I have not seen any mcm homes with flowers such as climbing roses. Mostly, I’ve seen palms or agave or yuccas or ornamental grasses etc. Would it be appropriate to plant English/cottage garden style flowers that I like?
Our facebook group had lots of suggestions on this topic with landscape gardeners, designers and more weighing in.
Below are a few comments on this topic that were shared in our exclusive Facebook Group dedicated to midcentury modern home owners. If you own a midcentury house and are not already a member, join us now!
- “Roses transcend all styles. People certainly grew them in their modern yards back in the day. Remember that mostly the only place you would see the super mod theme carried throughout would have been in magazines or if you were rich enough to hire a decorator. Normal people weren’t entirely styling their homes to match their architecture.”
- “I have planted grasses etc and snuck in some of my florals because ultimately a home should be something that reflects you.”
- “For true MCM no. For Midcentury Ranch homes yes. But also environment of the home matters. MCM good design was minimal & modern but took in the vibe of the surrounding topography & local flora as well.”
- “We are in Hamburg, Germany so no chance at having palms! Our garden is actually mostly still original – it was designed and planted by the landscape designers behind Planten und Blömen, a famous public garden here in Hamburg. There are lots of hardscaping elements (wood and brick), designed in a linear fashion to compliment the style. The plants are very showy (not understated MCM) but we love it.”
- “The original owner of our home, Mrs. Schmidtman, was a founding member of the local garden club and offered her home garden as a feature on many garden walk tours. She grew a wide array of flowering perennials, and though the house is very modern in appearance, the gardens were more of a cottage style. I am also an avid gardener, and though my choice of plantings may differ to some degree ( I hybridize peonies, and in particular tree peonies, so this is the main feature), and the presentation is a bit more geometrically oriented to compliment the lines of the house, it would still be technically classified as cottage style. I think that with the permission from an original Mid-Century housewife, you can do whatever you want!”
- “Look at MCM houses in the northeast. Yes! They exist. And they have very different landscaping. Interesting conifers and the like. You don’t have to stick with the Palm Springs look, although it is wonderful.”
- “I think you see so many of those types of gardens with MCM homes, because those homes are in California or desert climates. You can do what makes you happy and is appropriate for the environment where you live.”
- “Plant based on your location or you will be fighting dead plants all the time. For instance, I’m in Florida, roses are hard here, tulips and daffodils rot and die.However, I can have plumeria, hibiscus, and caladiums last half the year. Amaryllis can be left in the soil and they multiply.”
- “As a landscape designer I can tell you this: there are no rules. I’m too fond of plants to stick to a rigid, era “appropriate” garden for our 1956 MCM. Aside from that, I think “appropriate” MCM garden design lacks any interest or creativity. You get twelve plants that are equally spaced apart and….big deal. My garden collection is lusty, celebrating horticulture at full capacity and the magic of it all are the flowers year-round. My favorite part is how the house recedes into the landscape but becomes more apparent the closer you get to it. Follow your heart. Do what YOU want…after all…this is YOUR time to live there! Any dullard can make an “approprite” MCM garden….only YOU can make YOUR garden!”
There’s much more to this discussion in our facebook group. If you own a midcentury home you can read more about this topic here.
