How to Select the Garden Style That is Right for You

Landscaping has a huge impact on the overall appearance and vibe of your home. Having a garden style means creating a unique landscape that suits your home and personality. There are so many popular garden styles out there, and choosing the "right" style can be overwhelming for many gardeners, especially beginners. There are cottage and meadow gardens. Contemporary and Japanese gardens. English, Formal, and French gardens, and the list goes on. Whatever your taste and lifestyle, there is a garden design style for you.

We understand that you want a garden that makes you feel at home and complements your home's architecture and lifestyle. That's why we have created this comprehensive guide for you.

This guide will simplify the process of selecting the right garden style for you, tailored to your preferences, likes, and needs. By the end of this blog, you will know which garden style fits you best and what you want to create.

About Garden Style

Knowing your unique garden style empowers you to create a design plan for your space. A landscape with a distinct, timeless style is unique and cohesive. The other option is a mishmash of various plants with no discernible design direction, which can become memorable and blissful.

Choosing the right garden style for your garden sanctuary becomes less intimidating with just a few key popular styles. Once you understand the garden basics, you can combine, match, and adjust elements from each style to create a design that is as unique as you are. Understand each style, recognize its elements, and select the one that suits your landscape.

The Top 7 Popular Garden Styles of 2025

Here are the main garden styles rooted in the history of landscape and garden design. Other sub-styles evolved over time, but they all tie back to these major garden styles.

1. Traditional Garden Style

This is a classic, formal garden style that emphasizes symmetry and balance. Traditional garden styles are perfect for colonial, French, and Italian-inspired architecture. Traditional gardens have a very formal style with strong architectural elements, broad areas of perfectly trimmed lawn, framed views of stone fountains, rows of well-kept hedges, and neatly edged walkways.

Traditional garden styles often lack color and are characterized by lush green lawn areas, balanced by green shrubs and trees. Often, you might see a traditional garden that is all white or has only one accent color.

Elements of Traditional Garden

• Classic, formal, clean, balanced, and romantic.
• Symmetry is achieved with the same plantings on both sides of the yard or pathways.
• Straight paths, straight lines, and trees in bold geometric shapes.
• Formal hedges pruned into repetitive shapes.
• Well-kept green lawn and green plants.
• Décor made of stone, ceramic, and metal.

What else can you incorporate into your traditional garden style?

Potted topiaries as portable sculptures, white or stone columns, pedestal urns, classic stone fountains, and pea gravel paths, drives, and terraces.

2. Cottage Garden Style

Cottage gardens originally came about as a means to allow people to grow lots of fruit, Cottage gardens originally emerged as a means to enable people to cultivate a variety of fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers in their rural plots. However, their romantic style captured the hearts of city people, and this garden style can now certainly be easily adapted for an urban garden.

Cottage gardens are the charming, untamed offspring of traditional garden style. This quintessentially English-style garden features plants that spill over narrow pathways and lawns, masses of vibrant color, scented flowers, and soft edges. Plants in this garden style are diverse and colorful. Cottage garden style offers both food and beauty in your outdoor space.

Fill your cottage garden with your favorite plants, vegetables, and flowers that are both beautiful and practical. This garden style should reflect your personal preferences in terms of flowers, vegetables, herbs, edibles, colors, and scents.

Elements of English and Cottage Garden

• Colorful ornamentals, herbs, edibles, and Medicinal blended.
• Overflowing beds, rustic materials.
• Plants are overflowing onto paths and covering walls.
• Drifts of plants, winding pathways.
• Clay pots, arbor, picket fencing, trellis, and flea market finds.

Read More: 5 Best Gardening Tips for Beginners to Grow a Thriving Garden

3. Modern/ Contemporary Garden Style

In modern and contemporary garden styles, the perfect symmetry of geometric patterns found in traditional, classic gardens is replaced by asymmetrical, interlocking lawn and patio shapes. Each generation becomes more trendy with time, while cottage gardens are a popular garden style choice, modern garden styles have also grown in popularity.

Clean, crisp lines are an essential part of modern design, which can be applied to both small and larger gardens. Plants for this garden design are all about form and structure.

Keep in mind that while all modern gardens can be contemporary, not all contemporary garden designs are modern.

Modern vs Contemporary Garden Style

Modern garden style is often best suited for commercial areas, and contemporary style is more associated with residential properties.

The modern landscape is defined as hard-edged, clean-lined, and minimalist. This garden style is distinguished by its extensive use of concrete, metal (metal garden beds), and pale or monochromatic color palettes. Modern garden design places a strong emphasis on the functionality of materials rather than natural elements.

Furthermore, contemporary garden style comes from modern design, but it is a more natural and softer version. The outdoor space, which places a strong emphasis on leisure and entertainment, is the heart of this garden design. In contemporary style, enhanced curves, wooden accents, strategically placed vibrant plants, splashes of colorful flowers, and decorations are welcomed.

Elements of Modern/Contemporary Garden

• Asymmetry, clean lines, and repetition.
• Straight or curved and repetitive walkways.
• Strong emphasis on outdoor space and outdoor living.
• Water features, such as fountains and ponds, along with smooth, polished materials.
• Geometric-shaped concrete precast stepping stones.
• Architectural sculptures and planters made of resin, ceramic, or concrete.

