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Garden Rooms Mean Business
From home offices to tranquil retreats, garden rooms provide year-round functionality while adding value to a property, writes Sean Bunyan, the garden room...
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Greenhouses To Embrace Colour
Tori Tomlin, a director at White Cottage Greenhouses, has shared predictions for the trends shaping customers’ greenhouses next year.
A micro-trend that's increasing in popularity is a demand for vine wires. Once an occasional special request, these elegant finishing touches are now being regularly included as part of a new greenhouse design. No longer just for training grapevines, gardeners are using them for tomatoes, cucumbers or even externally on the greenhouse roof as unobtrusive bird deterrents.
Trend 2
Customers are increasingly opting to upgrade their greenhouse guttering from a standard plastic system to a metal colour-matched one.
Trend 3
Greenhouse interiors are becoming just as considered as the structures themselves. Gardeners are increasingly focused on co-ordinating every element, from staging to sinks. Requests for tailored storage solutions, specific shelf heights and integrated features such as Belfast sinks have surged.
Trend 4
In an age of one-click buying, gardeners are rediscovering the value of ‘slow purchasing’ – investing time and care to create a quality, bespoke greenhouse. In the past, customers tended to wait until spring to order a greenhouse, only to find it was too late to have it ready for the season. Now, there is an increased appreciation of the planning and time needed to design, build and install a hand-crafted period greenhouse, with many people starting initial enquiries in autumn. By planning ahead, gardeners can ensure their greenhouse is ready for seedlings and summer gatherings.
Trend 5
As sustainability remains top of mind, customers are continuing to prioritise rainwater harvesting. The majority of gardeners now incorporate rainwater storage into their gardens with solutions ranging from simple plastic barrels to antique salvaged troughs costing thousands.
Trend 6
With climate change driving more extreme heat and sun, shading has become essential rather than optional. White Cottage Greenhouses’ sympathetic cedar-lath external blinds, sourced from a British supplier using handcrafted methods, offer sun protection while preserving the greenhouse’s period aesthetic. Each blind is made to measure, allowing gardeners to maintain the ideal growing conditions without compromising on style.
Trend 7
Timeless, natural hues remain the top choices for customers. Whilst white and off-white used to dominate, now only about 10-15% of customers choose them. Instead, there’s a shift towards subtle neutrals such as pebble grey, moorland and lizard grey, which echo the soft tones used on contemporary windows and doors. Meanwhile, darker colours such as anthracite are seeing occasional use. More than ever, greenhouse colours are being chosen to harmonise with the broader look of the home and garden.
Waning Trends
Once considered a signature detail of Victorian greenhouses, ornate ridge cresting is now falling out of favour. There is an increasing desire to recreate the authentic look and feel of period structures and for traditional Victorian working greenhouses, this means cleaner lines and functional detailing inside rather than overt decoration outside. Historically, more elaborate cresting was reserved by the Victorians for orangeries or house extensions rather than practical garden greenhouses. The move away from ridge cresting signals a return to authentic design roots.
Picture: Greenhouses – are they a new business opportunity? Do they take the same skills to sell and erect as would be needed for a conservatory?
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
25th November 2025