Seaweed compost and bean ‘manure’ among RHS garden trends for 2023 – The Guardian
Seaweed compost supplements and “manure” made of beans will be among the top garden trends of 2023, the Royal Horticultural Society has predicted.
As regenerative gardening becomes fashionable, experts in the horticulture charity’s gardens have been demonstrating how to tend beautiful plants in a more eco-friendly way, protecting the soil rather than extracting from it.
People will also be learning to attract creatures previously maligned as pests into their garden for the unexpected benefits they can bring. The RHS said its garden advice service was receiving more inquiries about encouraging a greater abundance of wildlife to their gardens to fend off more troublesome species. These include wasps that predate on caterpillars, slugs that can help recycle decaying material, and aphids that provide food for ladybirds, and lacewing and hoverfly larvae.
Dr Mark Gush, head of environmental horticulture at the RHS, said: “Regenerative gardening is all about improving the environmental conditions so that biodiversity can flourish. At our gardens we apply a no-dig technique, use cover crops and apply a mulch so that soil – fundamental to growing – is nurtured and protected; releasing nutrients throughout the year, minimising evaporation and and regulating temperature.”
Home composting has long been popular for many gardeners and those who have wanted to move towards having a zero-waste household. But the RHS believes the practice is to become even more popular along with other ways of protecting the soil.
Matthew Pottage, the curator at one of the charity’s gardens in Surrey, said: “It’s been a revelation at RHS Garden Wisley that it’s all about the soil. We have moved away from digging across the garden and also allow leaves to sit on beds. We now have a deeper understanding of soil ecosystem and the benefits this has to plants.
“Since we opened the world food garden using regenerative gardening, it has been a huge success, needing less weeding, with better soil health, and better plants, as well as better moisture retention. Following these really positive results, we’re moving to the same system in our orchard.”
This year’s drought in the UK has made gardeners more aware of the need to protect their plants from prolonged dry weather. Gush said: “Allowing some areas of lawn to grow taller, and diversifying the plant species therein, not only encourages biodiversity, but also encourages deeper rooting, thereby making lawns more resilient to periods of drought because of access to deeper soil …….