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Tired of all the boring and normal looking gardens? Are you ready for an adventure that will take you into the depths of the soul of gardening and whimsy? Pull up a chair and get ready for the wonderful and exciting world of theme gardens.
So, ready to take the plunge and start something exciting and new? Get ready for the wonderful and strange world of theme gardens. These theme gardens are a new way to find and look for plants. They are not for everyone and you might get some strange looks from the folk who come to visit your garden but it is well worth knowing you have more than a garden, you have a theme. Here are a few theme gardens that are far from your run of the mill and sure to make your garden stand out from the rest.
Mad Hatter Garden
Drawing on the story of Alice in Wonderland, this is a tea party themed garden. This garden will have the scattered remnants of cups, and other tea serving equipment among the roots of the plants. The garden should have a natural groundcover and lots of seating under story trees. This garden will thrill children and should have a cottage-like feel with a touch of wonder. Adding a hole in a tree for the rabbit to live will be a wonderful addition.
Watering Hole Garden
Bring a touch of the old time west into your garden. Getting a few of the old time looking wine barrels, broken wheels, and old time looking odds and ends. There needs to be a pond, the type you could just see Huck Finn trying to fish in. Just using a part of the pond will do, and let things get a little bit overgrown-looking with vines, wildflowers, and shrubs. This is a great place for sitting back and thinking about the good old days.
Cheshire Cat Garden
This will be the cats meow garden. Fill with pink and purple flowers in a rather sunny location. Make sure you have catnip, both the low and the high old fashioned growing. Put a few bushes of pussy willow around the edge of the garden and you can enjoy it in the spring before everything else in the garden comes out and grows. This will be fun for kids and adults alike.
Lemon Fresh Garden
This garden will need to be in full sun and you should plant Lemon Balm and other citrus smelling plants to the garden for the aroma focus. Seeing there are very few lemon smelling plants that also have large showy flowers, add to the mix flowers that have that warm yellow feel to them. Look for plays in tone and color. Stay away from orange and white tones or you will never be able to pull off the lemon feel.
Addams Family Garden
Aside from the obvious of rose bushes around the edge, this would be a great and fun garden for play. You will need a bog in the center near the pathway, both sides of the pathway with carnivorous plants like Venus Fly Traps and Cobra Plants. Next, you will need to get Calla lilies growing in mass near the area. Planting rows of ferns and dark blood red roses will help the whole look. Add a vase or large pot or two in the garden with dead sticks to mimic the floral arrangements in their home. Have fun with your favorite family in this easy and eerie garden.
So have fun and add one of the above gardens to your yard, or take a look at something you love and add your own theme garden and share it here on Dave's Garden.
All images are in the public domain.
About Mitch Fitzgerald
I am a pentecostal preacher, gardener,husband, and a father. I love natives, daylilies, iris, and roses. I love teaching others, be they children or adults, about the garden and plants.
Posted by Noturf (from Marquesas Islands, Polynesia (French)) on December 09, 2008 at 09:19 AM:
Are nice if you have nothing else to do or if hiring competent, sophisticated service.
Informal gardens are more useful for nature since there is no pruning, trimming, pollution and so on.
In brief a garden should be useful to us and them.
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Subject: Family names garden.
Posted by ACWinOH (from Sandusky, OH) on December 08, 2008 at 07:26 PM:
I try to find plants with our kids' names in them for our gardens. I have several plants with Beloved's name which he says isn't fair because they're feminine looking! I don't have my Brentster daylily yet because it's out of my reach financially until it's more common but have some Cheyenne daylilies. Also looked high and low for the old Melissa Joy daylily which is the exact name of one of our girls. A Salome geranium for my grandmother, etc. I'd love a "fairy" garden someday. I absolutely love the idea of themed gardens but most of my gardens end up being the "stick it" sort of garden - stick a "had to have it' plant where there's a spot and worry about it later! Thanks for the ideas! - Carol
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Posted by EleanorZRuch (from Hatfield, PA) on December 09, 2008 at 02:29 AM:
In the Pinebrook Children's Garden, one section is "Grama's Place" (as my sister's grandchildren spelled it!) "Laura" was my sister's name...and I found Laura Phlox, Sweet Laura Alstromeria and Laura Geranium. Lady Francis begonia is for our cousin Fran. David Phlox was already in as our first nephew, then he too died in a crash...and the plant memorializes him. Chrysanthemums of Helen, Grace and Patricia....good resources for name gardens...were all women of significance in my sister's life. Watch out, though, it is potentially addictive...searching for new entries for your theme garden!!
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Subject: Many Themes in Pk's Children's Garden
Posted by EleanorZRuch (from Hatfield, PA) on December 08, 2008 at 08:00 AM:
Our fourth season of Pinebrook Children's Garden (Pinebrook Bible Conference, East Stroudsburg, PA) has been fun....and now the Garden is resting. It is a tribute to my sister who died in a car crash and what a joy it is to spend hours and hours there along with enjoying the visitors young and old who come.
