What’s Your Style?: Tropical Gardens
As part of our ‘What’s Your Style?’ garden series, we’ve covered Cottage, Asian and Formal style gardens. Today we’re going to delve into Tropical gardens — a garden style you can pull off even if you don’t live in a tropical climate!
- Photo Via Homeaway
All About the Small Tropical Garden
The Tropical garden makes you feel like you’re in the jungle. Big leafed plants, a plant canopy above (or tall plants all around), and bright colors that pop against the green foliage give this impression. The design is informal and appears unplanned — like nature has just sprung up around you. This garden feels like you’re living in an exotic vacation
- Photo Via Outdoor Living
Water is very important to tropical gardens, either in the form of a fountain, pond or little stream.
- Photo Via Better Homes and Gardens
When compared to other styles of gardens, tropical gardens are more akin to cottage gardens — and are almost the complete opposites as Formal and Contemporary style gardens.
So, does the Tropical Garden fit your personality? Answer these questions to find out:
- Does it not bother you if the house isn’t in perfect order?
- Do you like to take beach vacations?
- Do you own a machete? (Kidding!)
- Photo Via Kontikidivers
- Terra cotta roofing. Photo via mca-tile.com
Now, does the Formal Garden style fit your home? Answer these questions to find out:
- Is your home a Victorian, cottage or ranch style home? Or, does it have terra cotta roof tiling?
- Is your home asymmetrical in nature?
If you answered “yes” to these questions and the ones above, congrats - Tropical Style gardens might be the right style for you!
*Ready to start designing? Design your Tropical Garden online today!
This article was written by Jessy Berg, professional landscape designer & co-founder of Habitat Design. Habitat Design provides full-service online landscape design planning for small and mid-sized gardens, & an online store of unique garden & home furnishings — all at an affordable price. Jessy believes that beautiful gardens should be accessible & affordable for everyone. Check out Habitat Design >
Small Gardens, Modern Style
- Photo via createlandscape
I’m constantly bookmarking and organizing photos by style to serve as inspiration when I’m designing. So I thought I would do the same for you guys to give you some ideas when creating a garden.
Today I’m going to show some gorgeous photos of small, Modern Style Gardens. So what exactly makes a garden modern, you ask?
- Photo via grassrootsmodern
The modern style is all about contrasting materials. In the above photo, check out the blue/grey La Paz stones contrasting against the light wood deck, and the concrete wall and the greenery.
- Photo via besthomedesigns
Modern design is also about clean, geometric lines. You’ll never see a squiggly line in these designs: if you’re going to use a curve, it’ll be based on a circle. Notice everything has clean, crisp angles in the garden above.
- Photo via bestgardendesign
And when it comes to plants, notice the repeating patterns and masses of the same plants. In small areas, always plant a minimum of 3 of the same plants together.
- Photo via studioblog
The modern garden can sometimes be stark – but it can also feel a little cozier like the above garden. Interplanting between stones can soften a space, but make sure you keep the line ‘crisp’!
- Photo via landscaper
This photo taken from the Chelsea Garden Show really shows how the modern style looks fantastic in a small garden space.
Hope these photos gave you some inspiration, and proved that modern gardens can look absolutely amazing in even the smallest of spaces.
This article was written by Jessy Berg, professional landscape designer & co-founder of Habitat Design. Habitat Design provides full-service online landscape design planning for small and mid-sized gardens, & an online store of unique garden & home furnishings — all at an affordable price. Jessy believes that beautiful gardens should be accessible & affordable for everyone. Check out Habitat Design >
Photo collection: Formal Gardens
On Tuesday we helped you decide whether a Formal Style Garden is right for you and your home. Today we’re going to showcase photos of the different aspects of some gorgeous Formal Gardens. Notice that some of them aren’t as “formal” as you might think!
- Some terracing in this Formal Garden. Via Traditional Home Magazine.
- A restful Formal Garden fountain.
- A Formal Garden can still use tropical plants, like these Cannas and Celosia. Via Sunset.
- Gorgeous lawn path and gate. Via deborahsilver.com
- A good example of a Formal Garden structure. Via comparequotes.net.au
- A Formal Garden with a hint of the overgrown Cottage Garden feel. Via allanbecker.
