It was the sigh heard ‘round the world: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
On August 26, 2025, Swifties swooned over the stunning Instagram engagement announcement. And while the ring looked lovely, let’s be honest: the garden stole the show. Lush pink and white roses scaled arbors, framing our favorite couple. Urns overflowed with brilliant bouquets. Petals carpeted the path. The showgirl and her football fella, surrounded by beauty—we expect no less. How can you not lean into the romance and wish them well?
Of course, as you look closer—the floral installation, while stunning, is fleeting. Created to look like a lush, enchanted backyard oasis, the scene owes kudos to the magnificent floral artisans, who installed thousands of cut flowers for the perfect photo shoot. And while we feel like we’re there, peeking into the proposal, Papa Kelce slipped and told the world the actual proposal occurred two weeks prior to the IG announcement.
But still…we’re buying into the dream.
Why are we so enamored with the engagement photos?
Maybe it’s because they look so intimate—a sweet backyard engagement, an adorable cuddle of the affianced on a bench, a private glimpse into (what we assume to be) their garden.
But also, it’s the charm of making memories at home. Whether it’s creating a beautiful garden space for graduation photos, before-prom pics, family reunion candids, or charting the growth of kiddos and critters throughout the year, creating a photo-ready garden provides beautiful, cherished memories to savor throughout the years.
But how do you create a photo-perfect garden without the budget of an international pop icon?
Here are 5 tips to create a photo-ready garden space perfect for capturing your favorite memories:
1. Frame Your Favorites
To create the perfect garden pose, consider installing a fabulous frame: an arbor dripping in beautiful blooms or fantastic foliage.
Not only does an arbor provide an ideal spot to pose for photos, but it also adds ambiance in the garden all season long.
Perfect for framing a newly-engaged couple, teenagers off to prom, or a recently-graduated law student, an arbor adds beauty without overwhelming the stars of the show—the people.
Growing gorgeous vines up an arbor adds height to a garden space, visually guiding visitors along a path to the destination.
A few arbors to consider:
Gated Arch
The Gated Arch creates a welcoming entrance, perfect for any photo shoot. It also serves as a sturdy support for vining blooms like clematis, wisteria, and roses. Made of powder-coated steel, it withstands the elements.
Ariana Arch
Inspired by Middle Eastern architecture, the elegant and exotic Ariana Arch creates a unique entryway that feels classic and modern all at once. Balancing fashion with function, the arch provides substantial support for flowering vines.
For a Fairytale Feel
Consider growing climbing roses to add both color and fragrance to the arbor, like:
Crown Princess Margareta®
A vigorous climber, bearing large, many-petalled, neat rosette flowers in a lovely shade of apricot-orange, it produces a delicious fragrance and blooms throughout the season. USDA Zones 5-11
Snow Goose®
A short, repeat-flowering rambler, it bears sprays of small, glistening white pompon flowers with a charming, daisy-like appearance. USDA Zones 5-11
New Dawn®
A repeat-blooming, large-flowering climber, its sprays of pearl pink, fragrant blooms bloom on both old and new wood. USDA Zones 5-10
For the Shadier Side
If your garden leans toward the shadier side, don’t worry: a few climbing vines for part-shade to shade sites include:
Evergreen Clematis
This showy evergreen vine features large, leathery green leaves and an abundance of fragrant, star-like white blooms in brilliant clusters. Plant near outdoor living areas where the fragrance can be enjoyed. USDA Zones 7-9.
Schizophragma Flirty Girl® Japanese Hydrangea
Along with an abundance of lightly fragrant, creamy blooms, new growth emerges purple, which adds to its charm in the landscape. Unlike many climbing hydrangeas, Flirty Girl produces blooms quickly, making it a great addition to your photo-ready garden arbor. USDA Zones 5-9.
Amethyst Falls Wisteria
A charming and compact deciduous vine, beloved across its native United States for its stunning cascades of fragrant, lavender-blue flowers. Unlike its more vigorous Asian counterparts, this native variety features a more restrained growth habit—but still fills arbors beautifully. USDA Zones 5-9.
For the best photos, avoid direct, bright noon sun, which can create dark shadows on your subjects.
Instead, shoot photos during the “golden hour”—early morning or late afternoon, when the light is softer. Overcast days also make a great time for photos, with clouds acting as a natural diffuser for softer lighting.
2. Take a Seat
There’s nothing nicer than canoodling with your honey on a comfy bench tucked among the flowers and foliage. There’s something very Secret Garden-like when you place a bench in an out-of-the-way corner. Photos centered around a garden bench both give a casual glimpse of a day-in-the-life, while also providing the perfect setting for a more formal photo shoot.
But before you snap those photos, consider the backdrop behind the bench. Add plants behind the bench to give your photos color and texture. Some beautiful backdrops include:
Incrediball Storm Proof™ Hydrangea
With an incredibly dense habit filled with strong, thick stems and puffy white blooms, this hydrangea makes the perfect, pretty backdrop in your photos. Plus, pollinator-friendly blooms contain up to 15 times more fertile florets than other H. arborescens mophead cultivars. Its easy-care nature and incredible flower power withstand even strong rains—no need for staking. USDA Zones 3-8.
