Grow a Garden From Your Favorite Decade! This Easy Planting Guide Captures the Essence of Each Era From the Past Century
Capture your favorite parts of the past with a garden inspired by your favorite decade from the last century. Here's how to do it.
Have you ever felt that you should have been born in a different era? Each decade seems to have its own values, colors, and themes. While you can’t go back and be reborn into a different time in history, you can take inspiration from your favorite decade to create a landscape that reflects that moment’s glory.
The folks at Monrovia have been pioneers in the art of plant propagation and landscape design for a century. One of their recent innovations was to work with historic trends and flower color meaning to create 10 stunning planting palettes called Shades of Beautiful, each one reflecting a different decade of garden excitement over the past century.
You can use the same inspiration in your own garden to create a gorgeous landscape that reflects either your favorite decade, the year you were born, or the era that matches when your house was built for cohesive curb appeal. Putting these historically-inspired colors and new takes on old-fashioned plants to work in your own landscape brings the vibes of your favorite decade of the past into the present.
Article continues below1920s: The Gilded Garden
In France, they call the decade of the 1920s the "Années Folles," reflecting the decade’s cultural and artistic dynamism. In the US, it is known as the “Roaring Twenties,” celebrating the economic boom that occurred just after World War I.
It was the time when jazz flourished and fashion evolved, with women wearing knee-length skirts and bobbed hair for the first time in the history of the country. Take inspiration from the Art Deco movement that arose during this decade for a 1920s-inspired garden.
Let lush, over-the-top roses like the champagne-colored 'Eau de Parfum Bubbly' rose from Monrovia take center stage. Support them with silver-leafed plants like senecio, deep purple ninebark shrubs, and pretty pink hydrangeas for a truly gilded garden.
1930s: Off to See the Wizard
Did you watch The Wizard of Oz movie as a kid? Or maybe you read about Dorothy and Toto’s fabulous journey to the Land of Oz and the Emerald City? This story is a thrill for every generation, especially after the movie appeared in vivid color on screens across America in the 1930s.
A 1930s garden palette captures the spirit of the journey Dorothy takes from sepia-toned Kansas to colorful Oz. It includes many foliage plants, from golden feather reed grass that hearkens back to the look and feel of Dorothy's home territory on the Kansas prairie, to sweet bay and dwarf olives with emerald green foliage that represent the jewel-toned city in Oz.
And don’t forget to add a pop of vibrant red with a ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’ coneflower from Burpee as a bright reminder of Dorothy’s ruby slippers. Or plant an homage to the protagonist and her companions’ dramatic trip through the field of poppies by planting some poppy seeds from Amazon.
1940s: Victory Garden
World War II was the main event of the 40s and many of the decade’s gardens were Victory Gardens. During the war, home gardeners were encouraged to plant crops so there would be sufficient food for both folks at home and soldiers abroad. First termed Liberty Gardens, the name was changed to Victory Gardens when the allies moved ahead in the war.
A beautiful 1940s-inspired garden is a throwback to those days of shared purpose, emphasizing self-sufficiency and abundance. This kind of landscape is filled with plants that hang heavy with fruit over the growing season and bold red blooms that add a patriotic touch.
Plant blueberry shrubs, fig trees, and evergreen herbs like rosemary for flavor and ornamental value. Then bring in a ‘Knock Out’ red rose bush from Home Depot to add in a grace note of American beauty.
1950s: Poodle Skirts & Palm Trees
Who among us hasn’t seen photos of those iconic pink poodle skirts with their unique blend of style, fun, and cultural significance? But let’s face it. The most exciting parts of the carefree 1950s happened out west. Think social movements, teen beach blockbusters, and laid-back California cool. The landscape design vision for this era includes happy, surfside hues.
The planting palette for this decade should include hostas with seafoam and green foliage, like the ‘Earth Angel’ cultivar from Nature Hills Nursery – it doubles as a nod to the 1950s hit song. Add in some heuchera and daphne in all the shades of a sunrise over the Pacific Ocean for a surf-ready garden.
The piece de resistance in your garden should be as pink and lush as those iconic poodle skirts. Plant an ‘Early Wonder’ camellia from Lowe's for voluminous blush-colored blooms.
1960s: Peace, Love & Pollinators
Ah, the 1960s... When we all believed we could change the world so we went ahead and did it. This was the decade when humans walked on the Moon. But here on earth, counterculture made its big move. Everything changed from social norms, morality, and clothing to rock and roll and free love.
A 60s garden palette should include sunrise shades to celebrate the new beginning of almost everything. Think vibrant pink blooms and chartreuse foliage from a ‘Goldflame’ spirea from Monrovia, to huge sunflower blooms, and a super cool red hot poker plant from Lowe’s with joyful red-orange spikes of pollinator-friendly flowers.
1970s: That Seventies Palette
The 1970s was the decade of cocooning, so a 70s-inspired garden should feature a plant palette in calm, earthy colors. Start with deep orange ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ coneflowers and the groovy green foliage of an ‘Emerald Colonnade' holly from Lowe’s.
Add grace notes of gold with yellow roses – their easy-care ways and vintage style symbolize this decade perfectly – and provide fluidity with fabulous fountain grasses.
1980s: Soft Retro
The 1980s was a transformative period with many changes in culture, politics, and technology. A garden inspired by this unique period is soft and gentle, reflecting the clothing trends of the decade. Think pastel blooms like light yellow roses, faded pink agastache, and purple plumbago.
My favorite for this period garden is a lamb’s ear plant from Jackson & Perkins with its incredibly sensual foliage. The touchable, sage green leaves bring the whole grouping of pastel plants together.
1990s: Neon Brights
The 1990s were known as the high impact, anything goes decade. Utilize this aesthetic in your garden with bright and bold plants. Incorporate vivid highlighter hues with spunky pink flowers and electric lime foliage.
‘Black & Blue’ salvia from Burpee offers the brilliant deep blue blooms that set the tone for a 1990s-inspired garden. Mix in some pittosporum that’s the color of lime popsicles and hot pink bougainvillea.
2000s: Bubblegum & Glitter
The first ten years of the 21st Century were big on pop, bubblegum, and glitter. A Y2K-themed garden color palette mixes icy turquoise from plants like blue chalksticks from Home Depot that has unique and glorious upright foliage with bubblegum pink rose of Sharon blooms, and teeny tiny peach-colored drift roses from Home Depot. The look is fun, but still stylish.
2010s: Meadow Revival
Remember when meadows came back into fashion, replacing green turfgrass with a glorious mix of grasses and wildflowers? That was the 2010s, when the world started worrying about bees and pollinators more and started loving a wilder mix of plants in the garden.
Use a native ornamental grass variety to capture this lasting trend. ‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama grass from Plant Addicts is a great choice with its warm tones and graceful movement. Sprinkle in lavender plants for fragrance, daisies for fun, and ground it all with a water-wise dark sedum like ‘Back in Black’ from Proven Winners.
2020s: Opposites Attract
And so time wends its way to the present. The 2020s is a moody decade full of both darkness and light. A contemporary garden palette includes both ends of the spectrum, best represented by the ‘Eclipse’ hydrangea from Home Depot with its moody foliage and glorious cranberry-colored flowers that rebloom all summer.
Combine with dark-leaved begonias and the strappy, upbeat green and white stalks of sedge to lighten the mood. Then add snowy white bleeding heart blossoms from Amazon for delicate beauty.