What else can you incorporate into your modern garden style?

Spheres are sculptural elements made of ceramic, concrete, or metal. Architectural containers, bold plantings, and clear reflection ponds to bring peace and serenity to your modern garden.

4. Natural Garden Style

A natural garden reflects the natural landscape surrounding it. The primary goal of a naturalistic garden is to conserve natural resources, minimize our environmental impact, and support pollinators. This is accomplished by selecting local plants from the area and incorporating sustainable gardening practices such as water-efficient watering using drip irrigation.

Natural garden styles are the most low maintenance among all other styles. In naturalistic gardens, select proven, long-lived, and strong plants that require minimal maintenance, with a focus on native species.

The plants are the main attraction of a natural garden, and the hardscaping materials are rustic, enhancing the surrounding landscape. Ornamental grasses and flowering perennials add beauty, life, and movement to your landscape.

Natural gardens take 3 to 4 years to mature and become lush and full. If you're not concerned with specific structure or straight lines and enjoy birds, butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, as well as the movement of flowing plants, this is the right garden style for you.

Elements of Natural Garden

• Rustic materials, tall grasses, wildflowers, and biodiversity.
• Native plants with a focus on wildlife and ecological value.
• Focus on plant structure and benefits over color.
• Plants are planted randomly with naturally worn pathways.
• The most diverse plant and color palette among all other garden styles.

5. Mediterranean Garden Style

Mediterranean garden design can be formal, with a structured layout, or informal, featuring a relaxed, natural feel. This garden takes its inspiration from the shrubby vegetation of the hot, dry climates in Southern France, Spain, and Italy. They are characterized by a combination of natural elements and architectural features that can thrive in warm, dry climates. In this style, gravel is used between drifts of drought-tolerant plants such as lavender, rosemary, vines, olive trees, and succulents.

Key elements of this garden style include drought-tolerant plants, warm-toned materials such as terracotta, water features like ponds or fountains, and pathways that direct the eye and invite exploration. Remember, some Mediterranean plants dislike wet winters and will need protection in cooler climates.

Elements of a Mediterranean Garden

• Drought-tolerant plants, fragrant herbs, flowers, and trees
• Water features such as ponds and fountains provide a cooling element.
• Warm-toned materials like gravel surfaces, stone pathways, and clay pots.
• Shaded outdoor seating areas, such as pergolas or arbors.

Read More: 2025 Trends in Garden Design

6. Woodland Garden Style

A woodland garden design features a naturalistic, layered appearance that evokes the ambiance of a forest. A canopy of tall trees, ground covers, understory plants, and natural pathways in this garden style contribute to a peaceful and shaded environment. Unlike other garden styles, woodland gardens demand a certain level of shade tolerance.

This forest garden design is an excellent place to incorporate small shrubs, tall trees, mosses, groundcovers, and other shade-loving perennials. Try adding contrast with feathery plants, such as ferns, and plants with broad, large leaves, like hostas, for a greater impact.

Choose a mix of interesting forms, colors, and textures instead of planting in straight lines or formal designs. You can plant a woodland garden right next to any wooded area on your property if the conditions are suitable.

Elements of Woodland Garden Style

• Canopy layer using native tall trees such as oaks, maples, or birch trees.
• Small shrubs and trees grow in the shade under the canopy.
• Low-growing native plants create a charming carpet of flowers and foliage.
• Natural paths made of stones, gravel, or wood chips for a rustic feel.
• Natural elements, such as rocks and fallen logs, create a woodland aesthetic.

7. Gravel/Rock Garden Style

Gravel and rock gardens emphasize simplicity and beauty by surrounding with stones, larger rocks, boulders, gravel, and pebbles. These natural elements can be used as both décor and ground covers. Plants are placed between rocks to give a natural appearance to your landscape.

Gravel gardens require less maintenance than other garden styles. If your environment already contains stones or rocks, this garden style would be a good choice. Additionally, if you live in an area with limited water and poor soil, creating gravel is a great alternative. Old stones and bricks can also be incorporated in this design for a nice touch.

Elements of Gravel/Rock Garden Style

• Drought-tolerant plants like alpines, succulents, and ornamental grasses.
• Stones, different sizes of pebbles, large boulders, and gravel.
• Gravel as ground cover to improve drainage and suppress weeds.
• Larger rocks or boulders as focal points.
• Gravel paths with flat stones or rocks defining edges.

The Bottom Line

These are hard-and-fast rules. You can create a unique garden just like your unique personality. There's no need to be limited by a specific design style. You can mix these designs to create a custom aesthetic. First, understand the elements, key features, and plants for each garden style, and then you'll have the inspiration you need to create a perfect garden design for you.

Ready to see how DripWorks can transform your landscape with your chosen garden style? We'd love to offer you an extensive range of garden and landscape products that will help you create an inviting outdoor space that reflects your unique style and personality. From beautiful landscape lighting to smart irrigation systems for your garden, we offer a wide range of products to meet your landscape needs. Let DripWorks help you turn your back yard into your dream garden!