If you’re having trouble deciding what to plant in your garden this season, this list will certainly inspire some new ideas. There are many more types of gardens to cultivate other than your simple vegetable garden. However, we’d never knock a classic! You might want to try out one of these creative gardens to spice up this year’s gardening, especially if you’re getting bored of your same old routine. There are garden ideas for beginners to experts and crafters to cooks. And luckily, no matter what type of garden you chose to plant this year-- we have the perfect plant food for you!

Tea Garden

Tea garden’s not only supply you with a fresh batch of tea, they include a beautiful mix of herbs and flowers, with a lovely scent. While you might not want a hot cup o’ tea during the spring and summer harvest time, preserving your tea plants for the colder months is no problem at all. Take a peek at our other blog post on how to dry your herbs for tea if you’re hoping to save some of your haul for the winter. Try planting: chamomile, lemon balm, mint, ginger, echinacea, hibiscus, raspberry leaves, jasmine, rose hips, lavender, or calendula. Mix and match and create your own herbal tea blends. Homemade tea will also make for beautiful and thoughtful gifts and is an easy way to get ahead before the holiday season.

Dye Garden

If you want a spring or summer craft on hand, try planting a dye garden. Many dyes and pigments can be extracted from flowers, herbs, leaves, fruits, and vegetables. Like many other gardens, if you can’t keep up with your abundant supply, you can always preserve your plants through drying or freezing. You can pull from your flower garden with marigolds, cosmos, coreopsis, indigo leaves, and pincushion, to start. Or if you’re lucky enough to have an avocado or pomegranate tree? Save the skins after you have your snack. And you can also use plants from your vegetable or herb garden: rosemary, purple cabbage, carrot tops, make for beautiful dye colors, as well. Check out our blog post to learn more about crafting with your plants.

Herb Garden

An herb garden is one of the easiest gardens to grow. You can keep them in small pots on a window sill or plant them outside in a garden bed. They’re heartier plants perfect for a beginner gardener. Simply pick your favorite or most used herbs and skip out on a trip to the grocery store this season. You’ll be cooking with fresh herbs all spring and summer long. And if you have extras, dry or freeze them to use during the colder months. Try one a handful of these common herbs: basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, cilantro, dill, chives (technically an allium).

Salsa Garden

Elevate your salsa game from homemade to homegrown. Sometimes all it takes to make a garden decision is a little direction, and a salsa garden is surprisingly easy to grow! All you need is tomato, onion, garlic, peppers, and cilantro. For a salsa verde, try swapping out the tomato for tomatillo! These plants also grow great in containers. If you have a small space or are just starting out a garden, a salsa garden is a perfect introduction.

Small Space Container Garden

Are you dealing with a small space, like a porch, balcony, or larger window sill, but still longing for some fresh produce or bright blossoms? Try a container garden. Container gardens aren’t just for herbs! Plant some cherry tomatoes in a hanging basket. Peppers, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, arugula, zucchini, and okra all thrive in containers. You can even grow a small lemon tree in a container! As for flowers, there are many colorful plants that will grow easily in a container or hanging basket. Try starting with one of these: fuschia, petunia, verbena, osteospermum, hibiscus, tulips, and crocus.

Northwest Pollinator-Friendly Garden

Native plants are great additions to gardens because they help our pollinators including butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Pollinators are important in maintaining our ecosystem, and native plants are often easier to grow because they have already adapted to your climate. To have a humming and buzzing garden, try and add a few of these plants to your yard. All of the following will attract all of the pollinators, but if you’re looking for any specific pollinator visitors, check out to see what flowers these friends will like best.

Bees: Oregon grape, yarrow, wild phlox, catmint, lavender, oceanspray

Butterflies: showy milkweed, mock orange, goldenrod, salal, red-flowering currant, blueblossom

Hummingbirds: Western columbine, western trumpet honeysuckle, broad-leaved penstemon, zinnias,

More: Large-leaved lupine, camas, tickseed, Russian sage, California poppy, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, serviceberries, rhododendrons

Which garden fits best with your personality? Let us know on Facebook and Instagram, and tag us in your pictures using #grownwithGROW. No matter which garden you chose to try out this year, we have the product for you! Check out product page to see which is right for your garden-- All-Purpose, Rose & Flower, or Tomato & Veggie. With Clean Water Grow Plant Food you’re making sure your plant gets the right nutrients when it needs it, while also supporting conserving the Tualatin River Watershed. Add 1-2 tbsp of GROW per 10-inch pot or per square foot. Happy gardening!

6 Creative Types of Gardens to Try this Season