The other day at the library a guide to macramé caught my eye. I have un-fond memories from the 1970s of knotted owl wall hangings with creepy beaded eyes, and hitting my head on plants strung up in hammocks. The book on display (March is National Craft Month) had been recently published. I didn’t know macramé was back in style and had to wonder what else I’ve missed. I don’t mind being outré but passé is uncool. So I consulted the internet about current trends.

Perhaps thanks to macramé, houseplants — hanging from ceilings and perched on windowsills — are back in especially among Millennials and Gen Z-ers. Fiddle-leaf figs (Ficus lyrata) are huge (literally and figuratively). So is Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomiodes), a cute round-leafed plant I’d never noticed until a 30-something friend pointed out its popularity on Pinterest. That one is hard to come by and evidently worth its weight in gold. I can think of worse things for kids these days to spend their money on... I might not own the chic plants, but I do have a houseful of air purifiers and will consider my interior decor adequately au courant.

Every summer, I move my houseplants outside to what I could call an “outdoor living room” if it wasn’t just a deck equipped with a couple of wooden beach chairs and a chaise for lounging. Outdoor living never goes out of style but the necessary accessories change all the time. I’ll hang string lights and put out a pillow or two for the birds to poop on but draw the line at overstuffed furniture and a TV.

Supposedly, this year, dining al fresco is the big thing in outdoor living, and goes hand in hand with the slow food trend. I like the concept. You know I don’t grow much veg but my chef buys local and prepares beautiful seasonal meals. A few years ago we inherited folding cafe chairs and bought a table to match. More often than not though, we bring plates outside, precariously balanced on beverages, only to find the table covered in gardening junk, and end up abandoning formality to sit forward on the beach chairs with plates on our laps. The important thing is taking time to hang out(side) together. Maybe this year I’ll clean up my stuff before dinner and post the pictures of it on Instagram.

Front yard gardens are all the rage these days. I’ve been avant-gardening street side since day one because it never occurred to me not to. But there are some communities in some states with ordinances against front yard gardens. We’re lucky. No one will stop you if you follow the pack, get rid of your lawn and plant annuals, perennials, and shrubs up to the sidewalk. And then, don’t worry about it being perfect — a little wildness is totally in right now too. Let plants grow together and don’t go crazy deadheading. Leave your seedheads standing all winter like I do, and call it wabi sabi after the Japanese aesthetic tradition that celebrates the beauty and seasonality in imperfection and impermanence.

Finally, plant natives. I’ve been beating that drum for a while and since I’m nowhere near the only one, it’s beginning to reverberate. Locally native plants give our gardens a purpose beyond mere aesthetics (wabi sabi or not). They help it function as an ecosystem by providing edible forage and habitat for locally native wildlife that rely on specific genera and species for survival. Nature is cool. Birds, bees, butterflies, and insects are cool. Especially when they work in concert as nature intended to keep themselves and unwelcome exotic populations in check.

I’m not wild about macramé coming back into vogue but if it’s the vehicle that carries plants into anyone’s life, then I’m into it. On the nature and gardening bandwagons, the more the merrier. Let’s ride these healthy-garden and slow-life trends into 2018 and beyond.

Kristin Green is a Bristol-based gardener and author of "Plantiful: Start Small, Grow Big with 150 Plants that Spread, Self-Sow, and Overwinter". Follow her blog at trenchmanicure.com.