From simple to classic to surreal, we take a closer look at innovative garden designs that are out of the ordinary.
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11 Unusual Gardens Ideas To Consider
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Desert Garden
With their stark beauty, desert gardens are typically found in hot and arid environments. Plants featured are usually drought-tolerant, such as succulents, desert grasses, aloes, agaves, and flowering bromeliads. A relatively low-maintenance endeavor, this type of garden is especially ideal for those who lack green thumbs or travel a lot.
“When I think of a desert garden, I have to include the term xeriscaping,” says Paul Knapp, Owner and Principal Designer at Landscape Architectural. “Xeriscaping is the practice of conserving water, propagating local wildlife, and requiring the least amount of resources possible.”
Tips for designing a desert garden:
- Avoid grasses or lush plants that require lots of watering and fertilizing.
- Consider living walls. Choose succulents that can adapt to a vertical growing space with minimal soil.
- Built texture by placing barrel-shaped cacti, tall, and short plants together.
- Scatter rocks and boulders around the landscape to get that natural desert vibe.
- Create a dry creek bed with tumbled stones to complete the sunbaked look.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6 to 9.
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Mannerist Garden
Mannerist gardens first emerged in Europe in the 15th century. Classical and elegant, they’re characterized by exotic embellishments and fanciful allusions — they’re almost theatrical. Influencing garden designs throughout the Mediterranean, the mannerist garden is ordered and formal, yet filled with a sense of whimsy.
“A mannerist garden is great for the eclectic-style gardener and is full of reveals and surprises,” says Blythe Yost, a seasoned landscape architect and the Principal and Founder of Yost Design, a landscape architecture firm serving New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Tips for designing a mannerist garden:
- Line terraces and pathways with manicured box hedges.
- Include geometrically shaped trees and topiaries in terra-cotta vases.
- Tuck fountains and amusing statues in far-away corners.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8 to 10.
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Zen Garden
Highly informed by the aesthetics and traditions of the Far East, the Zen garden is a symbolic representation of nature in its earthly and spiritual form. Tied in with the Buddhist philosophy of peaceful contemplation, Knapp says the most popular design feature of this Japanese-inspired garden is a shallow, chip-gravel pit that can be raked to form swirls and patterns.
“This practice was used by Zen priests to emulate waves or rippling water to help with their concentration,” says Knapp.
Tips for designing a Zen garden:
- Use plants sparingly.
- Create an oasis with privacy screens of bamboo or ornamental grasses.
- Add a stone Buddha statue and lanterns for evening lighting.
- Install a small pond, trickling stream or fountain to represent water’s purity and the course of life.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3a to 13a.
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Bottle Garden
A bottle garden is an inventive and eco-friendly way to repurpose glass containers by turning them into a micro-environment (mini-greenhouses or terrariums), indoors or out. “An aesthetically beautiful option for people who may not have a lot of space outdoors, if any at all,” says Knapp.
Tips for designing a mannerist garden: Set up your bottle garden with one large glass vessel or dozens of smaller ones. Place them on an apartment window sill, exhibit them in groups on a balcony, or suspend bottles in macramé hangers along a fence or wall.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.
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Butterfly Garden
Did you know when a butterfly lands on you, it foretells good fortune? Invite a little luck to your backyard by constructing a happy habitat for these fluttery insects to enjoy.
“In order to create a butterfly garden, you will need to incorporate lush flowering plants that attract butterflies, as well as bees and other plant-loving creatures,” Knapp says. This means introducing a balanced mixture of native, nectar-producing plants to encourage butterflies to stick around.
Tips for designing a butterfly garden:
- Plant a mix of must-have plants that attract butterflies, including buddleia (Butterfly Bush); honeysuckle; phlox; marigolds; butterflyweed; and herbs, including fennel, dill, thyme, and lavender.
- Add a cute DIY butterfly house where they can rest or nest safely away from predators.
- Provide a drinking bowl with a little water and stones for butterflies to stand on.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 10.
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Bonsai Garden
The ancient practice of bonsai translates loosely to mean “tree in a pot” in Japanese, although the art originated in China. As symbolism goes, a Bonsai garden can represent harmony and balance or be seen as a meditative discipline for finding inner peace.
Once practiced only by nobility, today all that’s required to create a Bonsai garden is a willingness to commit to the time, patience and attention to propagate and nurture these tiny trees. “Bonsai trees need to be frequently pruned and look great in small planters or on a pedestal,” says Yost. “Contrary to popular belief, bonsais do best outside.”
Tips for designing a Bonsai garden: You don’t need much space to grow bonsai trees. Easily displayed on benches, tables or atop garden walls, bonsais are also a great addition to a Zen garden. If you’re a beginner with a lot of patience, there are a number of outstanding Bonsai starter kits available, or you can simply purchase a tree.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3a to 13a.