There are about 25 themes within the large theme Garden -ex. It's a Small World, Farmer McGregor's Patch, Small Creatures, Angels Unaware, Grama's Place, Come to Your Senses, A Moment in Time, A Spot of Tea, Consider the Lilies, Bible Time - to name some.
The time spot has many plants there by virtue of their names (ex. Four O'Clocks, Thyme - six varieties, Sunset and Sunrise Echinacea) and some by virtue of their time related habit (daylilies, sunflowers, evening primroses, moonflowers, morning glories, chicory, etc.)
Theme gardens are a bit addictive...causing constant roving eyes for one more related plant!! But great fun they are. Thanks for turning on the idea light for others! (This Garden is a labor of love, not a commercial site.)
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 08, 2008 at 10:40 AM:
Sounds wonderful! Is there a web site we can go look - or can you post images here?
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Subject: Auntie here
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on December 02, 2008 at 08:23 PM:
Hey Mitch,
You and your imagination! What are ve going to do vith you, dear nephew? Ah hah! I know; ve shall kidnap you and force you to build some vonderful gardens for us. Ha ha, hee hee. Grandma has a little pond, but it ain't made for swimmin' or fishn'. It is part of the septic processin'.
Anyway, interesting article Mitch. I just can't stay on one subject in my gardens; I love too many plants.
Aunt April
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 03, 2008 at 10:31 AM:
Oh ponds - I love ponds - so fun to dig and fill with plants..
Would love to come and design or build some gardens there!
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Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on December 04, 2008 at 01:21 AM:
Lagoon...that is what Grandma's pond is. But this isn't the type of pond that is worth anything except chasing the dog out of. LOL
I wish you all lived closer. Waaaa!
Blessings,
Aunt April
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 05, 2008 at 11:13 AM:
I do tooo... then even if people got sick I could come...
Ahhh - she needs lilys and lotus for that sucker!
Love Mitch
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Subject: Raspberry Garden
Posted by fancyvan (from Calgary, AB) on December 02, 2008 at 03:46 PM:
I seem to have a lot of plants that are Raspberry this and that so I am hoping to move them all in one spot one of these days ( of course that means moving out a lot of other plants!) And then I can buy more plants that are named Raspberry.....
And since I have been collecting Heucheras lately I will shift them so I have a Heuchera Food garden and a Heuchera drinks garden! Or maybe just a Heuchera Food and Drink garden!
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 02, 2008 at 04:37 PM:
They sound wonderful - please post images when you get them set up!
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Subject: Sage Garden
Posted by zhinu (from (Laura) Olympia, WA) on December 02, 2008 at 12:34 PM:
My daughter's name is Sage so I have Sage's sage garden; all the edible sages I can find and afford. I'd like to do a historical herb garden and a geek garden (historically important plants and those named after things in movies, books, or other "geeky" things).
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 02, 2008 at 01:49 PM:
Wonderful - have you already started? Look up Salvia - there are some wonderful Sages and the blooms are stunning.
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Posted by zhinu (from (Laura) Olympia, WA) on December 09, 2008 at 11:27 AM:
I have it started, but it's pretty modest at the moment. We should be moving this summer so I haven't wanted to put too much effort into my garden. I'll try to remember to take a picture later. I have official sage, golden variegated, anise sage, golden sage (?) and pineapple sage. The pineapple sage has just taken off this year.
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 09, 2008 at 01:20 PM:
Sounds wonderful - what a great collection and you have just started wait for the garden and collecting to really take off!
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Posted by zhinu (from (Laura) Olympia, WA) on December 10, 2008 at 10:07 PM:
I'm hoping I have a good spot to make it at our next house.
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Subject: very imaginative
Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on December 02, 2008 at 11:42 AM:
I already have a hodge-podge here. Maybe by spring I will have a more focused look...maybe. Thank you for the inspiration.
Christi
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Posted by MitchF (from Lindsay, OK) on December 02, 2008 at 12:04 PM:
Christi -
It is what I dreamed of doing... ahhh int he gardens of one of these days :-)
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Posted by Sheila_FW (from Fort Worth, TX) on April 17, 2009 at 03:14 PM:
I visited a gardener before I found DG, that had a President's garden. She had things name for Presidents, Government, families, etc.; just all things political. One she shared with me that day was "Hilary's Sweet Lemon Mint". She had Confederate Jasmin in the background, with Lincoln something...? Just to give you an idea.
Then she had an all white garden that she had called her Wedding bed. Her yard was quite interesting to tour.
So, ready to take the plunge and start something exciting and new? Get ready for the wonderful and strange world of theme gardens. These theme gardens are a new way to find and look for plants. They are not for everyone and you might get some strange looks from the folk who come to visit your garden but it is well worth knowing you have more than a garden, you have a theme. Here are a few theme gardens that are far from your run of the mill and sure to make your garden stand out from the rest. 
