10 Garden Style Ideas

          Today I'm sharing photo inspiration of different garden styles , breaking down the characteristics and providing simple ideas to incorporate these looks in your own garden/yard! Enjoy!

1. The Cottage Garden - my personal favorite, cottage gardens are colorful, with an 'overflowing' appearance. Every inch of ground is being utilized, even if just for grasses. This gardens layers of tall plants, shrubs and low growers mimics nature. You can choose a set set of colors to create a set color-scheme or simply plant anything you like! Blend edible and ornamental. Utilize nursery trees, vines, shrubs, as well as bulbs and seeds to create this look.

   
   

   

2. The Drought Tolerant Desert Garden - Feeling like a brown thumb this summer because you just never get enough time to water? Might be time to start working on a super low maintenance garden. Keep in mind that thorns will make this garden less suitable for pets or children. Seek out yucca, cactus, agaves, portulaca, anything in the cactus or succulent family. Large stones or stone/concrete statues also look great in this setting.

   
   

   

3. The Formal European Garden - this garden is characterized by an organized feel, sometimes incorporating straight lines and squares. Dedicated pathways add structure in this style. Look for simple shrubs like boxwoods to create a low maintenance but manicured look. Rows or groupings of roses also look lovely either in multiple colors or 1 color that can be found throughout the landscape. Roses in the 'Iceberg' family which bloom repeatedly in the warm months are perfect for this look. These gardens make impressive hosting spaces!

4. The Japanese or Zen Garden - This is a garden anyone can unwind in! Picture Japanese maples swaying the afternoon sunlight, ferns, moss, fountains and sandy pathways. Play with green, yellow and dark purple plants in varying textures like Bamboo, Abelia, Nandina, Japanese Maples, shrubby Pines and Loropetalum. Create Barefoot-friendly pathways using pea gravel, pavers or sand. Incorporate flowing water in fountains, bird baths or mini ponds. Large stones and stone statues depicting Japanese architecture, elephants, buddha, lions or dragons!

5. The Outdoors Entertainer - this garden style focus's around creating sitting and dining spaces hidden amongst the leaves. Be mindful of both shade and secure footing, don't set out furniture on a slope or unstable ground. Set up benches or picnic tables under large oak or willow trees for shade. Set benches along plant-lines fences surrounded by sweet smelling flowers! Great for everyday use to enjoy your outdoor space and excellent for garden-party hosting.

6. The Food Forest - This garden is maximizing the use of space in pursuit of high yields of edible plants! Mimic the forest structure by creating a high canopy of tall fruit trees, a mid-layer of dwarf fruit trees and fruiting shrubs like berry bushes, a ground layer of annual vegetables, herbs, flowers and root crops.

7. The Pollinator Garden - Another personal favorite and a great companion style to your annual veggie beds. Boost pollination by planting what the pollinators want! Look for coneflowers like echinacea or sages, rosemary, lavender, ect. Find seed packets with 'butterfly and bee' mixes. Incorporate bird baths to provide water and provide habitat with set ups like in the image on the right. Use miscellaneous items to create tiny hiding spaces for insects.

8. The Low Maintenance Modern Garden - Need to stay HOA compliant? No worries - look for slow growing shrubs in varying colors and foliage textures to add dimension to planting beds along your lawn. Evergreens like thuja, juniper, nonfruiting olive, coleonema, boxwood and nandina maintain color year-round and don't create any mess to rake up. Find decorative spiral or tiered plants that have been trained into unique shapes to make a focus point for the eye. Solar lights that light up at night add a welcoming touch for evening visitors!

9. The Cut-Flower Garden - This one requires a bulb/seed catalog or two! Look for flowering varieties that are known to make good cut flowers for holding their shape and color after harvest. Incorporate perennial or evergreen shrubs to use as greenery in bouquets, like silver dollar eucalyptus, olive or ferns. Plant any flower you'll want to bring into your home or share with friends and family! Popular options include sunflowers, dahlia, tulips, ranunculus, peony, zinnias and roses. Make beds organized by making permanent space for perennial plants that wont need replanting versus beds that will be reseeded or get fresh bulbs throughout the year.

10. The Tropical Garden - Missing Hawaii? Bring the feel of the tropics to your yard with large leaves of palms, ferns and bird of paradise. Look for bright flowers like daylily, Asiatic lily and bougainvillea vines! Incorporate plants of varying heights, foliage colors and rich colorful blooms!

Getting inspired?? What was your favorite garden style in this post??