Wildlife-friendly gardens due to be one of the top trends for 2020

A MORE natural, wildlife-friendly look to gardens and more “grow your own” are among the trends predicted for gardening in 2020, experts said.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said it expects to see a renewed interest in protecting soil, making backyards attractive to wildlife and growing fruit and veg in the next year against a backdrop of rising environmental awareness.

Green-fingered householders are increasingly aware of declines in wildlife, and will be looking for ways to support nature, such as not being too tidy and leaving seed heads as food for wild visitors, it said.

Bee hotels, wildlife ponds, log piles and plants for pollinators are all likely to continue to increase in popularity while neatly clipped box and manicured lawns may fall out of fashion as nature-loving households shun pesticides to deal with problem areas and creatures such as box tree caterpillars.

As part of the rising awareness of environmental matters, gardeners will also be thinking more about what their plants are grown in. They are expected to choose sustainable wood fibre and compost from green waste, the RHS predicts.

Guy Barter, RHS chief horticulturalist, said: “There’s a rising tide of concern about the environment, from catastrophic decline in insects to climate change and flooding.

“In the garden at least we can have some control of it, which is a small but important step in the right direction.”