- The Filoli garden pools.
A local tip: If you live in the SF Bay Area like me, I highly recommend checking out the Filoli gardens (above) for some real-life inspiration. Located on 654 acres in Woodside, Filoli is “one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century.” For more info, visit filoli.org.
What’s Your Style?: Formal Gardens
As part of our ‘What’s Your Style?’ garden series, we’ve covered Cottage and Asian style gardens. Today we’re going to talk about Formal Gardens to see if this is the style for you.
- The Formal Garden at Hampton Court. Via thewayofbeauty.org
All About the Formal Garden
The Formal Garden is very neat and orderly. It’s based on strong geometric shapes and symmetry: if there’s a tree on one side of a path, you can expect to see the exact same tree on the other side.
- Notice the crisp, straight lines. Via garden-design-pictures.com
Plantings are always pruned neatly – boxwood is a popular pick for this. You’ll also see lots of straight lines and — if there are curves, they’re based on circles (not squiggly lines). One more thing: Formal Gardens often have a centered focal point like a pot or fountain that adds to symmetry.
- See the symmetry in the garden design?
- The focal point is centered in the middle of the garden. Via hilltowntreeandgarden.com
Basically, Formal Gardens are uncluttered and crisply defined — the complete opposite of a Cottage Garden.
So, does the Fomal Garden fit your personality? Answer these questions to find out:
- Is your home orderly, neat and clean?
- Are you an organized person?
- Do you have a subscription to Traditional Home Magazine? (If not, I highly recommend it!)
If you answered “yes” to at least two questions, Formal Style gardens might be the right style for you!
- An organized and uncluttered home. Via Traditional Home
- Order and symmetry are themes in this home. Via karenfrondesignlesson.com
- This house has brick, which gives it a Colonial look. Via myhomeideas.com
Now, does the Formal Garden style fit your home? Answer these questions to find out:
- Is your home Victorian, Colonial or Ranch style?
- Is there a lot of symmetry to your house?
If you answered “yes” to these questions and the ones above, congrats — a Formal Style Garden is the style for you!
*Ready to start designing? Design your Formal Front Garden online today!
Also, stay tuned for our Formal Garden Photo Collection on Thursday.
This article was written by Jessy Berg, professional landscape designer & co-founder of Habitat Design. Habitat Design provides full-service online landscape design planning for small and mid-sized gardens, & an online store of unique garden & home furnishings — all at an affordable price. Jessy believes that beautiful gardens should be accessible & affordable for everyone. Check out Habitat Design >
Photo collection: Asian Style Gardens
On Tuesday we helped you decide whether an Asian Style Garden is right for you. If you’ve made the decision “go Asian” – congrats! Here are a few photos for a little inspiration along the way…
- Moss makes this space cozy. Photo via HGTV
- The classic half-moon bridge. Photo via Artrick-Playground.com
- Zen Gardens require maintenance but are just beautiful.
- An Asian Garden in front of a craftsman-style home. Via Sunset Magazine
- Who doesn’t love blossoming cherry trees?
- Think about adding a water feature to your Asian garden.
- Gorgeous Asian Maple leaves line the stairway. Via AsiaHotels.com
Ready to start designing? Design your Asian Front Garden online today!
What’s Your Style?: Asian Gardens
As part of our ‘What’s Your Garden Style?’ series, we first discussed Cottage Style Gardens in our Sept. 27th post — and I know you’ve been waiting for the next style! Drum roll please…
- Photo via Tokosenyum.com
All About the Asian Style Garden
So, what exactly is an Asian Garden? Is it the sparse Zen style garden common in Japan, or the grouping of ball-shaped plants and pagodas seemingly randomly placed?
- Photo via VincentYim.com
Well – it’s actually a combination of all these things. Unlike other types of gardens that are based solely on the layout or type of plants used, the Asian Garden has a deeper mission: to replicate nature in a miniature version.
Landscape designer Seyemon Kusumoto says it best, explaining that the Asian Garden — whether sparse or dense — is “the best of nature’s handiwork in a limited space.” So, because the garden is a simplification of nature, it exudes calmness and simplicity.
- Doesn’t this just scream “lounge and read a book”? Via Greenmode.com
So, does this garden style fit your personality? Answer these questions to find out:
- Do you prefer to read rather than have a big party?
