Does the thought of garden design intimidate you?

Designing and maintaining a garden doesn’t have to be complicated. Even the most basic of garden designs can be stunning.

With our planning and simple design tips, you’ll be on your way to designing a garden like a pro!

Find a place in the sun (or where the sun don’t shine)

Observe the area for your intended garden. Is it a south- or west-facing spot that gets full sun exposure? Or is it in a north- or north-east location that stays shady?

Choose your plants according to their sun exposure requirements. Your happy, thriving plants will thank and reward you for it.

Here are our picks for sun- and shade-loving plants:

Sun Lovers

With its gray-green foliage and dainty purple flowers, Russian Sage grows tall and creates an aromatic cloud of lavender-blue.

Russian Sage hardly requires any kind of upkeep. There's no need to fertilize, deadhead, or divide it. It’s also drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and pollinator-friendly.

We dare you not to smile while looking at a Shasta Daisy!

Shasta Daisies have the ability to bring cheer and carefree vibes to any garden.

*Pro tip: Resist the temptation of overfertilizing the daisies as it will promote more leaf growth and impede blooms.

Salvia is another sun-loving plant that can really take the heat. It comes in an array of colors, including varieties such as Hot Lips, Wild Thing, and Black and Blue.

Pro tip: Trim back spent flowers to regenerate fresh blooms all throughout summer.

Ornamental grasses tick all the boxes when it comes to garden design. They provide color, movement, texture, interest, and of course, beauty.

Take your pick from low-growing grasses for ground covers, like the low-maintenance Elijah Blue Fescue, or dramatically tall growers, such as the Cabaret Japanese Silver Grass.

Echinacea is as resilient as it is versatile, serving up numerous colors and single-, double-, and triple-flowering varieties.

Drought-resistant and heat-tolerant, it blooms all through summer into fall. Its eye-catching blooms and long stems make excellent cut flowers.

Red Hot Poker produces tall, red, orange, and yellow flower spikes that immediately catch the eye—and that of hummingbirds and butterflies, too!

If you’re looking to make a bold statement in your garden, Red Hot Poker is the way to go.

Sedum is your plant-it-and-forget-it plant, which practically thrives on neglect. Ideal for the areas that receive “too much” sun, they need very little water.

With low-growing and tall varieties in a wide selection of colors, you can plant them as a dazzling ground cover (or cascade them over a rock wall) or along a border.

What’s a list of sun-loving plants without the epitome of sunworshippers, the Sunflower?

Sunflowers thrive in full sun and aren’t fussy about soil. They produce blooms throughout summer into autumn. From towering to dwarf-sized flowers, you have plenty of fun varieties to choose from.

Shade Lovers

Thanks to the plentiful varieties of hydrangeas, there’s a hydrangea for even the shadiest section of your garden. Most of these beautiful shrubs thrive in dappled or afternoon shade.

Give your hydrangeas loamy soil with good drainage, and they’ll reward you with their distinctive clusters of gorgeous blooms.

The tall and majestic Foxglove offers vertical interest to gardens. With tube-shaped flowers that grow in clusters, it’s an aesthetic feast for the eyes.

Foxgloves prefer afternoon shade and full shade on hot days.

When you think of shady woodland areas, ferns probably come to mind. With their frilly foliage, they bring an alluring texture that adds a lushness to gardens.

The vibrant, multi-colored, textured leaves of the Coleus make it a no-brainer when it comes to adding dramatic splashes of color and texture to your shady garden.

With so many varieties, shapes, and colors to choose from, the shade-loving Hosta will complete your shady garden with any look you’re going for.

The foliage of Hostas come variegated, speckled, and striped with a background of emerald green, gold, white, and even blue.

*Pro tip: For deeply shaded areas, choose dark green Hostas. For partially shaded areas, go for lighter-colored or variegated Hostas.

2. Collect the Entire Set

To get the most enjoyment from your garden all year-round, snag the complete spectrum of plants: annuals, perennials, shrubs, bulbs, and trees.

This whole gamut of plants will offer a succession of bloom periods, giving you long-lasting color through all the seasons. It will also provide birds and pollinators a regular supply of food.

3. think big-picture

Pay attention to the mature size of your plants rather than the size you see in the pot. If you don’t space your plants accordingly, they’ll crowd each other out and make it difficult to maintain them.

4. Mix It Up

In garden design, it’s important to mix flower types for textural and visual appeal. When you plant a variety of flowers, you also cultivate a resilient garden that can support various pollinators.

Here are flower types to include:

Spikes

Salvia
Penstemon
Agastache
Canna Lilies

Daisy-like

Daisies
Echinacea
Sunflowers

Flat-topped

Sedum
Yarrow
Milkweed

Mounding

Lavender
Arabian Jasmine
Petunias
Catmint

5. Choose a color palette

If you’re going for a soft, romantic look for your garden, pastel colors (pale yellow, cream, soft pink, lavender) can achieve this vibe.

If you wish to make a bold statement, go with fiery colors such as red, orange, and yellow.

Going for something in the middle? Blue and white are a safe bet because they complement nearly all colors.

6. think big and odd

Plant each plant type in large, odd-numbered groups. Using large groups allows the eye to rest on one plant type before taking in another. Use smaller groups of plants, and you’ll risk creating a garden that appears chaotic.

7. Don’t be afraid of heights

Choose short, medium, and tall plants to play with their different heights. Place the tallest plants in the back with shorter plants in front. This arrangement will allow you to see your plants and appreciate how they complement one another.

8. cover ground with groundcovers

Groundcovers have a magical way of knitting a garden design together. Superior in visual appeal to mulch, they bring color, fragrance, and pollinators to your garden.

No matter your preferences or taste, the key is to have fun with your garden design. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!