Types of Gardens Explained: Styles, Gardening Methods, and Compost Choices

A common misconception is that “garden” means one thing — a lawn with some flower beds around the edges. The reality is that types of gardens span an enormous range of philosophies, aesthetics, and purposes. Understanding the different types of gardens available to you opens up creative possibilities that most gardeners never consider. The style you choose also determines which types of gardening methods will serve you best and which types of compost will feed your soil most effectively.

Another myth is that different types of gardens require entirely different skill sets. In practice, the core skills — soil preparation, plant selection, watering, feeding — apply across all styles. What changes is how those skills are applied and in what proportions. A formal garden demands precision and geometry; a wild garden demands restraint and observation. Types of garden differ in aesthetic approach more than in fundamental technique, and most types of compost work across multiple garden styles with minor adjustments.

A Survey of Different Types of Gardens

The different types of gardens recognized in landscape design range from tightly controlled formal spaces to intentionally wild naturalistic plantings. Each type reflects a set of values about order, nature, and human intervention in the landscape.

Formal and Structured Gardens

Formal gardens are defined by geometry: straight axes, symmetrical beds, clipped hedges, and architectural focal points. French and Italian Renaissance gardens are the historical models. Today, formal types of garden are popular in urban settings where outdoor space is limited and a sense of order extends the feeling of an interior room outdoors. These spaces require more maintenance per square foot than naturalistic alternatives.

Topiary, parterre beds, and allées of pleached trees are signature elements of this type. We often recommend formal styles for small courtyard gardens where the geometric framework creates visual depth in a confined space.

Cottage and Naturalistic Gardens

Cottage gardens are among the most beloved types of gardens in English-speaking gardening culture. They emphasize abundance, informality, and seasonal change. Plants self-seed, bloom in overlapping succession, and create an apparently effortless density of color and texture. The types of gardening that support a cottage style include deadheading, self-seeding management, and occasional division — all light maintenance tasks compared to formal garden upkeep.

Naturalistic or prairie-style gardens draw from different types of gardens traditions but share the cottage preference for informal planting. They use grasses, perennials, and seed heads to create year-round interest, even in winter. These styles have expanded rapidly as gardeners seek ecologically functional spaces that support pollinators and wildlife.

Edible and Kitchen Gardens

Edible gardens — including kitchen gardens, potagers, and food forests — represent one of the fastest-growing types of gardening in the residential sector. A kitchen garden provides herbs, vegetables, and fruits in a layout that balances productive planting with ornamental appeal. Types of garden in this category range from simple raised beds to elaborately structured potager layouts with archways, espalier fruit trees, and decorative edging.

Food gardens require the highest investment in soil nutrition among all the different types of gardens. Vegetables are heavy feeders, and continuous cropping depletes nutrients quickly. This is where choosing the right types of compost becomes especially important.

Types of Gardening Practices

Types of gardening range from no-dig methods to intensive double-digging approaches. No-dig gardening — in which compost is layered on the soil surface without tilling — has gained significant following because it preserves soil structure and the microbial networks that support plant health. We find no-dig types of gardening particularly effective when transitioning a neglected lawn into a productive garden bed.

Container gardening is another major category of types of gardening, especially relevant in urban environments where in-ground planting is not possible. Container culture requires more frequent watering and fertilizing than in-ground methods, but it offers complete control over soil conditions and the flexibility to rearrange the garden seasonally.

Organic gardening — which avoids synthetic pesticides and fertilizers — is both a philosophy and a practice that cuts across all different types of gardens. It places particular emphasis on soil health as the foundation of plant health, making the selection of types of compost central to its success.

Types of Compost for Every Garden Style

The major types of compost include hot compost, cold compost, vermicompost, and green waste compost. Hot compost is made by maintaining a pile at high temperatures — above 140°F — which kills weed seeds and pathogens. It produces a finished product in 4 to 8 weeks and is ideal for vegetable gardens and edible types of garden where rapid soil improvement is needed.

Cold composting is the simplest method: pile organic material and leave it to decompose over 6 to 12 months without turning. The finished product is excellent for mulching flower beds and feeding established perennials. We use cold compost as a topdressing on cottage and naturalistic types of garden where a steady, slow nutrient release is more beneficial than a quick feed.

Vermicompost — produced by composting worms — is among the most nutrient-dense types of compost available. It is particularly effective as a seed-starting medium and a soil amendment for container types of gardening. A small worm bin can produce enough vermicompost to supply a modest kitchen garden throughout the growing season.

Green waste compost, produced commercially from municipal garden trimmings, is the most accessible of all types of compost for home gardeners. Quality varies by producer, so we recommend requesting a nutrient analysis from commercial suppliers before purchasing in bulk. Used as a two-inch topdress across beds each spring, green waste compost benefits virtually every type of garden style.

Bottom line: The types of gardens available to any gardener are far broader than most people realize. Understanding the different types of gardens, the types of gardening practices they require, and the types of compost that best feed each types of garden allows you to design and maintain a space that genuinely reflects your goals and works with your local conditions.