Themes for Gardens

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Lots of Ideas for Creating Themed Gardens

You want your yard to entice your family and friends to spend time outdoors. Different lifestyles and personal preferences need to be factored in when choosing a theme for your outdoor space.

Would you like a place to just relax after a long day at work or do you want to putter among the flowers? Either way is a great stress reliever, but one may appeal to you more than the other. Browse the themes below for garden ideas and see what inspires you. I'll be adding more over the next few weeks, so check back often for new ideas.


Nature's Artistry Garden Impasto by nancypiekarczyk

Moonlight Gardens Provide an Evening Retreat

Cottage Gardens Are a Labor of Love

A Tuscan Patio Can Be Tranquil and Easy-to-Maintain

Try an Unusual Theme, the Gothic Garden

How to Create a Gothic Theme Garden | eHow.com
Grow a gothic flower garden. The Charles Addams cartoon family would approve of dark flowers and spongy groundcover and they would be overjoyed at funereal scented lilies and drooping bushes. A...

Mexican Hacienda - Garden Theme

Learn More about a Hacienda Garden and Courtyard

Hacienda Courtyards (Mexican Design Books)

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More Themes to Consider for Your Garden

Yard and Garden Secrets: Design Ideas for Sensory Garden
Susan Golis in her Yard and Garden Secrets gives ideas for creating a sensory garden.
How to Create a Mexican Hacienda Style Courtyard | eHow.com
An inviting and relaxing courtyard is a great addition to any front, side or backyard. One can create a style they can call their own. Courtyards are very common in the Spanish and European...
How to Create a Persian Garden | eHow.com
The first pleasure gardens in Egypt and Persia were based on water and their long narrow canals ran in grid patterns, stemming from the idea of the four-square paradise garden. Where these...
How to Create a Japanese Garden | eHow.com
Water, plants, and stone are all needed to create a Japanese garden. Simplicity and harmony are the other two essentials. Before we begin, you'll need at least 50 sq. ft. of free space outdoors -...
How to Create an Old West Theme Garden | eHow.com
Create an Old West Theme garden for arid or poor soil areas. Old West gardens are wonderful for drought-prone regions with water limitations. With the right decorations and landscaping the garden...
Wagon Wheel and flowers 2 mousepad
Wagon Wheel and flowers 2 by BowNRanch
Make a mousemat at zazzle
How to Create a Colonial Garden | eHow.com
American colonists were practical people. In a new land they made a fresh life. Their gardens fed the family and brought beauty into the home. Gardens held fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers....

Ideas for a Japanese Garden

Book available from Amazon

Japanese Gardens in a Weekend: Projects for One, Two or Three Weekends

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Choose a Historic Period Theme for the Garden

How to Create a Colonial Garden | eHow.com
American colonists were practical people. In a new land they made a fresh life. Their gardens fed the family and brought beauty into the home. Gardens held fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers....

Williamsburg, Virginia card
Williamsburg, Virginia by batemanrc
See other Williamsburg Cards

How to Create a Pioneer Garden | eHow.com
Pioneer families were the first to settle new lands or regions. These families depended on farming and gardening to survive. Without refrigeration, they canned, preserved and cellar-ed their crops...

Learn More about Colonial Garden Design and Landscaping

Book available from Amazon

The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg

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Choose a Literary Theme for the Garden

How to Plant a Faulkner Garden | eHow.com
William Faulkner (1897-1962) was an American writer. Faulkner's success came from his novels set in his native state of Mississippi. His work was published from the mid-1920s but his real success...
How to Plant an Emily Dickinson Garden | eHow.com
Emily Dickinson was an American poet (1830-1886) born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was a prolific private poet and wrote over 1700 poems though most were not published until after her death....

When I card
When I by lemlime

How to Plant a Steinbeck Garden | eHow.com
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born in Salinas, California. The award-winning American writer is famous for books such as "Tortilla Flat," "Of Mice and Men" and "Grapes of Wrath." His works were...
How to Plant a Shakespeare Garden | eHow.com
A Shakespeare garden features herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees found in Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. The great English playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) filled his literary works with...