Autumn Kiss® Encore Azalea
Romantic semi-double blooms meld hot pink edges with soft pink-to-white centers, perfect for a pop of color in the background of your photos. Flowers spanning 3 to 4 inches across have a crepe-paper texture and a unique “kiss” of saturated pink inner petals. A 2026 People’s Choice Green Thumb Award Winner. USDA Zones 6-10.
Big Beauty™ Gardenia
A perfectly pretty and fragrant shrub that’s sure to make your photo subjects smile. In summer, the shrub is covered in masses of double white flowers, which allows the fragrance to spread through the landscape. Low-maintenance Big Beauty™ matures at six to seven feet and remains naturally round, making it an ideal choice for a beautiful background shrub. USDA Zones 7-9.
Before you begin snapping photos, take a peek at the site.
After arranging your subjects and capturing the perfect smiles, the last thing you want are stray tools, toys, or garbage cans cluttering the background of your pics.
3. Pretty-Up a Porch
From gorgeous group photos to adorable couple shots, a pretty porch makes the perfect stage for photo shoots. Whether you’ve invited a dozen of your daughter’s closest friends over for pre-prom photos or wrangled a family reunion into a semblance of order for a memory-making pic, a porch provides an elegant or casual stage for making memories.
But like any stage, a little TLC and décor enhance the space. Sweep the steps. Remove cobwebs. Maybe even power-wash the porch a day ahead of the shoot. And of course, pretty pots and hanging baskets filled with blooms dress up the space for festive photos. A few annuals to consider for colorful containers include:
Roller Coaster Hot Pink
Eye-catching ruffled flower petals provide loads of color in the shady part of the porch. The Roller Coaster series is genetically resistant to IDM, so no need to worry about the disease.
Dragon Wing Pink Begonia
Vigorous, heat-tolerant with abundant flowers all summer, this dragon wing begonia performs exceptionally well as one of the most dependable shade begonias, perfect for porch containers and hanging baskets.
Cool Wave Blue Pansy
With friendly faces, these adorable pansies make a perfect addition to cool-weather containers. Not only do they quickly fill containers, but they also survive reliably through the frost and overwinter into USDA hardiness zone 5 to provide early and late season color.
4. Make a Meadow
While formal photos look lovely in frames and albums, there’s nothing like the sweet, casual candids of daily life, too. And what’s a more charming way to capture kids, both human and furry, than plopping a blanket in a field of wildflowers—and letting them show off their personalities?
To create your own mini-meadow, allocate a sunny space in your garden, remove existing turf, and plant vibrant annual and perennial seeds. You’ll find great information here about planting a meadow. And consider including rows of sunflowers and zinnias for both a burst of vibrant color in photos, as well as gorgeous bouquets. Some seeds to consider include:
Spring into Summer Seasonal Wildflower Mix
A show-stopping mix with a riot of big color and long-lasting blooms. With colorful blooms in the first season, this is a great way to get started with growing wildflowers. The easy-to-grow varieties will attract a variety of pollinators to your property. Bonus: There are more than enough flowers here to cut for endless summer bouquets.
Summer Lovin’ Sunflower
Known for its cheerful, radiant appearance, this sunflower is a must-have for adding a touch of summer joy to any garden or landscape. The blooms are nicely sized, 4–5″ across, in hues of creamy yellow, lemon yellow, red, pink, and bicolor combinations. Your birds will love the seeds.
Verbena Sweetheart Kisses
This low-growing wonder, praised by AAS judges for its vibrant red, rose, pink, and hint of white blooms, adds instant charm to any garden. Its delicate, airy foliage (tenuisecta means “thinly cut”) forms a lush, soft cushion for a spectacular explosion of color that lasts all season long. Not only is it easy to grow and beautiful, but it’s also a favorite for pollinators.
5. Plant a Birthday Tree for Photo-Ready Photos
It may sound like the last thing you want to do in the busy, early days of new parenthood, but we promise: planting a tree to celebrate the birth (or adoption) of a child will bring you joy for years to come.
Not only is planting a tree a fabulous, environmental gift for your garden, but the years of photos charting both the growth of your child and the tree will become priceless. From a tiny toddler shaking a sapling to a teen begrudgingly posing to a young adult delighted to carry on the tradition, a birthday tree creates fabulous photo ops.
Choose a tree that shows off during your child’s birthday month for the most vibrant photos, whether it’s an ornamental cherry tree that blooms in April, a maple with peak color during October birthdays, or an apple tree that produces delicious fruit for a September birthday.
Are you ready to turn your garden into a photo-ready, perfect space?
We’d love to see the results! Tag us in your social media posts @national_garden_bureau to share your beautiful garden photoshoots.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of plants and products for a photo-ready garden?
If you want to create pretty displays and backdrops for photos that create lasting memories of important events, check out 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 provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau when using all or parts of this article.”
