best resources as they know the most about your local environment, city requirements, climate conditions, and product availability to help you make the right choices.
Refresh and renew your existing landscape
When was the last time you really stood back and looked at your landscape? When you built or moved in? A professionally renovated or maintained yard can add value to your home in curb appeal; hardscapes add value you can see on the bottom line. A skilled designer can re-imagine your landscape to fit with your home, no matter the age or style of the house. Planting bed renovations can increase or reduce bed space, allow you to keep or divide existing plants, and bring in newer varieties that may be easier for you to maintain. Scheduled clean-ups or pruning visits can tame unruly shrubs and trees, increasing visibility and security. There are many affordable options to give your home or business a little face-lift without breaking the bank.
Color Selections for Garden Beds
There are multiple competing ideas out there regarding color trends. Every year product lines come out with new products and colors. Pantone, Valspar and others come out with their “Color of the Year” each year. We always suggest you go with what works best with your house and style. You can easily paint interior walls and buy new pillows to follow trends, but your hardscapes are there for a considerable amount of time and not so easy to change. Trusting your designer for placement of plants based on their behavior is always good, but ask for colors that you like. There will always be compromise since not all plants come in all colors or the right sizes, but you can always supplement with trendy annuals for impact. Essentially, trust your designer to provide you with good options, but provide them with enough direction so they are helping select what’s best for you.
Global Landscaping Trends
Global trends tend to indicate where the landscape industry is going as a whole. Adapting to more intense climate situations, planting a biodiverse landscape and technology are the hot topics.
While municipalities are grappling with reassessing drainage issues, wetland designation and shoreline setbacks, designers and architects around the world are trying to predict and mitigate these situations as well.
Many people disdain the newer regulations requiring specific amounts of green space to be included in new construction or renovation in urban areas. The flooding we experienced in the greater Milwaukee area this summer reflects the lack of green space and designs that slow down the movement of the water. The amount of damage done far exceeded the cost of the extra green space. Don’t, however, assume that any regulations or efforts will ever completely solve the issue when unprecedented amounts of rain are falling, but the severity and extent of the damage could be greatly reduced. Conversely, severe drought is plaguing areas requiring adapting design towards conserving and using less water.
Biodiversity is regularly showing up at the top of the list. As global trade is a common practice now, even with enormous regulations for plants crossing country and state borders, insects and diseases make their way into, and across, our country. Insects and diseases are fairly species specific. We are all pretty familiar with Emerald Ash Borers. If you had an ash tree in your yard, unless it was treated, it was most likely killed in the last 10 years or so by EAB. With diversity in your yard, you may have only lost one tree. For those that loved ashes, or had them on your city streets, the amount of death was extensive and expensive. People love blue spruces, but with several fungal diseases and blights affecting them, the lines of them that were used for screening are dying as the diseases move through them. Planting an array of species and incorporating some natives into your yard is a great way to prevent massive loss when another new insect or disease rears its head.
Finally, AI. Everyone wants to know how AI is working in the landscape industry. Using it to manipulate existing plans, documents and images is a trend across the industry. The speed of information gathering and consolidating data, as well as improving business presentation and communication, is absolutely fantastic. According to some of the top global firms, however, it’s still “garbage in, garbage out.” The caution here is that we can augment and improve processes within the industry, but we currently aren’t at the point where we can fully automate the nuances of proper landscape design and architecture.
In contrast to technology, there appears to be a growing return to customer service and personal customer experiences. By implementing efficiency through technology, however, professionals are able to focus on creativity, client satisfaction and relationship building. Working with an experienced landscape professional helps ensure these trends are applied correctly and effectively to your property.
By partnering with American Landscape, you gain a team that understands these trends and applies them thoughtfully to your property—helping you create resilient, beautiful landscapes designed for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.