The Relaxed Gardening Trend That's Replacing Formal Landscapes

The natural look of a mixed meadow or even a forest garden are one of the biggest backyard trends of 2025, and it's easier to achieve than the manicured lawns it's replacing. Instead of weeding, fertilizing, and mowing to maintain a single-species carpet of grass, gardeners are incorporating wildflowers and perennials that don't need nearly as much help to look great. Even front yards are getting the meadowscape makeover. The layers of colorful flowers and mixed textures and heights of ornamental grasses or shrubs create a cozier and more inviting feel similar to cottage gardens.

If you want to replace your high maintenance formal landscape with this cozy, low maintenance alternative, it takes a little planning and prep. For the garden to thrive on its own, you need to pick plants that are already adapted to the conditions on your yard. Then, to achieve the charming meadow look, you want to include a mix of species with different heights, textures, and bloom times.

Once you've got your mix of species picked out, you have two options for actually planting it. You can use the chaos gardening method of scattering the seeds in a prepared bed and letting them do their thing. Alternatively, buy plugs or start seeds indoors and arrange plants in a less formal, but still planned layout. Whether you're going with a full chaos garden or want to design and plant the perfect cottage garden, you'll end up with a gorgeous and inviting landscape that requires almost no maintenance.

While a meadowscape or cottage garden is low maintenance once established, it takes planning and preparation to get there if you're starting from scratch. The key is variety. In each bed, include a mix of different heights, textures, and bloom times to maximize visual interest and ensure something's in bloom all season long. Then, separate beds with a low-growing ground cover or walkways. You don't need sharp edges, but some separation helps frame your flower beds so your landscape doesn't look overgrown.

For a low maintenance garden that's beneficial to wildlife and insects, focus on native plants. Search online for native species in your state or look for local native plant nurseries. You can also use this database to find your local cooperative extension office, which can give you some recommendations. Above all, pick native species that like the soil and light conditions where you will plant them.

Once you've chosen your plants, prep your yard. One of the easiest ways to do this is by sheet mulching. Smother your grass with cardboard and mulch in fall or winter. Come spring, you can cut out holes to plant plugs or add a layer of topsoil to sow seeds.

One of the biggest benefits of opting for a more natural-looking landscape in your garden is that it takes less work. Instead of fighting with the constant pruning, weeding, and chemical treatments needed to maintain a perfectly manicured aesthetic, cottage gardens or meadowscapes offer the natural look of a diverse, multi-species landscape. When you embrace that diversity, you don't need to rip out every stray weed you see or maintain a strict schedule of mowing and trimming to keep everything uniform.

If you've chosen native species, or at least the right species for your climate and soil conditions, you also won't need to worry about soil amendments or additional watering once the plants are established. Even if you spot pests in your yard, a healthy, mature plant can usually tolerate some pest pressure without serious damage. More importantly, a garden filled with a diverse mix of mostly native species attracts beneficial insects and birds, who will happily take care of any pest problems for you. Some may even help control invasive weeds by feasting on their seeds, leaves, or roots.

Finally, a densely planted mix of different species looks great year-round. By choosing species with different bloom times, textures, and foliage retention, you'll have an ever-changing landscape featuring a succession of spring and summer blooms, stunning fall colors, and a foundation of winter interest plants. That's more interesting to look at than the flat green of a monoculture lawn that goes dormant for half the year.