These images show, from left, a base layer of logs used in creating a raised Hugulkultur bed, a layer of garden debris and twigs used in creating a raised Hugulkultur bed and a completed raised Hugulkultur bed.
I don’t have a giant property, so I strategize to get the most use of the garden I have, and that includes planting vegetables and herbs in raised beds and containers.
I’ve been growing edibles in two 4-by-4-foot cedar boxes that my husband built about 10 years ago, and every few years, I invest in copious amounts of compost and organic topsoil to refill them. Some friends garden in much larger beds, and the cost to fill them would make your salad spin.
A better method, “Hugelkultur,” is said to have been used in Germany and eastern Europe for centuries as part of a more extensive permaculture system, which maintains that nature should be left to do its own thing with as little human interference as possible. That includes allowing logs, branches and other plant debris to decompose into nutrient-rich soil, as it would on a forest floor, which is arguably better than anything that comes in a bag.
Hugelkultur, or “hill culture,” has been a darling of the permaculture world since the 1970s, but has been gaining mainstream and social-media attention lately.
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It can be used in raised beds or in mounds (or berms) directly on the ground.
This photo shows a layer of sticks and branches in a free-standing Hukelkultur bed during its construction.
Instead of filling deep raised beds solely with purchased soil and compost, create a layered foundation of yard waste to reduce the amount of soil needed and increase nutrients and plant yields.
Start by building about 40 percent of the depth of your box with a base layer of old firewood or logs from hardwood trees like maple, oak, poplar or birch (bonus points if the wood is rotted). Softwoods from needled evergreens are also acceptable but will decompose more quickly. Never include pressure-treated wood, which contains toxins; wood from black locust or redwood trees, which are decay-resistant; or wood from allelopathic trees like black walnut, which release growth-inhibitors into the soil.
Top the logs with smaller pieces of wood, like fallen branches, twigs and sticks to comprise the next 10 percent of depth.
Next, add a layer of leaves, grass clippings, and other soft plant debris, plus kitchen scraps like fruits, vegetables and eggshells (never include meat, oils or animal products like cheese, or dog or cat droppings). Ensure these fresh ingredients also fill spaces in the woody layer beneath them —and then water the pile well.
Finally, add a layer each of compost and topsoil in equal amounts, wetting each layer as you build.
If you’re making a free-standing mound, decide how big you’d like it to be and dig a 1-foot-deep trench as its foundation (save the sod if you are removing turf grass). Keep in mind it will be easier to plant and harvest on your mound if it’s no more than 3 feet tall.
Fill the trench with logs, and top with a thick layer of twigs, sticks and branches.
Top the woody layers with upside-down sections of the removed sod, or cardboard, and cover with kitchen scraps, compost and topsoil, as above, watering and tamping down as you go. Aim for a mound that’s wider at its base than its top.
To maximize gardening space, plant the sides as well as tops of berms.
As the organic matter in Hugelkultur beds breaks down, the height of the mound will sink; simply top off with compost as needed. That decay will also warm and aerate the soil, drastically reduce the need for irrigation (starting in the second or third year), and provide plants with a long-term supply of nutrients (fertilize regularly during the first two growing seasons, before decomposition really gets cooking).
Expect Hugelkultur beds to provide rich, fertile soil, increased harvests, larger plants — and savings — for up to 20 years.
Holey leaves and vines! Houseplant trends for 2022
New crop of houseplants
A butterwort (Pinguicula cyclosecta) plant in bloom.
After the houseplant heyday of the 1970s, the penchant for potted green companions faded with all but the most dedicated plant parents. But over the past decade, as many young adults began filling their homes — and social media feeds — with indoor plants, a cross-generational audience started to take notice.
Then the pandemic hit, and the homebound turned to houseplants for a sense of comfort and a connection to nature. Two years in, the desire to green up our living spaces with “houseplant jungles” is still going strong.
But for everything, there is a season: Cactuses, the darlings of the past decade, are waning in popularity as bolder statement plants that impart a sense of hominess and warmth take their place.
As we begin a new year, a new crop of houseplant trends awaits. Here are the styles and plants you can expect to see more of in 2022.
Fenestrated plants
This image from the Horti houseplant subscription service shows a mature Monstera deliciosa houseplant.
Steadily growing in popularity over the past few years, split-leaf philodendron (Monstera deliciosa) and Swiss cheese plant (Monstera adansonii) are showing no sign of retreat.
