Whether you have a large garden, a small backyard, or a balcony, creating a beautiful outside space provides a respite from the pressures of the daily grind and becomes a sanctuary where you can connect with nature.
Experts predict 2023 will be an exciting time for being outside, and we take a look at some of the key trends to take inspiration from in the year ahead.
Grow your own bouquets
This will be a big year for growing flowers for cutting. Even the smallest space can be used as a cutting garden, with cut and come again flowers like roses, dahlias, sweet peas, cosmos giving lots of reward for little effort. Cosmos is the easiest of all and can be grown equally well in borders or pots to give you endless buckets of cut flowers.
Vertical gardens
Perfect for those with little space, a vertical garden is the way forward. You can create a practical and striking vertical garden by training beautiful roses or honeysuckle up a trellis, using staggered hanging baskets or planting containers, filling wall pouches or pockets with trailing plants, or planting up stacked plant shelves on casters so they can be moved to different positions.
Mediterranean gardens
With hotter summers and droughts becoming increasingly common, a move to Mediterranean planting makes sense. Choosing plants that require less water is not only practical, but this style of planting will also give you a stunning garden. Choose olive trees for their silvery green leaves and twisted trunks, bright bougainvillea to give you a dazzling show for most of the year, or fragrant herbs like lavender and rosemary for heady scent and beauty.
Natural materials
Sustainability is a key part of the interior trends for 2023, and it carries through to the garden, too. Solid paving and paths are giving way to natural materials like gravel and woodchip, which are good for drainage and planting as well as being affordable. Incorporate plants and flowers that will attract bees and other pollinators to your garden and help it thrive, and use waste food to create a good compost that will improve your soil’s health.
Terracotta tones
The 2023 Garden Trends Report reveals terracotta will be the colour of the year, signifying an optimistic future. Paprika is already a key trend for interiors, and its more grounded cousin terracotta will bring a sense of calm relaxation to any outside space. Luckily for gardeners, this shade is easy to use, whether in terracotta containers or in the plants themselves. Dot terracotta pots around the garden, and choose garden favourites like dahlias, roses and echinacea in deep sunset hues.
