We noticed the patchwork patio trend at RHS Chelsea last year, and it's slowly transforming our paved areas and outdoor spaces into whimsical checkerboards brimming with wildlife.
This informal garden trend can be achieved at home either by removing squares of paving and filling the gaps with plants or adding paving to grassy and overgrown areas. The overall effect is to give your space a wild feel, with hard landscaping blending in with plants.
The 'Green Sky Pocket Garden', designed by James Smith, featured planting in amongst the paving
Patchwork patio trend
David Domoney is a horticulturist and broadcaster who appears on ITV's Love Your Garden. He has praised the trend as a way to create a feeling of balance.
'Adding in horticultural embellishments such as soft planting around hard landscaping is the key to creating a very stylish and balanced garden,' he tells us, as part of his work with The Ideal Home Show.
'It's all about creating harmony between plants and materials in the garden,' David adds. A mix of impermeable materials like sandstone or concrete and soft planting creates contrast and a relaxed look.
It also helps create the illusion that everything has always been there, with the natural and manmade elements working together. Not only does the patchwork patio trend make your landscaping ideas feel more organic, it's also a way to welcome wildlife and color into your space.
This is one of the reasons why gardening expert and TV presenter Daisy Payne is such a fan. 'I love the patchwork patio trend – it’s such a brilliant way of bringing quirks and extra areas of planting into your garden,' Daisy tells us.
'It’s a great way to encourage wildlife, or just give that slightly wilder look to your garden if you fancy it.' It's a very original wildlife garden idea that will support bees and other insects, plus it can look really visually striking if you plant in blocks of bold color.
Daisy suggests creating a colorful patchwork by planting up some beautiful spring/summer bedding plants in the gaps. The patchwork patio trend means you can experiment and choose plants to fit with your chosen color scheme, as well as creating a stepping stone effect.
'Finding Our Way: An NHS Tribute Garden', designed by Naomi Ferrett-Cohen, featured lots of bright, hot colors
We think vivid purple lobelias, sweet peas, and petunias would create a lovely and uplifting patchwork. Or you could keep things neutral with lush greenery surrounding your paving ideas. Will you be trying this trend?