"European Robin William Shakespeare quote" by MaryMcandrew
How to Plant a Robert Frost Garden | eHow.com
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet. His famous poems include "Mending Wall," "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening." Bring the lyrical world of Robert Frost...

Looking for More Themes for Your Garden?

Theme Gardens: Revised Edition

Amazon Price: $3.83 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now

How Do You Feel about Themes in Gardens?

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I love garden themes (and suggest at least one theme)

scarlettohairy says:

These are gorgeous! I would love to have a garden with wooden doors sitting randomly around it that could be opened and walked through. Just doors, not walls. And flowers of course!

aliciamaggie54 says:

These are neat themes.

ohcaroline says:

I like the idea of themed gardens; but I don't think I have the expertise to put one together. I'm more about just keepin' them growing and blooming.

oztoo says:

I like the idea of theme gardens. How about a tropical or balinese style?

SoyCandleLover-Maker says:

If I was able to do it, Country Cottage is my favorite

I think garden themes are too structured (or whatever you want to say)

 

Xeriscaping Is Perfect for Dry Areas of the Country

This is the theme we used for our yard when we lived in South Texas.

Yucca bag
Yucca by codfishlady

Drought Tolerant Gardens with Cindy Dole
by HomeWizards | video info

0 ratings | 327 views
curated content from YouTube

More about Xeriscaping

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Southwestern Plants Are Quite Drought Tolerant

Books to Help You Create a Themed Garden

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Have You Decided on a Theme for Your Garden?

Nature's Artistry Garden Impasto shirt
Nature's Artistry Garden Impasto by nancypiekarczyk

  • DecoratingMom411 May 11, 2012 @ 2:11 am | delete
    A Japanese themed garden can be so tranquil and nice for relaxing and meditation.
  • Comfortdoc Apr 9, 2012 @ 3:09 pm | delete
    Many beautiful images and ideas.
  • veryirie Apr 9, 2012 @ 2:01 pm | delete
    I like the looks of the Japanese Garden and the Colonial Garden themes. Our backyard garden is simply tropical plantings, along with coconut trees mixed with banana plants and papaya trees.
  • RinchenChodron Apr 5, 2012 @ 10:20 am | delete
    Great idea for a lens. Interesting photos and links.
  • ohcaroline Apr 5, 2011 @ 8:30 am | delete
    The idea is a great one. I only have a few things that I would want to plant and would have to leave it at that.
  • poutine Dec 26, 2010 @ 12:16 pm | delete
    The Toscan theme garden would be my favorite.
  • Pukeko Dec 4, 2010 @ 4:24 am | delete
    Beautiful. We have never had a themed garden - unless you consider vegetables a theme.
  • MarkUpshaw Nov 2, 2010 @ 9:27 pm | delete
    i love themed gardens and would love to have enough space to have various themes. For now, my garden is 100% vegetable and fruit.
  • oztoo Jul 15, 2010 @ 3:02 pm | delete
    Great resource for themed gardens. My problem is that I like so many different ones. Just choosing one is hard. I suppose the best idea would be to create differnt garden themed nooks.
  • SoyCandleLover-Maker Jun 18, 2010 @ 9:05 am | delete
    Beautifully done and I love the lensography feel of this lens. Lensrolling to Roses Forever. Thanks for the ideas! BTW- I like your new face. :D
    P.S. I also visited your lovely Tuscan Garden lens, and wanted to let you know, but couldn't locate the guest book
  • vallain Jul 14, 2010 @ 8:05 pm | delete
    That's a 4 page lens, so the guestbook is hiding at the bottom of page 4. Hmm, I'll need to rethink that.
  • mbgphoto Jun 2, 2010 @ 9:10 am | delete
    Very nice lens! I think a them is great for a garden...just haven't decided what to do with mine:)
  • TheWhistler Jun 2, 2010 @ 8:28 am | delete
    A lovely lens. Thank you.

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I've always loved to garden and now have more time for it in retirement.
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Tour Some Great American Gardens for More Ideas 

Great Gardens of America

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How about a Garden to Attract Hummingbirds? 

Hummingbird Gardens

Amazon Price: $54.30 (as of 05/31/2012)Buy Now