People in the Netherlands are increasingly trying to make their gardens, terraces and balconies greener by growing plants, flowers and shrubs, after years of gravel, tiles and rock gardens being a trend in Dutch gardening. 

Half of Dutch gardens are gravel gardens

Of the 5,5 million gardens outside houses in the Netherlands, around half of them are set with gravel, rocks or tiles. But according to Dutch broadcaster NOS, this is starting to change. In 2023, a growing number of people turned towards plants and shrubs to decorate their outside space, rather than stone. 

This is backed up with figures from the gardening organisation Tuinbranche Nederland. In 2023 people in the Netherlands spent 2,15 billion euros on gardening items - four percent more than in 2022. Though this is in part due to inflation pushing up the price of gardening goods, the figures have grown so strongly that it reflects the increased demand for flowers, shrubs and trees.

People in the Netherlands are looking to add more green to their outdoor spaces

"Recent research shows that 30 percent of 2,500 garden owners surveyed want to green their garden, and 30 percent say maybe. So we are very happy with that," Frank van der Heide, director of Tuinbranche Nederland said. 

Climate experts are also excited about the change in gardening tastes. "A green garden is important in the rapidly changing climate," says Noï Boesten of the IVN (Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability). "A tile can easily reach 50 degrees in the summer. A garden with plants has a surface heat of 20 degrees. So in this way you are working enormously on heat stress," Boesten told NOS Radio 1 Journaal.