In a world of social media sameness, the personal museum emerging trend could be the antidote.
So what is it?
Seemingly as an act of rebellion to pristine copy-cat outdoor spaces, the ‘personal museum’ garden is a new trend gaining traction across ‘#gardentok’ and the Instagram counterpart. Swathes of gardeners are looking to create something wilder, freer and more personally reflective than a garden bound by carefully organised texture planting and restrictive borders.
The idea of a Personal Museum garden is that it showcases individuality through eclectic gathering and planting. While my nan gardened this way all her life, keen newer gardeners are now excitedly gathering seeds, cuttings, berries and flowers on walks and trips – each piece reflecting a memory or a season of life, and telling its own story. It isn’t just creating a beautiful outdoor space but building a living archive.
The desire for uniqueness has created a new generation seeking radical individuality. Also referred to as a living archive or nostalgia garden, rather than looking forward to modern and innovative designs, those hopping on the trend are instead looking back. You could easily link it to the broader idea that an outdoor space should be for relaxation and connection, therefore cultivating plants with sentimental value, appreciating the past, and connecting with nature makes perfect sense.
Curious or inspired? The beauty of a Personal Museum garden is that there’s no rule book—just your memories, creativity, and what feels right to you.
Key features of a personal museum garden
- Nostalgia Gardening: Rather than planting for visual effect, gardens feature flowers and plants with personal or historical significance, designed to evoke memories and connect with the past
- A living archive: Natural items are personally gathered to create a living record of personal experiences, places, and memories. You could even expect heirloom plants, passed down the generations. The garden should tell a story, a narrative of a life lived and in some cases the lives that came before them.
- Personalisation: Free of the pressure to conform to uniform styles, gardens are becoming a form of maximalism, an extension of the owners personality and passions.
- Gotta catch ‘em all: This trend reflects a broader return to hobbyist collecting, with a ‘one of everything’ approach. Using traditional or heirloom varieties and a rainbow of colour, nothing is out of place.
- Eco-Friendly Practices: Supporting a wider movement to eco-friendly gardening, incorporating sustainable methods and allowing a certain amount of wilding to benefit local wildlife.
A personal opinion
It’s easy to think of a social media trend in a negative way but while trying to keep up with #gardentok, this has quickly become one of my favourite trends. As a sentimental person myself, and as someone who tried taking digging up my great-grandparents plants before the house was sold, I can truly connect and understand the appeal. A structured and rigid garden design has never been something I’ve considered – instead I’ve favoured a cottage style garden with a mix of colourful plants of varying heights and clematis and honeysuckle joyfully taking over every surface.
The idea of a space being uniquely reflective of your personality, as an extension of your home, appeals so much in this world of perfectly matching Pinterest inspiration boards. It’s also refreshing to me that it can never really be finished. The Personal Museum garden flies in the face of a finished project and instead gives the owner the joy of an unlimited collection. This trend for me is a much-needed contrast to the minimalism we now consider the norm, and something I hope to see more of in the coming years.
