ONCE renowned for his innovative modernist designs, Diarmuid Gavin believes trends are increasingly heading towards a return to traditional gardens where the plants are the stars.

He is pleased that the age of shiny stainless steel, bright blue fences and decking once embraced by TV shows has ended.

Having just launched the Ideal Home Show’s first garden design competition to celebrate the best examples of sustainable practice in garden design and support young and emerging UK students in the field, he expects a rush of ecoawareness.

“There will be a generation of students who grew up in a time when gardening was manic on television. I’m expecting big eco-awareness.

That generation will know how important it is in terms of sourcing materials, saving water and making compost.

I would hope for a refinement of all the madder ideas that have been around for years.”

Mr Gavin continued: “The wheel is turning back to the craft of gardening. People’s first love is plants, understanding the soil and understanding the environment.

That’s the very trendy thing, which is healthy.”

Fruit and vegetable growing will continue this year and in the longer-term future, he predicted.

“The big trend will remain grow-it-yourself. Companies will come out with kit forms of raised beds made from wood, compost mixes and seed mixes, along with manuals on how to grow basic vegetables to educate your children and feed your family.

“In terms of materials and planting schemes, it’s back to the style of garden we remember from our childhood.

The grander, more old-fashioned style (and) colour in terms of herbaceous plants and a kind of appreciation of tradition.

“A lot of natural stone will be used and salvage material will be appreciated.

There will be less concrete.”

These days, Gavin agrees he is commissioned to design much more traditional gardens in general.

“People want to be comforted and indulged. They want to see the qualities of tradition for which Britain is so well known. They want to embrace tradition in a realistic way.”

But for people who have smaller town gardens and not much time for maintenance, minimalist will always be in vogue, he said, while the popularity of lowmaintenance plants is surging.

“The arrival of ornamental plants such as grasses, mass planting of lavender and Buxus sempervirens in a more contemporary way works very well, so keep it simple. For most gardens the palette of plants is relatively limited because you have to acknowledge how people live.

“There will be more evergreens and people will appreciate grasses like carex.

If you planted bronze carex a few years ago, people thought you were planting something that was dead.

“Now there’s a more naturalistic feel through an appreciation of foliage and different hues, supplemented with bulbs. It’s uncomplicated but wonderful.”

Mr Gavin is currently having his garden in County Wicklow completely refurbished and says it will all centre on herbaceous borders, with a folly at the end.

He said that after two harsh winters, gardeners will need to reconsider which species they grow.

“Dicksonias (tree ferns) have taken a bashing. We used to use Cordyline australis everywhere but many have been killed off, as have lots of hebes. We have to decide whether our ambition should be to continue to go for the exotic if we don’t live in a protected area.

“Perennials are the quintessential basis for the English cottage garden. Now with Monty Don coming back to Gardeners’ World, I think they have a very promising future.”

* Diarmuid Gavin is the “ideal gardens” ambassador at the Ideal Home Show, sponsored by Hydropool, at London’s Earls Court, March 11-27. He will be at the show offering advice on home garden innovations.

For tickets, call 0844-415-4144 or go to the idealhomeshow.co.uk website.