Your garden is more than just a plot of land—it is a canvas waiting for a personality. But when you look at an empty lawn or a patchy backyard, deciding on that personality can be the hardest part.
Do you crave the structure of a royal palace? The lushness of a jungle vacation? Or the rustic charm of a wildflower meadow?
To help you find your landscaping language, we’ve broken down seven distinct garden styles. Whether you have a sprawling estate or a cozy courtyard, one of these aesthetics is bound to speak to you.
Cottage
If you love the idea of "organized chaos" and overflowing abundance, the Cottage style is your match. It ignores rigid rules in favor of charm and whimsy. It is romantic, colorful, and designed to look like it has been evolving naturally for decades.
Key Features: Curving pathways, picket fences, arbors, and dense planting.
Plant Palette: Roses, foxgloves, hydrangeas, hollyhocks, and wisteria.
Vibe: A storybook romance where nature takes the lead.
Modern
For those who crave order and tranquility, the Modern garden offers a breath of fresh air. This style treats the garden as an architectural extension of the house. It focuses on geometry, hardscaping, and the concept that "less is more."
Key Features: Clean lines, concrete pavers, rectangular planters, and high contrast.
Plant Palette: Ornamental grasses, architectural succulents, bamboo, and snake plants.
Vibe: Sophisticated, minimalist, and ultra-chic.
Native Prairie
Bring the beauty of the open fields to your doorstep. The Native Prairie style celebrates the rugged, rustic beauty of the natural landscape. It moves in the wind and changes drastically with the seasons, offering a habitat for local birds and pollinators.
Key Features: Sweeping drifts of tall grasses, wildflower meadows, and natural stone borders.
Plant Palette: Coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, switchgrass, and goldenrod.
Vibe: Wild, free-spirited, and deeply connected to the earth.
Mediterranean
Bring the warmth of the Tuscan sun or the Greek coast to your own backyard. Mediterranean gardens are designed for outdoor living—think long lunches and warm evenings. They are visually warm and incredibly practical for sunny climates.
Key Features: Gravel pathways (instead of thirsty lawns), terracotta pottery, pergolas, and water fountains.
Plant Palette: Olive trees, rosemary, lavender, bougainvillea, and citrus.
Vibe: Sun-baked, fragrant, and effortlessly inviting.
Formal
If you appreciate symmetry and grandeur, the Formal garden is the ultimate choice. Inspired by the great estates of Europe, this style relies on balance and mirror images. It creates a sense of order and control over nature that feels timeless and upscale.
Key Features: Geometrical shapes, manicured lawns, central focal points (like statues or fountains), and straight lines.
Plant Palette: Boxwood hedges, topiaries, symmetrical tree rows, and uniform flower beds.
Vibe: Elegant, structured, and prestigious.
Tropical
Why travel for a vacation when you can step outside into a jungle? The Tropical style relies on bold foliage and bright colors to create a lush, immersive hideaway. It’s all about density and drama.
Key Features: Large leaves, dense canopy layers, hammocks, and dark wood decking.
Plant Palette: Palms, ferns, hibiscus, birds of paradise, and elephant ears.
Vibe: Exotic, humid, and adventurous.
Xeriscape
Water-wise meets wonderful. Xeriscaping is often confused with "zero-scaping" (rocks only), but true Xeriscaping is vibrant and green—it just happens to require very little irrigation. It creates a stunning, sculptural look that thrives in dry heat.
Key Features: Mulch or gravel beds, drip irrigation, dry river beds, and boulders.
Plant Palette: Agave, cacti, yarrow, sedum, and drought-tolerant shrubs.
Vibe: Sustainable, sculptural, and low-maintenance.
Can’t Decide? Stop Guessing and Start Seeing.
Reading about a Tropical paradise is one thing; seeing your specific backyard transformed into a jungle oasis is another. It can be hard to visualize how a Formal layout or a Native Prairie meadow will fit the unique shape of your property.
That’s where we come in.
We have launched a powerful new feature 'The Landscaper' on our app to take the guesswork out of landscaping.
Snap a photo of your current yard.
Upload it to our app.
Select a style from the list above.
In seconds, our design engine will redesign your exact space in the style of your choice!
