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The RHS has shared their predictions on what’s going to be big in the world of gardening and horticulture in 2023.
As in all walks of life, the RHS predicts that many of the UK’s 30 million gardeners will be looking for more sustainable gardening techniques. You will also garden with a view of nature. They suggest that people will seek to improve soil health, conserve water and encourage wildlife.
Other predictions include non-traditional lawns, green landscaping, and welcoming weeds.
The RHS Garden Predictions for 2023:
1. Thriving houseplants
Aside from the winter cold spells, the climate is generally warming up, which means we will use our central heating less all year round. This is good news for our houseplant friends, because they don’t like the dry and hot air from our central heating.
2. Regenerative gardening
The UK is set to ban peat-based bag compost in 2024, so before then gardeners will be looking for greener alternatives to make the switch easier. This includes compost made from wood.
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Comfrey and winter beans can be grown as cover crops to fix nitrogen and other nutrients in the soil. Comfrey ‘Bocking 14’ can be grown and used directly as a mulch or made into a sustainable liquid feed to support the growth of newly planted plants.
3. Garden technology
In line with all other walks of life, apps and social media are becoming more and more popular and useful when it comes to gardening as people share tips and notes. In 2023, RHS will expand its range of digital services in line with needs.
4. Herb Gardens
Instead of buying packets of cut fresh herbs in single-use (and difficult to recycle) plastic bags, grow your own. They are relatively easy and can be done on window sills from March to April and outdoors from April to August.
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5. Innovative climate resilient gardens
2022 was the hottest summer in years with temperatures reaching 40.3 °C. Gardeners are striving to future-proof their spaces for a more extreme climate. Gravel gardens and xeriscaping (gardens designed to minimize future watering) will be popular, but that doesn’t mean you need to radically transform your entire yard. There are substitutions gardeners can make to get the same feel, such as: B. fragrant choisya for hydrangea and phygelius for fuchsia.
6. Change lawn
After the summer’s drought, it was nearly impossible to keep the lawns green. Longer grasses not only contribute to biodiversity, but are also less water intensive. Look out for ‘tapestry lawns’, made up of low-lying, intertwined flowering plants such as yarrow and self-healing plants, as well as mini meadows of wildflowers. Plants previously thought of as weeds, including dandelions, are also embraced for their ability to blend in with their green surroundings.
7. Green Landscaping
Green walls, hedges and ponds are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to harsh landscaping, not only as a more affordable alternative but also to avoid the increasing problem of flooding they can cause.
8. Dried and pressed flowers
Dried flowers have become increasingly popular in recent years as a more sustainable alternative to fresh. Pressed flowers are also making a comeback in the form of bouquets, wreaths and garlands.
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9. Embracing nature’s unloved ones
The RHS Garden Advisory Service is receiving an increasing number of inquiries about how to encourage a greater abundance of wildlife to repel nuisance species – including wasps, which eat caterpillars, slugs, which can help recycle rotting material, and aphids, the food for pets offer such as ladybird, lacewing and hoverfly larvae.
Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticulturist, said: “For 2022, the charity forecast the rise of red-fleshed apples, which this year have benefited from extreme summer temperatures making them sweeter and even more colourful, and confident planting during the RHS Flower Shows celebrated a riot of red, purple and yellow.
“Next year we expect gardeners to garden with respect for nature and the environment more than ever, a trend that is growing year on year and will become a major concern for UK gardeners.”
