find, organise and structure your inspirations to create a garden
Finding a garden idea that is both beautiful, functional, and suited to your space is not always easy. Among the thousands of images available on the Internet, magazines, gardens visited on holiday, or tips gathered here and there, it is easy to get lost.
To transform your inspirations into a clear project, there is a method: learning to structure your garden ideas. This article explains how to define a style, create a useful moodboard, choose the right colours, combine materials and plants, and create a coherent and sustainable vision for your future garden.
1. Why structure your garden ideas?
Collecting images is not enough: without structure, your inspirations remain vague.
Organising your garden ideas allows you to:
- to identify what you really love;
- to clarify your style;
- to avoid an overcrowded garden;
- to create a coherent atmosphere;
- to facilitate working with a architecte paysagiste ;
- to achieve an aesthetic and functional garden.
A successful garden is based on a strong idea — simple, clear — around which everything revolves.
2. Where to find garden ideas?
a) Observe reality
Before Pinterest, observe the light, textures, and volumes of the gardens around you: parks, holidays, botanical gardens, facade colours, sculptures, natural landscapes…
These sources provide much more realistic garden ideas than the edited images found online.
b) Pinterest, Instagram, Houzz
Excellent tools, but to be used methodically.
For each image you add, note what you like:
- the colour?
- the volume of a plant?
- the general atmosphere?
- a specific garden idea (terrace, pathway, flowerbed)?
c) Books, magazines and landscape guides
Specialised publications show proven combinations that are useful for finding garden ideas that really work in the European climate.
d) The seasons
The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) recommends observing a garden over three seasons.
An essential source of inspiration for selecting high-performing plants and avoiding mistakes.
3. How to structure your garden ideas: the professional method
A good moodboard is the key. Here’s how to create an effective moodboard to organise your structured garden ideas:
Step 1 – Choose a main theme
Do not exceed 1 to 2 styles, otherwise your garden will lose its coherence.
Examples :
- contemporary Mediterranean garden,
- graphic urban garden,
- natural garden in the style of Piet Oudolf,
- minimalist Japanese ambiance.
Step 2 – Organise your inspirations by categories
Create folders or sections:
- Colours and plant palette
- Textures and materials (stones, wood, metals, floors)
- Volumes and structures (trees, grasses, perennials)
- Features (terrace, pond, vegetable garden, access)
- Ambiances/lights
This method clarifies your garden ideas and provides a comprehensive vision of the future project.
Step 3 – Select and eliminate
One of the most important steps.
A successful garden relies on clear choices, not on a collection of ideas.
For each image, ask yourself:
→ Does it really contribute to the style I have defined?
If the answer is no, remove it from your moodboard.
Step 4 – Create your final moodboard
Recommended tools:
- Pinterest to quickly gather ideas,
- PowerPoint/Keynote to structure garden ideas into coherent slides,
- Canva for a more visual result,
- Miro for more complex projects.
Combine plants, colours, materials, volumes and furniture to define your style.
4. Combining colours, plants and materials: the key to a coherent garden idea
A garden idea must take into account the associations between:
- plants (shapes, textures, foliage),
- materials (stone, gravel, concrete, wood),
- colours.
Some effective combinations:
- Grey plants + light paving → Mediterranean style
- Golden grasses + corten → natural contemporary garden
- Dark foliage + black stone → Japanese atmosphere
- Pastel tones + light wood → soft / beach atmosphere
A garden idea is not limited to one type of plant:
it is defined by a global agreement.
5. Integrate functionality + aesthetics
A well-designed garden is not just beautiful.
It must be easy to use, logical, and pleasant to live with.
Essential principles:
- First define the circulation routes, then the plantings.
- Plan for living spaces (meals, relaxation).
- Hide the technical areas (storage, compost).
- Leave empty spaces: emptiness is a component of design.
- Do not multiply competing ideas.
6. Thinking project: a three-step method
This approach is used by many landscape architects:
1) Inspiration
All garden ideas gathered without filter.
2) Intention
A sentence that summarises your vision:
“Create a simple, bright garden structured around textures and grasses.”
3) Conception
Translation of this intention into :
- traffic plan,
- colour palette,
- selection of materials,
- plant choices.
It is this transition from inspiration to structure that transforms your garden ideas into a professional project.
Conclusion
Finding ideas for landscaping your garden is simple.
Organising them, structuring them, and turning them into a truly harmonious project requires method, rigor, and coherence.
By creating moodboards, defining a realistic colour palette, selecting the right plants, and considering the features of the garden, you transform a simple garden idea into a vibrant, sustainable, and deeply aesthetic space.