Transforming a garden is an exciting opportunity—especially when you have the space, budget and vision to create something extraordinary. Whether you’ve recently moved into a larger home, are preparing for a growing family, or simply want to enhance your outdoor lifestyle, a professionally landscaped garden can elevate your property and the way you enjoy it.
At Thames Valley Landscapes, we know clients often begin with a clear desire for change but are not always sure what direction to take. With so many styles, features and possibilities available, choosing the right garden look can feel overwhelming.
This guide will walk you through popular garden styles and key focal features – complete with inspiring local gardens you can visit – to help you form a clear vision for your dream garden.
Popular Garden Styles to Consider
1. The Formal Garden: Timeless Elegance
If you love symmetry, clean lines and a sense of order a formal garden might be your perfect match. This style is an extension of your home’s architecture, often featuring clipped hedging (topiary), geometric pathways and classic stone statues.
Key Features: manicured lawns, straight pathways, topiary and structured hedging, pleached trees for privacy, symmetrical borders and elegant water features.
Perfect For: Period properties in Windsor, Marlow or Henley where the garden needs to frame a historic house and provide year round interest.
Where to get inspired locally:
Visit Cliveden House (National Trust) near Taplow. Their iconic Parterre is a masterclass in formal design, showcasing how structure and hedging can create a breathtaking sense of grandeur.
The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park also offers examples of structure planting with seasonal highlights.
2. The Modern Contemporary Garden: Sleek and Social
For the busy professional or the family that loves to host, the modern garden is designed for living. It views the garden as an “outdoor room,” blurring the lines between inside and out with bi-fold doors, smooth paving (like porcelain) and architectural planting.
Key Features: Clean lines, minimalism, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, built-in seating, architectural plants, composite decking, porcelain paving and statement lighting to make the garden usable at night.
Perfect For: New build homes and those wanting a sleek, low-maintenance outdoor space where entertaining is a priority.
Where to get inspired locally:
The Savill Garden’s contemporary sections (like the New Zealand Garden) use bold forms and modern textures to create a look that is both dramatic and low-maintenance.
3. The English Cottage Garden: Romantic and Relaxed
A cottage garden feels warm, inviting and relaxed. It’s ideal for families who want a soft, natural look that still bursts with character.
The antithesis of the formal garden, this style is all about abundance. It’s a riot of colour, texture and scent. While it looks wild, a successful cottage garden requires skilled planting design to ensure there is interest throughout the seasons, not just in summer.
Key Features: Winding pathways (often brick or gravel), pergolas draped in wisteria or roses, deep herbaceous borders and natural materials.
Perfect For: Those wanting a romantic, traditional and wildlife-friendly garden. This style especially suits character properties in the villages surrounding Henley, Marlow and Beaconsfield or anyone wanting a “soft” escape from the city.
Where to get inspired locally:
The Herbaceous Borders at The Savill Garden or the intimate walled gardens at Waltham Place (White Waltham). These show how to layer plants to create that classic “overflowing” look while keeping the space usable.
Also visit Grey’s Court (near Henley) for classic English borders full of charm. Or Cliveden’s Water Garden and Long Garden which is full of vibrant planting ideas for seasonal colour.
A bit further afield, but well worth visiting are Hidcote Manor in the Cotswolds’ or RHS Wisley, both of which offer masterclasses in exuberant border planting.
4. The Mediterranean & Dry Garden: Holiday at Home
With our summers getting hotter and drier, many of our clients are looking for gardens that can withstand the heat and require less watering (xeriscaping). A Mediterranean style garden is perfect for bringing the warmth of the Riviera to gardens in the Thames Valley through a mix of gravel, stone and drought-tolerant plants.
Key Features: Gravel gardens, terracotta pots, olive trees, lavender, fragrant herbs and warm-toned paving.
Perfect For: Sunny south-facing gardens or poolscaping projects where you want to recreate a holiday vibe.
Where to get inspired locally:
Check out the Italianate Terrace at Basildon Park (near Reading) for a lesson in using stone balustrades and pots to create a sun-baked, classical feel.
RHS Garden Wisley has a Mediterranean terrace showcasing suitable planting.
5. The Woodland & Naturalistic Garden: A Peaceful Sanctuary
There is a growing trend among our clients to step away from rigid structures and embrace a softer, wilder aesthetic. If your property has mature trees or shaded areas, a woodland style works with the landscape to create a cool, restorative retreat. It’s about texture over bright colours—think dappled sunlight, rustling leaves and a genuine connection to nature.
Key Features: Soft pathways (bark or gravel), drifts of ferns and shade-loving hostas, natural pond edges that blend into the soil, and swathes of ornamental grasses that move in the wind.
Perfect For: Homes with larger gardens and grounds with mature trees, or anyone seeking a calming, wildlife-rich backdrop to create a private escape from the world.
Local Inspiration:
A walk through Burnham Beeches offers the ultimate lesson in atmospheric woodland.
For planting inspiration, visit The Valley Gardens in Windsor Great Park—specifically the punch bowl area—to see how to create drama with naturalistic planting on a large scale.
Consider These Questions
If you’re still unsure which direction to take try asking yourself the following questions to help shape your decision:
- How do you want to use the space? Entertaining, relaxation, play, swimming, gardening?
- What level of maintenance suits your lifestyle? Weekly pottering or low-effort minimalism?
- What is the character of your home? Period homes often suit formal or cottage styles; modern homes suit clean, structured designs.
- Do you want year-round interest or seasonal bursts of colour?
- Have you got a specific feature in mind which can add focus and anchor the design (a pool, water feature, rock garden, green wall)?
- What budget and timeframe are you working to? Certain styles (e.g., formal gardens) require more structural landscaping and materials.
At Thames Valley Landscapes we help clients work through these considerations (and more) to help refine their ideas into a clear brief that suits their property, lifestyle and long-term plans.
We can also recommend garden designers we’ve worked with before, to help create detailed designs and plans.
Ready to Transform Your Space?
Whether you’re dreaming of a sleek entertaining terrace in Marlow or a family-friendly sanctuary in Beaconsfield, our landscaping team has the expertise to bring your vision to life.
Contact Thames Valley Landscapes today for a no-obligation quote and let’s start planning your dream garden together.
Get in Touch | Call us: 01628 629720
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