Planting by Mood

Calm, Vibrant, Structured, or Wild—What Speaks to You?

Not every garden has to follow the same rules. Some whisper. Others shout. Some line up like they’ve had etiquette lessons; others tumble and twine like nobody’s watching. And the beautiful thing? They’re all right.

Because the best gardens aren’t designed by numbers. They’re felt. Shaped by the gardener’s mood, their hopes, their favourite shade of blue—or that one time they saw a meadow on a walk and never forgot it.

Today, we’re setting aside the blueprints and asking something simpler: What do you want your garden to feel like?

🌿 1. Calm: The Garden That Whispers

If your dream garden is a soft exhale—somewhere to sip tea, read, and hear yourself think—this one’s for you.

💧 Mood Elements:

• Cool colours: soft blues, silvers, lavenders, pale pinks

• Gentle textures: fine foliage, wispy grasses, flowing forms

• Repetition and rhythm—no jarring surprises

🌱 Try Planting:

• Lavender, catmint, salvia, Japanese forest grass

• Silver Artemisia, lady’s mantle, lungwort, hosta in blue tones

• Drifts of ferns under dappled shade

🪵 Design Tips:

Stick to a tight colour palette and soften hard edges with curved beds or flagstone paths. Let stillness lead the design. This is the garden equivalent of a deep breath.

🌺 2. Vibrant: The Garden That Dances

This garden bursts with colour and movement. It’s bold, joyful, and maybe even a little extra. (And that’s the point.)

🎨 Mood Elements:

• Bright colours: magenta, orange, crimson, sunny yellow

• Bold shapes and contrasting textures

• Something always blooming or reaching for the sun

🌱 Try Planting:

• Echinacea, coreopsis, red-hot pokers, bee balm, rudbeckia

• Zinnias or dahlias if you’re mixing in annuals

• Ornamental grasses like Pennisetum or panicum to keep things lively

🪻 Design Tips:

Layer heights and bloom times, and don’t be afraid to break rules. Plant in clumps for impact. This is the garden that greets you with jazz hands and a lemonade.

🧱 3. Structured: The Garden That Knows What It’s Doing

This garden is intentional. It’s put-together. Clean lines, repeat plantings, and “I’ve got my life together” vibes—even if you’re still deciding what’s for dinner.

🏛️ Mood Elements:

• Neatly clipped hedges or edging

• Strong silhouettes and architectural plants

• Symmetry or clearly defined pathways

🌱 Try Planting:

• Boxwood, yew, ornamental allium, hosta, lavender, globe thistle

• Tall grasses in measured rows

• Perennials that stay tidy: nepeta, baptisia, salvia

📐 Design Tips:

Think in layers—tallest at the back or centre, down to low edgers. Use repetition to guide the eye and keep a consistent colour scheme. This garden wears linen and doesn’t wrinkle.

🌾 4. Wild: The Garden That Refuses to Be Tamed

You know the one. It’s dreamy, a little untamed, and buzzing with life. Part meadow, part secret sanctuary, part glorious rebellion.

🌻 Mood Elements:

• Drifts of flowers that seed themselves

• Native plants, pollinator magnets, and soft movement

• Letting things do their thing (with a bit of gentle steering)

🌱 Try Planting:

• Echinacea, milkweed, yarrow, bee balm, asters

• Grasses like little bluestem, switchgrass, or tufted hair grass

• Let self-seeders like columbine and nigella roam free

🪴 Design Tips:

You don’t have to let chaos rule—just embrace a looser structure. Choose a palette to unify the wildness and tuck in paths to invite wandering. This is the garden that laughs at symmetry and dances in the wind.

🌼 Final Thoughts: Design from the Heart Outward

Your garden doesn’t have to impress a magazine. It doesn’t have to be like your neighbour’s. And it definitely doesn’t need to stick to one mood forever.

You can have a structured front yard, a wild patch by the shed, and a calm corner where you go to breathe. Gardens evolve. So do we.

So plant by instinct. Plant what feels good. Let your mood guide the mix—and trust that beauty will follow.