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Water Garden
Beautiful and relaxing, a water garden incorporates aquatic plants and sometimes fish into the landscape. Cascading waterfalls and pools can be small and subtle, in ceramic bowls on a patio. Or you can go big and put in a full-size koi pond.
“There are so many great plants to create a water garden — like lotus or water lilies,” Yost says. “These will attract fun animals like frogs.”
Tips for designing a water garden:
- Begin with floating plants that do not need soil, including duckweed; fairy moss; water hyacinth; and water lettuce.
- Consider deepwater plants that grow at the bottom of ponds with flowers that float on the surface, including yellow dwarf water lily; white water snowflakes; and lotus.
- Add oxygenating grasses to help eliminate algae, including variegated sweet flag and cattails.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 to 11.
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Rose Garden
Quite simply, a rose garden features flowering plants of the genus Rosa. More than 300 species of roses have been identified to date. They’re grouped into categories: erect shrubs, climbing and trailing.
Often thought of as formal and stuffy, rose gardens actually can be approachable and relatable. They’re also a feast for your nose with a sweet and intoxicating smell. This is just one reason why community rose gardening organizations (a great source of inspiration!) are so popular across the country, such as the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden which helps maintain the city’s garden.
Tips for designing a rose garden:
- Plant roses along fences and hedges.
- Plant climbing roses near a tree, then let them meander over and climb up through and around the branches.
- Grow wild roses for a natural look.
- Train roses to grow over an arch or gazebo.
- Plant climbing roses to cover garden walls.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6 to 9.
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Kitchen Garden
Whether you’re a professional chef or an amateur gourmand, a kitchen garden is a cornucopia of freshly grown, seasonal produce for preparing meals on the spot. Distinct from a vegetable garden in size and focus, a kitchen garden supplies you with healthy ingredients, the freshest of the fresh — and always at your fingertips.
“When all is said and done, a kitchen garden is there to grow things you use frequently when cooking or for cocktails,” Yost says. “There’s nothing better than a fresh herb in your dinner!”
Tips for designing a kitchen garden:
- Include a mix of your favorite herbs, such as basil, mint or dill.
- Plant greens such as arugula, kale, or lettuce.
- Add easy-to-grow fruits and vegetables, such as bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 2 to 11.
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Winter Garden
Why hibernate from November to April when you can plant a winter garden instead? Rather than going dormant, this garden stays bright and cheery, even if the weather isn’t. The idea is simple: A winter garden contains hardy plants that can survive the coldest climates.
Tips for designing a winter garden:
- Look for evergreen shrubs and plants that flower to feed wildlife or give off fragrance, even in sub-zero temperatures.
- Add color and life by planting a mix of winterberries (a type of holly); snowdrops; cyclamen; mahonia; witch hazel; and American crabapple.
Ideal garden location: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.
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Sunken Garden
Especially ideal for urban settings, a sunken garden is situated below ground level. Making use of limited space, Sunken gardens create the illusion of seclusion and add a touch of mystery.
You can dig a hole in the ground and lay a concrete or stone patio, or simply lower a section of the yard a few feet. Either way, you’ll get a new perspective and shelter from the wind.
Tips for designing a winter garden:
- Before you dig, go to call811.com so underground utility lines can be located and marked.
- Introduce different levels and heights via walls, planters and steps.
- Experiment with contrasting leaf colors, shapes and textures to create privacy.
- Surround comfortable seating with raised beds.
- Install a cozy fire pit or water feature.
FAQ
Why try unusual garden ideas?
“When you bring your own unique vision to a garden area, it might feel like traveling into uncharted territory,” Martone says. “But the biggest benefit to trying something new is the chance to experiment and learn through trial-and-error.”
Are there any maintenance challenges with quirky garden designs?
Unique areas may have unique needs, Martone notes. “For example, rock gardens are usually stocked with plants that need excellent drainage and may have lower than average water needs, while container gardening requires increased watering as pots tend to dry out quicker,” she says.
That said, the maintenance requirements will be dependent on the particular design you choose. Creating a solid plan for what your garden will need before you start building can help mitigate any unexpected challenges.
Experts
- Emma Martone is the Curator of the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at High Point University located in central North Carolina. With a Master’s in Public Garden Leadership from Cornell University, she oversees horticultural operations, manages new projects and programs, and leads the strategic development of the gardens.
- Paul Knapp is the Owner and Principal Designer at Landscape Architectural. He has extensive experience in providing landscaping and design solutions to households across the United States with a predominant focus on the Midwest right unto the East Coast
- Blythe Yost is a seasoned landscape architect and the Principal and Founder of Yost Design, a landscape architecture firm serving New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. She is also the founder of Hudson House & Garden, the firm’s sister installation company.
