Politicians may be telling us that we are coming out of the recession, but gardeners nationwide will still be watching their spending in the New Year.

So says Andrew Duff, director of garden design at Inchbald School of Design, who is predicting that gardeners of 2010 will be plumping for permanent plantings, taking more cuttings and continuing the trend for growing their own.

“Quality and value for money is at the forefront of people’s minds,” he insists. “People may be going for permanent plantings rather than annuals – annuals will be the punctuation. The Ikea generation is dying. People want to buy things which are longer-lasting.”

He predicts there will be a resurgence of structure to gardens next year.

“We’ll see the return of evergreens more prominently, because they’re value for money, punctuated with masculine architectural foliage.

“The plants need to start working to justify their place in the garden, so you’ll have rich, moody evergreen backdrops, and plants such as cineraria and thistles. It will be much more dramatic and flamboyant, which is kind of what’s happening in fashion.

“We’ll see sweet-shop colours like sherbet lemons, not bright colours, but a softer range with more white and primarily relying on foliage. You’ll see old-fashioned favourites coming back like alchemilla, acanthus and euphorbias, and safe varieties like Euphorbia ‘Wulfenii’, because it’s likely to do well and you don’t have to keep replacing it.”

Gardeners will opt for permanent plants in pots, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.

“People will be after all-year-round plants, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to plant an evergreen,” Andrew says.

“Cornus and salix are good in pots. Plant thyme underneath to hide the soil. Herbs like rosemary prefer to be in a pot, which is more free-draining.”

People will also be increasing their stock by propagation, taking cuttings rather than spending more money, which may lead to an increase in sales of greenhouses, he predicts.

In line with the ‘grow your own’ campaign, the must-have hanging baskets will contain a mass of vegetables, including salad leaves and trailing tomatoes. Dwarf runner beans, particularly the purple-leaf varieties, will provide both an edible and ornamental addition to any container.

“People may not like the thought of putting vegetables into their flower border, but that’s an attitude that’s got to change,” Andrew says.