Cold + Bold Canada^™, Sharon Murphy - 6 Inspiring Trends Shaping Canadian Gardening in 2026

2026 January Regional Report

CANADA

Report from Sharon Murphy (Gardening with Sharon)

Winter provides time to refresh, reflect and ready ourselves for spring. Here’s how I’ll be starting off the new year.

• Indoor tropical plants slow their growth in response to the rhythms of reduced sunlight, so check the soil before watering. They may not need as much as you think this time of year. Hold back on fertilizing until they begin to actively grow again in March or April.
• Dream and design your next garden, remembering which of your favorite plants you'd like to repeat and noting new ones you'd like to try this year.|
  
  
• If possible, keep your perennial flowerbeds covered with snow to protect the plants’ crowns and roots. Snow helps to keep the ground insulated and frozen, which is important during winter warm spells.
  
  
• Finalize your seed orders so they will arrive at the right time. Store seeds in a cool, dark, dry, protected place until you need them. Remember to mark your seed packages with the year to keep track of their viability in case you have leftovers after sowing.

Gardening in Canada is blooming with fresh ideas, whether you’ve got a balcony in Montreal, backyard in Winnipeg, cottage garden in the Maritimes or mountain terrace in British Columbia. As we begin the new gardening season, here are six top trends taking root.

1. Regenerative Gardening: Healing the Earth

Sustainability is becoming a foundation of Canadian gardens. Regenerative gardening goes beyond organics by focusing on restoring soil health, supporting pollinators and encouraging biodiversity.

Home gardeners are embracing composting, mulching, rain gardens, cover crops and no-dig methods, all of which are gaining popularity for reducing water runoff and protecting living soil.

By harvesting rainwater and choosing resilient, reliable perennials, gardeners can create beautiful, eco-friendly landscapes that benefit people and the planet.

2. Productive Gardens: Beauty Meets Bounty

Why choose between ornamental and edible plants? Canadian gardeners are blending fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables and herbs into their annual and perennial flower beds and landscapes.

They are maximizing their outdoor growing spaces with containers that mix food and flowers together. Herbs like downy mildew-resistant Amazel Basil^® or Pesto Besto^™ basil, oregano, parsley, mint and chives, along with easy-to-grow greens, are the stars of these compact gardens.

3. Container Gardening: An Established Trend That Has No Limits

Container gardening is set to flourish even more in 2026 as Canadians embrace sustainable, flexible ways to draw our natural world in for a closer look. The beauty of container gardening is that it is without boundaries and makes gardening possible anywhere. Innovative planters include easy-to-grow, container-adapted varieties like Supertunia^® petunias for sunny locations, Solenia^® begonias for sunny and shady spaces, or Rockapulco^® double impatiens for shade.

4. Wildlife-Friendly Gardens: Spaces for All

Canadian gardeners are doing their part to support biodiversity, creating gardens that are a treat for pollinators and people alike. They are planting pollinator-friendly flowers, leaving natural debris to shelter wildlife, adding bee “hotels” and birdbaths, building ponds for frogs, and avoiding the use of chemical pesticides in favour of natural pest control measures.

Zone 3 hardy Profusion perennial salvia varieties and ‘Tuscan Sun’ Heliopsis are popular among pollinators. Zone 4 hardy Decadence^® Baptisia, ‘Treasure Trove’ black-eyed Susan, and bee balms attract them, too. Bees and butterflies love everblooming annual sweet alyssum varieties like Snow Princess^® as well as Unplugged^® salvias.  

5. Outdoor Living: Gardens as Gathering Spaces

Gardens are evolving into multi-purpose outdoor living spaces across Canada. Picture comfy seating and firepits for chilly nights. Then, add art, lighting and fragrant flowers like Aromagica^® Purple heliotrope, Citronella geranium (Mosquito Plant) and Sweet Romance^® lavender to complete the sensory experience.

6. Tech-Savvy Gardens: Tools Make Gardening EasierGadgets are making green thumbs even greener in 2026. From Twist 'n Plant^® gardening augers that make planting easier to self-watering AquaPots^® Lite planters and inserts and WaterWise^® drip irrigation, soil sensors and robotic mowers, these tools are saving gardeners time and resources. It’s time for everyone from beginner to pro gardeners to garden smarter, not harder, this year.

No matter your gardening rank, Canadian gardening trends for 2026 invite you to get creative, connect with nature and one another, and grow a greener future.