Examples of Private Garden Plans

Formal Gardens

• Formal gardens are designed to be showcases. They are usually clipped and hedged, and require a lot of work to maintain, but they are considered works of art. Several examples of formal gardens are used throughout the world, but the most popular in the United States are the European styles. The French garden uses flowering plants planted in different geometric shapes with a fountain in the middle. The Italian-style garden uses large lawn areas with a fountain and pergola. The English garden uses the concept of nature tamed, and so it is planted to look wild but still has defined beds and walks.

Rock and Alpine Gardens

• Rock gardens are popular in dry climates, very rocky areas and alpine regions. Originally developed in England, rock gardens are constructed on or around rocks or in very dry back yards. Plants used in rock gardens vary by region. In desert climates, cacti and desert succulents are the most appropriate plants while low-growing alpine succulents are used in alpine areas. In temperate areas, succulents can be added to Scotch heather (Calluna vulgaris), which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 4b through 7, cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamonea.), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, and royal fern (Osmunda regalis), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. Plants are used to decorate the rocks and are tucked into nooks and crannies as well as larger spaces built into the design.

Native Gardens

• Among the most low-maintenance kinds of gardens are native gardens, which are filled with native plants. Native plants are those plants that developed in a certain area without human help and that still flourish there. A native garden provides many advantages. Besides being simple to take care of, it is simple to set up, perpetuates itself, needs much less water than other kinds of gardens, needs very little, if any, pesticide and can be tailored to any light level, from shady forest floor to open meadow.

Edible Landscaping

• Edible landscaping is the art of planting a food garden but making it look like a pleasure garden. The idea is to choose plants that produce food and are decorative. In order to provide shade, for example, plant common grape (Vitis vinifera "Purpurea") on a pergola; common grape is hardy in USDA zones 6 through 9. Instead of using flowering plants in hedgerows, plant herbs and rainbow chard (Beta vulgaris subspecies cicla "Rainbow"), and replace shrubs with blueberry bushes (Vaccinium corymbosum), which are hardy in USDA zones 3b through 8, bloom and produce both fruit and fall color. Edible landscaping gardening can lower the amount of groceries you buy and uses less water than conventional gardens.