The Top 10 Small Garden Trends for 2023 – Plants, Paint and Patios

I love planning new projects for our garden as we try to spend a lot of time out there in the Spring and Summer months. We will be digging up and landscaping our garden in 2023, so here are some small garden trends that will suit any garden!

With our gardens becoming our sanctuaries over the last couple of years, we have become bolder and more experimental with how we use our outdoor spaces. They really have become an extension of our homes and the boom in sales for garden furniture, accessories and luxury items like outdoor offices and hot tubs has demonstrated this.

Well-being and sustainability have also become more important in our everyday lives and where better than our garden to reflect this? As the days are getting longer and the temperatures hopefully begin to rise soon, we can start to think about sitting in our garden again and watching nature come alive.

Small Garden Trends for 2023

So, what are the small garden trends for 2023? A lot of garden trends will revolve around our need for well-being and to protect the environment around us.

This will include lots of planet and wildlife-friendly gardening, wild meadows and lawns, and using what we already have.  

1. The Wild Life

Encouraging nature and animals back into our gardens is one of the most important things we can do when it comes to garden trends for 2023. If you are anything like me, you’ll be looking to rewild your garden to help nature find a home.

We all know the importance of planting flowers for bees and sheltering wonderful creatures like hedgehogs and butterflies. Moving away from over-manicured lawns and leaving areas of our gardens for animals to forage and feed can all help.

I love garden trends and making our garden an extension of our home, but if you’re a bit like me and sometimes find gardening a little overwhelming, I love this from Wilko!

Their Garden on a Roll Collection is a border pack that helps you plant and grow a garden quickly and easily. There are many packs to choose from including – Mediterranean, Mixed Sunny and Wildlife. Perfect if you want to rewild your garden!

We can all do our bit by buying peat-free compost, hanging bird boxes, choosing berry bushes and fruit trees to line our borders, and buying plants of genuine native stock to re-wild our lawns.

2. Wabi-Sabi Style

Following on from the wildlife, the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic has evolved from Buddhist philosophy in Japan which appreciates the forms and changes of natural landscapes. Finding the beauty in imperfection, wabi-sabi can combine natural and manmade elements that change and weather over time.

Trees like Silver Birch with their peeling bark, stones shaped by the pressure of water near a fountain, or leaving fallen leaves from a tree to create a natural habitat for important insects are all aspects of Wabi Sabi. It goes back to rewilding and not overly designing your garden.  

3. Small Tropical Garden Ideas

I have always loved palm trees and ferns in the garden, they give you that tropical feeling without having to set foot on a plane.

Bali-inspired gardens have also seen an increase in the last couple of years with water features, frilled parasols, and layers of foliage and leafy plants taking center stage. Parasols are perfect if you have a small patio garden and ferns thrive in all conditions. 

The beauty of a Bali-inspired garden is that they rely heavily on leafy plants like bamboo, banana palms, and agave plants which stay green and fresh all year round. However, you will have to take some measures to protect them over the colder winter months.

4. Pergola Accessories

We were all about the wooden garden structure in 2021/22 with Pergolas going up in gardens left, right, and center. They were painted different colors, in all shapes and sizes, and really helped zone our gardens. I can’t see this garden trend going any time soon!

We are now looking at more ways to integrate our Pergolas into our outdoor living space. Hanging lanterns, lights, and plants from the pergola can enhance this space even more and help integrate that tropical feel with rewilding our gardens.

However, nothing beats the comfort of a home with secured privacy. Try retouching your fence or maybe replace it with one of those decorative privacy panels to save on time and budget.

One of the best plants to hang from a pergola is a fern, they are an extremely hard-wearing plant and get better as they grow.

5. Water Features

I don’t think there’s anything better for our well-being than hearing, being near, or seeing water. Baths soothe us, swimming refreshes us and the sound of trickling water can automatically.

Having a small water feature, like a pond or water fountain, in the corner of your garden can do wonders for your well-being and can also help attract nature like birds or hedgehogs.

6. Garden Furniture Design

Garden furniture in itself isn’t a garden trend, it’s a necessity! We saw a huge explosion of people buying up THE egg chair from Aldi back in 2019 and they still have a huge amount of popularity.

Other brands have jumped at the chance to sell their version of the egg chair, with cozy and cocooning style garden furniture design still a big trend for 2023.

7. The Egg BBQ

Talking of eggs, the Big Green Egg BBQ is another hugely coveted item for the garden. They were making many appearances in outdoor kitchens up and down the country last summer and are definitely the latest sought-after small garden trend.

Not just a BBQ, the Big Green Egg can roast, grill, be set up as a pizza oven, pan cook, and of course, BBQ!

8. Pizza Oven

If you love the idea of an Egg BBQ but like us, will probably only use it to throw a burger or two on so don’t want the expense, how about getting a pizza oven? Friday night pizza making in the garden could become a really lovely tradition, who doesn’t love a wood-fired pizza?

As a family, I could see us using this often and there is no wonder why they are becoming a big garden trend. We are a pizza-loving nation.

9. Growing Our Own Fruit and Vegetables

With the current climate, it’s not surprising to see this garden trend going from strength to strength. You don’t even have to be a seasoned gardener, or have a big garden! If you are looking for small budget garden ideas, then planters are your friends!

Growing a few small herbs in planters can help towards becoming more sustainable and self-sufficient (and perfect for sprinkling on top of your pizza!) Mini-growhouses have also seen an increase in demand with both outdoor and indoor growhouses giving you the chance to grow your own produce without the cost and space.

These mini greenhouses are perfect for propagating plants, growing fruits and veg, and germinating seeds whatever the weather.

10. Lighting

Another small garden trend that just grows from strength to strength every year is lighting. When I visited the Maison et Objet Show in Paris (I wrote about my trip here), I saw some tapered LED candles and I have never been more excited about a product!

They are perfect for setting up a cosy dining space in the garden in the evenings. They are guaranteed to impress your guests when they come round to eat homemade pizza from your pizza oven, sprinkled with freshly grown herbs from your water herb planter

I could probably add a lot more small budget garden ideas for 2023, but I have run out of time as I need to mow my lawn and get my planters ready for our garden!

Which trend do you think you’ll try this year?

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