“Looks are what make them popular,” said Puneet Sabharwal, CEO and co-founder of the Horti houseplant subscription service. Their leaves are uniquely fenestrated, which in the plant world describes foliage that is split or contains holes.
“Things also become popular when they’re hard to acquire,” Sabharwal said. In the past, “Monsteras were never available in tiny sizes — only with big, giant leaves — and they were expensive. So initially it was hobby gardeners taking clippings and sharing them with each other, then posting photos on Instagram.”
The hashtag #MonsteraMonday helped fuel the frenzy, he said.
The plants are more accessible today, so the trend we’re seeing is a combination of their good looks, social media popularity and ease of care, Sabharwal said. “They’re hard to kill, and you only need one to add the feel of a jungle to your house.”
Vines
This image from the Horti houseplant subscription service shows golden, from left, marble and neon varieties of pothos plants.
Climbing plants also are having a moment as social media feeds fill with images of vines spilling from containers and snaking their way up stair railings and bookcases. Philodendrons, especially the velvet-leaved “micans” and variegated “pink princess” varieties, are desirable, as are large hoya and pothos plants. All are relatively low-maintenance.
“The beauty of vining plants is that you can easily take a clipping and make another,” Sabharwal said. “And they don’t take up a lot of floor space” because they grow vertically.
He attributes their surge in popularity to the wholesale-retail cycle: In 2020, lockdowns and business restrictions created a shortage of plants, so demand grew. Commercial growers responded to that demand by producing more. But, Sabharwal said, small pothos and philodendrons flooded the market and just sat on nursery shelves, growing bigger as the year progressed. Now there’s a large supply of plants with long vines, which are in greater demand.
Killer plants
Tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes spp)
Carnivorous plants can be tricky to grow, but who doesn’t love a good conversation piece?
“We’ve seen what we call a slow-motion explosion,” said Damon Collingsworth, co-owner of Sonoma County-based California Carnivores, the largest carnivorous plant nursery in the U.S. “When we opened in 1989, no one was interested because (the plants) were kind of weird, but weird is desirable now.”
The recent fascination can be traced, at least partially, to TikTok videos showing the plants in action. One in particular, which shows a jumping spider occupying a pitcher plant, quickly amassed 15.8 million views after it was posted to the platform in September.
But the allure isn’t limited to social media. Last summer’s BBC Gardeners World Live, an annual multi-day event held in Birmingham, England, showcased a carnivorous plants display for the first time in its 30-year history.
Stateside, Collingsworth said his nursery’s biggest sellers are Cape sundews (Drosera capensis) and butterworts (Pinguicula spp). Both are among the easiest carnivorous plants to grow indoors on a sunny windowsill. Tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp) also are on-trend, but their care requires a balancing act that Collingsworth calls “water finesse.” Their soil should be kept moist but never soggy, and it should be allowed to dry only slightly between waterings.
All three are swamp plants, so they require mineral-free distilled or rain water and very little fertilizer because their nutrient intake comes from the insects they catch. In the absence of an abundance of gnats, fruit flies or other household pests, Collingsworth recommends adding one pellet of slow-release fertilizer to each pitcher plant’s “mouth,” or spraying the leaves of other plants with liquid fertilizer once a month.
“They’re so different from everything else and also really charismatic and beautiful,” he said.
Minimalism
Monstera deliciosa
“Japandi” style, a marriage of Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian functionality, is new to the home décor scene, and houseplants play an essential role in creating the aesthetic.
The intentional placement of just a few statement plants in a room instantly imparts a sense of cozy elegance. Monsteras and the round-leaved Chinese money plants (Pilea peperomioides) provide the desired welcoming vibe without clutter.
Extravagance
Missy Molly blooms are seen here next to an Alocasia elephant ear.
Houseplant lovers bored by understated style are grouping large-leafed species for dramatic effect. Mature Monstera deliciosas, for instance, command attention with leaves that grow to 18 inches long, and the variegated foliage of golden and Hawaiian pothos varieties can reach 8 inches. The bold, arrow-shaped leaves of Alocasia, another rising star, often extend to 10 inches. Mix and match shapes and sizes for the biggest impact.
Before the pandemic, Collingsworth said, “we lived in a mass-produced, throw-away world. Now people are realizing nature is getting more and more scarce and special, and they’re appreciating that” by bringing more plants into their homes.
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Jessica Damiano is an award-winning gardening writer, master gardener and educator. She writes The Weekly Dirt newsletter and creates an annual wall calendar of daily gardening tips. Send her a note at jessica@jessicadamiano.com and find her at jessicadamiano.com and on Instagram @JesDamiano.
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