Gardening Trends and Natural Tips to Keep the Pesky Bugs Away

This year we have seen many different trends coming and going, but we are also seeing some interesting Garden trends and natural gardening ideas that we want to pass along.

“Gravel gardens, drought-tolerant plants, and the return of the quintessential cottage garden are among the biggest garden design trends for 2023.”

These are the top 10 design trends according to House Beautiful:

1. 1. Environmentally healthy gardens
   2. Drought-tolerant plants: “plants that provide year-round colour and interest will still be central to designs, but resilient plants, such as long-flowering Salvias that are great for pollinating insects and wildlife”
   3. Return of the cottage garden
   4. A focus on mulches
   5. Darker shades with pops of color: “Colours that look set to be big in the garden in 2023 include darker hues of blues, purples and greys, combined with small bursts of brighter colours.”
   6. Hard landscaping
   7. Natural swimming pools and ponds
   8. Gravel gardens
   9. Dark materials
   10. Sustainable design: “Garden design will become smarter, incorporating the changes that are necessary to protect the planet”

Chemical Free Ideas

There are so many ideas to help keep your garden free of pesticides, and these are our favorites:

• Plant with insects and birds in mind. More natural with the landscape and native plants will allow birds to nest and when birds nest they will hang around and then they hang around and when they hang around they eat and when they eat they eat bugs.
• Neem oils, coffee grounds, cayenne pepper, other natural sprays, or soaps can help deter slugs, insects, rabbits, deer, etc.

According to Birds and Blooms they suggest that these plants attract beneficial bugs:

• Creeping thyme
• Marjoram
• Tarragon
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Mexican sunflower
• Dill
• Oregano
• Fennel
• Salvia
• Sage
• Yarrow
• Mint
• Catmint

Which ideas will you be implementing this upcoming planting season?

Sources:

Heath, O. (2023, February 3). 10 Big Garden Design Trends for 2023. House Beautiful . Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/designs/a42638705/garden-trends/

Rennicke, C. (2022, May 20). Grow a Chemical-free Garden. Birds and Blooms. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/grow-chemical-free-garden/