A look ahead to next year…

As we approach the end of the year it seems timely to look ahead to what the garden design trends might be next year. The Society of Garden Designers (SGD) asked our design director, Tomoko Kawauchi to give her views on possible trends in 2023 for a feature on the SGD website. The overarching insight which underpins many of the trends is how best to achieve environmentally healthy gardens. See below some of Tomoko’s comments which are highlighted in the article…

Sustainable and eco-friendly gardens are nothing new, but as we begin to gain a better understanding of what this actually means, we will start seeing the creation of gardens that are “environmentally friendly to the core and not just as a style trend” says garden designer Tomoko Kawauchi MSGD.  

As Tomoko Kawauchi points out: “it's not really viable to design a small London courtyard as a wildflower meadow and a naturalistic-style of planting does not always work for town gardens or with a client’s lifestyle. I’m interested in creating an environmentally healthy garden without affecting my design ethos, which is contemporary and functional” she says. 

The trend for recycled materials will also continue says Tomoko Kawauchi.  At Charlotte Rowe Garden Design, where Tomoko is Design Director, they are exploring ways of using recycled materials in contemporary spaces including cutting existing paving into narrow strips to create new terraces and paths. 

Tomoko Kawauchi predicts a move towards more gravel gardens, which she already makes a point of including in all her projects, as well as more drought-tolerant and gravel planting in general, such as the South African Dieramas.

Photograph by James Kerr © Copyright