Exploring Unconventional Uses for Time-honored Flora in Contemporary Gardens: Achieve a Balance Between Modern Design and Nostalgic Charm

Refreshed Perspective: Modernizing Traditional Garden Plants

Want to make your garden a trendy blend of the modern and traditional? Embrace the classic plants you know and love, and showcase them in innovative ways! Use these evergreen species, from roses to tomatoes, with up-to-date trends or creative approaches to reinvigorate these ever-popular picks.

Create lasting ties to yesteryears by incorporating old-school flowers and plants found in your grandma's or mom's flowerbed. Embracing your senses, just like those cozy cottage-core gardens, pick the scents and hues that resonate with you from your nostalgic green spaces.

Step up your rose game with 'Sunny' – the first Knock Out rose that isn't pink or red. Known for its robustness and disease resistance, it offers a new look at an old favorite.

Ancient Classics, Innovative Spins

Garden styles come and go, but classic plants remain evergreen. If you prefer a touch of yesteryears without a dated look, go for gold! Use your favorite traditional plants in refreshing ways. Here are a few tips to kickstart your creative journey:

Elevate Classic Roses

Roses add a touch of romance to any garden, and they belong alongside cottage-style blooms. Their gorgeous blooms and delicate fragrances make them garden staples. There are countless rose cultivars with a range of flower types and colors. From bush to vine varieties, old roses create a dreamy ambiance.

Offer your rose garden a modern twist with unique bloom colors. Interplay them with geometric plant arrangements and choose hardier rose species for easier cultivation. Discover the 'Raspberry Cupcake' rose, a new variety that has a delightful raspberry scent.

Contemporary Lilac Shrubs

Growing lilac shrubs is an old-time favorite, with their charming clusters of small flowers and mesmerizing aroma. Typically, they're well-suited to farms and cottage gardens. As a modern upgrade, prune your lilac bushes for more defined shapes and even consider using them as hedges. Find smaller 'Pearl Potion' varieties that are perfect for container growing, or get yourself a larger 'Boomerang' lilac with deep purple blooms from our platform Shop.

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Using Vertical Space to Innovate

Living walls of plants are a trendy pick for softening up hard surfaces and adding lush greenery to otherwise bare areas. They're ideal for beginners as well! Select smaller growing plants like ferns or herbs for vertical gardens. Diversify your garden with edible plants such as dwarf fruit trees, berry bushes, or even grow vegetables upside down from hanging containers instead of traditional cages.

Mix and Match Edible Classics

While traditional garden plants are great for their delectable fruits, vegetables, or herbs, there's always room for a fun twist! For example, create an outdoor container orchard with dwarf fruit trees, or play with berry bushes as unique potted installations on your patios. Embrace woody herbs like lavender or rosemary as borders along flower beds for a charming, edible touch.

Modernizing Indoor Plants Outdoors

Many tropical plants have long been a staple for home interiors. Popular options include Ficus, snake plants, parlor palms, monstera, peace lilies, orchids, bromeliads, and elephant ears. Before placing them in your outdoor space, take time to acclimate your indoor plants to the outdoors gradually. Blending these classic houseplants with the modern, reinvented outdoor space available in summer turns traditional northern or midwest gardens on their heads, featuring modern elegance while preserving nostalgic charm.

Wildflowers as Turf

Native perennials and wildflowers like black-eyed Susan, coneflower, milkweed, and native sunflowers are popular in cottage garden-style beds. They are trending for their beauty and ease of cultivation, as well as their sustainability appeal. For a new twist, convert some of your turf grass into a native meadow lawn, depending on where you live. This daring approach embraces modernism, natural appeal, and promotes biodiversity by attracting native insects, birds, and pollinators.

Embark on your journey to crafting contemporary gardens inspired by rich traditions! Embrace these tips and techniques, and the essential plants that define each, to create a harmonious space that evokes memories of the past while showcasing cutting-edge gardening trends.

To add a contemporary touch to your garden's interior-design, consider experimenting with vertical gardens, using plants such as ferns, herbs, and smaller fruit trees for a lush, modern look.
Incorporate sustainable-living practices by growing wildflowers like black-eyed Susan, coneflower, milkweed, and native sunflowers, creating a meadow lawn that is not only beautiful but also easy to maintain, promotes biodiversity, and aligns with the lifestyle of those who champion eco-friendly choices.
To enhance your home-and-garden, try introducing houseplants like Ficus, snake plants, parlor palms, monstera, peace lilies, orchids, bromeliads, and elephant ears, traditionally found indoors, to outdoor living spaces. Making a seamless transition by gradually acclimating these plants before placing them in your garden, gives a distinctive twist to conventional northern or midwest gardens.