- Are you relatively orderly and neat?
- Do you believe ‘less is more’?
If you answered “yes” to at least two questions, Asian Style Gardens might be the right style for you!
- Photo via momoy.info
- Photo via Landscape-Design-Advisor.com
Now, does Asian Garden Style fit your house? Answer these questions to find out:
- Is your home in the craftsman, ranch or ahem –Asian style?
- Is your home orderly and a bit on the sparse side?
- Does your home have a flat roof?
Note: You don’t have to have Asian artifacts in your home to work with the Asian style!
If you answered “yes” to these questions and the ones above, congrats — an Asian Style Garden is the style for you!
Ready to start designing? Design your Asian Front Garden online today!
Also, stay tuned for our Asian Garden Photo Collection on Thursday for some inspiration.
This article was written by Jessy Berg, professional landscape designer & co-founder of Habitat Design. Habitat Design provides full-service online landscape design planning for small and mid-sized gardens, & an online store of unique garden & home furnishings — all at an affordable price. Jessy believes that beautiful gardens should be accessible & affordable for everyone. Check out Habitat Design >
Photo collection: Cottage Style Gardens
On Tuesday, we wrote about how to decide on whether a Cottage Style Garden is the right style garden for you. Today, we’re sharing some photos of Cottage Style Gardens. If you’re saying ooh and ahh over these photos and feel ready to move in, then the Cottage style could be for you!
- The overgrown, un-planned “cottage look.” Via Better Homes & Gardens.
- Gorgeous Cottage Garden. Via GardensGardens.wordpress.com
- Photo via Better Homes & Gardens.
- Love the mini-cottage in the background. Photo via Fine Gardening.
- Look at how lush! Photo via Sunset Magazine.
- Photo via Fine Gardening.
- Thick, overgrown cottage garden via Apartment Therapy.
Ready to start designing? Design your Cottage Front Garden online today!
What’s Your Style?: Cottage Style Gardens
Picture this: You’re at the supermarket checkout. You see a beautiful garden design magazine. You pick it up.
The Excited You: Wow that garden looks beautiful.
The Uncertain You: But does it fit with my house? Does it fit with my lifestyle?
This post will be the first in a series of posts aimed at helping make decisions about your garden. We’ll cover how to decide which style of garden to plant down to which arbor to buy. We hope you find this series helpful!
All About the Cottage Style Garden
This garden is packed with stuff – flowers, bird baths, white picket fence, all sorts of bric a brac to give it character.
- Photo via Sunset Magazine.
Crowded displays of flowers seem to overrun this garden. Birds chirp, butterflies flutter. The garden appears unplanned and untended – but that’s the beauty of it!
- Photo via GAP Photos.
This is one of the most casual garden styles you’ll find. A Cottage garden feels relaxed, romantic and a bit wild.
- Cottage bird house. Photo via BuyGardenDecor.com
So, does this garden style fit your personality? Answer these questions to find out:
- Do you display many things in your house? Such as items you collect, travel trinkets, etc.?
- Do you believe everything doesn’t need to be neat and in its place?
- You like a good romance novel? (Okay, you don’t have to say yes to this question!)
If you answered “yes” to at least two questions, Cottage Style gardens might be the right style for you!
- A Cottage Style living room. Photo via FreshFurniture.net
- Gorgeous Cottage kitchen. Photo via InteriorDesignPhotos.co.uk
Now, does Cottage Garden Style fit your house? Answer these questions to find out:
- Is your home a Victorian, cottage, or ranch style?
- Is there not much symmetry to your house?
- Does your home have a pitched roof?
If you answered “yes” to these questions and the ones above, congrats — a Cottage Style Garden is the style for you!
Ready to start designing? Design your Cottage Front Garden online today!
Stay tuned for our Cottage Garden Photo Collection on Thursday.
This article was written by Jessy Berg, professional landscape designer & co-founder of Habitat Design. Habitat Design provides full-service online landscape design planning for small and mid-sized gardens, & an online store of unique garden & home furnishings — all at an affordable price. Jessy believes that beautiful gardens should be accessible & affordable for everyone. Check out Habitat Design >
