What will your garden look like in 2050?

Drought-tolerant species, Mediterranean trees, smart improvements and vertical growing are likely to dominate our gardens by 2050, garden designer Kitti Kovacs is predicting.

Kovacs is creating Illusion 2050, a garden of the future, in a new category Gardens Of Curiosity at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, showcasing how gardeners can adapt to climate change while maintaining beauty and biodiversity.

She cites a report by Kew Gardens in 2024 warning that more than 50% of its trees, including oak, beech and holly, could be at risk by 2090 and calling on the horticulture industry and urban planners to increase diversity of trees and shrubs.

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“They are looking for solutions, for replacements for these trees and shrubs which may become non-existent because they can’t cope with climate change – and we need to follow the same principles,” she says. ”Everyone can do their bit.”

So, where will we be by 2050?

“We will be more aware of sustainable materials which are sustainably sourced, we will reuse things, repurpose materials and will be going back to natural materials,” she says. “Plants we are using will be low maintenance.”

Smart innovation

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Smart lighting which is wildlife-friendly, rain-monitoring irrigation systems and apps which provide information at your fingertips will become more prevalent as an aid to gardeners, she predicts.

“By 2050 we will have systems where a garden designer would create your plant list which is stored in a computer system which decides which plant should be watered at which time of the day.”

Vegetable growing will also be more calculated, she says, with systems taking account of the needs of families and the amount of produce they will need to grow, along with warnings about growing thirsty plants such as tomatoes which won’t survive if you go on a two-week summer holiday and don’t have anyone to water for you.

We should have more success with citrus, grapes and other heat-loving fruits in a warmer climate, she adds.

Tree changes

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Trees which are common in the Mediterranean, such as olives, should thrive in our changing climate, she says.

“We need to be creative. Fagus (beech), for example, will be vulnerable, but if we are using ornamental trees, Italian cypresses, which need less water, are being used in my garden. Trachycarpus (palm trees) will also be happy in a warm environment.”

Drought-tolerant plants

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“We will be looking at drought-tolerant plants and those which are native in areas of Europe such as eryngiums, lavenders and ornamental grasses.

“Ornamental grasses are a really good bond between plants. I love my Sesleria autumnalis grasses because they look good all-year round. It’s a low-maintenance evergreen choice.”

Plants such as hydrangeas will disappear because they are really thirsty, she predicts.

Vertical growing

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People with limited space will be growing plants in vertical set-ups as a matter of course.

Vegetable gardens will often be hanging gardens in smaller spaces, where they will get more exposure to the sun and there will be widespread automated watering systems incorporating sensors to detect when the plants need watering, she reckons.

Sustainable solutions

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“If you look it up in the dictionary, sustainability means something you can keep for a long time. For me, I ask, can my clients look after it? Is it suitable for their lifestyle?

“I think the appearance of gardens will change as they become more like grassland, with combinations of perennials which look good all-year round, such as salvias, eryngiums, sedums, which are Mediterranean-type plants but you don’t have to do much with them.”

Bulbs will still be big

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“Bulbs are great for enhancing our gardens, because they store their energy in the bulb, so things like alliums are amazing and you can have them in different shapes and sizes, and there are really reliable.”

More water will be harvested

Water butts and other systems developed for harvesting rainwater will become more commonplace as water becomes more scarce, she anticipates.

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“More people will have water features in their garden which can keep the rainwater clean by circulating it all the time and we can use solar panels to drive water pumps.

“We can use rainwater to irrigate our gardens but water is also a really beautiful feature and beneficial for mental health. By 2050, more people will look at gardening as a way of life, a way of being part of nature to cure their anxieties, and will be spending more time outside looking after their gardens.”

Fewer lawns will be in evidence

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“British people have a deep connection to their lawns, which are usually their pride and joy. But for wildlife alone, it is an unusable space. When you have a lawn in your garden you have no birds, butterflies or bees coming in because they are looking for food.

“Only when you start adding bushes, perennials and flowers do you introduce plants which are beneficial for pollinators.”

Perennials will be prevalent

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Perennials which are beneficial to pollinators will help our insects during climate change, she predicts. Layering will also become popular so that larger plants can provide shade for smaller ones.

RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival runs from July 1-6.