From To-Do Lists to Tranquility: Creating Your Outdoor Retreat
When deadlines loom, doomscrolling preoccupies your days, and the world feels too dark and noisy, retreating to the garden is always a good idea. Nothing alleviates frustration like deadheading faded flowers and pulling pesky weeds.
But sometimes, you need a complete reset—rest, relaxation, and reflection, instead of tackling garden chores. Whether you want to escape reality with a good book, meditate among birdsong, or share your most private thoughts with your journal, creating a serene garden space provides the perfect retreat from a stressful, busy world. With a little planning and a few easy tweaks, you can create the ideal space that promotes calmness, balance, reflection, and joy.
Step 1: Create a Comfy, Relaxing Seating Area
A cozy, comfortable seating area maximizes relaxation in your serene garden space. While a simple cushion placed on the ground might suffice for a daily meditation practice, a warm, welcoming seating area—with comfy cushions and good back support—will make your space inviting and restful throughout the seasons. Look for furniture that can easily transform to meet your needs, whether you want a single armchair placed in a corner as a reading nook or an outdoor sofa where you can relax with your honey.
Crescent Garden’s Elements Collection provides the perfect seating to enjoy your blissful garden space. With a range of options to choose from—two, three, and four-seater sofas, lounge chairs, armchairs, and more—you’ll find a variety of comfortable furniture combinations to create an ideal seating space.
To enjoy your seating area year-round, consider placing it in a shaded spot to escape summer’s heat.
You may also want to add a covered, water-repellent pergola so you can enjoy the garden—and the restful sounds of rain—even when the weather is less than serene.
Step 2: Pick the Perfect Plants
When selecting plants for your serene garden space, it’s easy to default to monochromatic green. After all, the soothing shades of moss, ferns, and foliage provide the perfect calming backdrop for rest and reflection.
But along with shades of green, consider adding beautiful blooms with the soft palette of Kusumi colors. Popular in Asia, Kusumi embraces the subtle tones of dusty, gently muted colors that highlight the beauty of plants without overwhelming them. This trend celebrates the beauty found in the colors of pressed flowers, faded clothing, and objects mellowed by time. While popular in commercial products, the trend toward Kusumi colors adorns gardens as well, featuring soft, balanced colors that provide a serene vibe, rather than energy-charged bright blooms. And while a vase of cheerful homegrown sunflowers looks lovely decorating décor, blooms in Kusumi colors evoke the calm and relaxation you crave in your serene space.
Along with soft colors, fragrant blooms add a dash of aromatherapy to your space. Incorporate a few fragrant flowers that subtly scent the space without overwhelming it.
When choosing plants for your serenity garden, consider the following:
Shrubs:
Large inflorescences start lime green, turn to creamy white, then age to pink shades in late summer/early autumn. USDA Zones 3-9.
Long, creamy white, fragrant buds open slowly, revealing hints of soft pink on the petal edges. USDA Zones 7-10.
Pink flowers develop white edges for a two-toned look on this easy-care shrub. USDA Zones 3-8.
A delightful dwarf hydrangea engulfed by large white flowers on strong stems. USDA Zones 3-8.
Pink, damask-scented blooms blanket the lush green, extremely disease-resistant foliage. USDA Zones 5-10.
White, highly fragrant double flowers open in spring, then shift to a ballerina-pink hue as the flowers mature. USDA Zones 3-7.
Perennials:
Warm, sun-washed blooms, blending peach and pink tones in a compact, bushy form, lighten up the garden. USDA Zones 4-9.
Pink double blooms, with alternating layers of cream to peachy color, make this a lovely, fragrant garden addition. USDA Zones 3-8.
Attractive flower spikes in shades of peach, rose, and yellow. Plants bloom in the spring, die back in the summer, and then re-bloom in fall. USDA Zones 5-8.
This Sedum grown from seed delivers rock-solid garden performance, producing generous, light pink flower clusters set against attractive light green foliage. USDA Zone 3b-9a.
Deep pink buds open to bright white flowers that face up and outward from the plant. This delightful cool-season bloomer is a wonderful addition to shaded beds. Evergreen. USDA Zones 4-9.
Exceptionally tolerant of both high heat and harsh winters, this easy-to-grow, highly fragrant lavender is edible, deer-resistant, and fast-growing. USDA Zones 5-9.
Annuals:
Calibrachoa Cha-Cha™ Diva Orange
This color-shifting Calibrachoa is a stunner in containers and hanging baskets. Blooms shift from dark orange to vivid yellow, creating a mixed container look with only one variety.
Sweetly ruffled double petals are snow white with a dusting of soft-pink. This elegant, rose-like flower (no thorns) looks lovely in gardens or as a long-lasting cut flower.
Masses of flowers add bursts of sunny yellow color to the garden from summer through fall. The flowers and leaves are edible, with a mild, spicy flavor. AAS Winner 2025.
Petunia Surfinia® Heavenly Cashmere Pink
Sun-kissed light pink blooms on mounding, semi-trailing plants look lovely in container combinations or filling hanging baskets.
This petunia has soft-pink blooms that pair beautifully in combos. The violet-rose veining at the throat contrasts nicely with other color choices.
Zinnia Belize Double Pink Bicolor
With a naturally compact and branching habit, this zinnia produces many beautiful pink and white flowers over the entire plant.
When selecting plants for your serenity garden, choose a combination of shrubs, perennials, and annuals to add interest and texture to the space.
Consider planting some evergreen shrubs and perennials for continuous color throughout the winter months.
Step 3: Add a Water Element
If you’re yearning for a restful, restorative garden space, add a water element. Richard Coss, professor emeritus of psychology at UC Davis, and former student Craig Keller conducted a study about the health benefits of water features. In their study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, they found that gazing at bodies of water can help lower heart rate and blood pressure, while increasing the feeling of relaxation. Another study by the National Institute of Health found that listening to natural water sounds, like rain or a waterfall, reduces stress.
While a pond adds a lovely focal point for reflection, you can still enjoy the soothing sight and sound of water in smaller garden spaces when you add a fountain.
Close your eyes and relax to the sounds of water in your garden.
Step 4: Attract Wildlife to Your Serene Space
Along with the many pollinator-friendly flowers you’ve added to your serene space, consider placing bird feeders or bird baths in the garden. Watching wildlife share your space diverts your brain from endless, dreary news cycles.
And while a bird bath invites your feathered friends to join you in the garden, you might consider adding a trail camera near the birdbath: often, nocturnal wildlife like possums and raccoons appreciate a sip of fresh, clean water when the humans are tucked in bed. They’ll appreciate the drink, and you may find some entertaining photos to enjoy!
Step 5: Light Your Space for Evening Enjoyment
The pleasure of relaxing in your serene space doesn’t end when the sun goes down. With the addition of garden path lights for safety, festive twinkle lights strung among the trees, or decorative lights like Filigree Solar Stake, you can add charm to your after-dark garden.
Whether you’re lighting a walkway or adding sparkle to flower beds, these lights add ambiance to your serene space for evening enjoyment. Solar panel charges during the day, and the lights come alive automatically at dusk. Enjoy the twinkle!
Are you ready to create a serene garden space to help you shed stress and embrace tranquility? With a few simple steps, you’ll soon be ready to unwind in your serene garden space.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of plants and products ideal for a serene garden?
If you want to create a soothing space to unwind after a stressful day, check the plants and products available from National Garden Bureau members.
About National Garden Bureau
Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success.
This post is an educational and inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to the National Garden Bureau and the author member when using all or parts of this article.
