The allure of celebrity style is a powerful force. The closest counterpart to European royalty available in American society, celebrities and their accouterment are the stuff of dreams, and their landscapes are no exception. Lush and luxuriant, celebrity landscapes offer the same appeal as the cars, fashions, and homes that others watch longingly and often attempt to emulate.
With celebrity landscapes among the hottest sources for landscaping trends, home gardeners can create a bit of that celebrity cachet in their landscapes. Not a plant-for-plant replication, these ideas are intended to offer the overall aesthetic of a celebrity landscape in an accessible form.
Tropical Oasis
Verdant and filled with vibrant color, tropical landscapes are a celebrity favorite, gracing the landscape of Dr. Phil's Beverly Hills home, for example. The quintessential tropical plant, the palm, provides a terrific foundation for landscapes with tropical flair. Available in species, from the tall and stately Christmas palm to the broad, flat leaves of the Bismarck's palm to the majestic sweep of the coconut palm, among many others, there is one for every landscape. Adding ferns and colorful flowers such as Birds of Paradise, bougainvillea, and Mandevilla make your landscape setting as idyllic as any sultry island.
Xeriscape
Offering sustainable gardening at its best, xeriscape is the landscape choice of Jennifer Aniston and other celebrities who seek ways to use drought-tolerant plants and conserve water. Succulents, thick-leaved plants that include the cactus, agave, and various sedum, will provide an almost sculptural effect in your landscape with their wide range of shapes, sizes, and colorings, from deep green to blue-green to gray-green.
Mediterranean
With a texture as the watchword, Mediterranean gardens like Reese Witherspoon's Brentwood home are a sensory delight, offering visual pleasures, a delightfully tactile quality, and a wonderful fragrance. While palm trees are often a feature of this landscape, much like the tropical landscape, you will want to include such plants as rosemary with its strong scent and delicate blooms, the purple blooms of lavender, and even the gnarled beauty of olive trees in your Mediterranean landscape.
Japanese
The cherry blossom bonsai garden at Martha Stewart's home in Maine epitomizes the Japanese landscape with its asymmetrical design and focus on a peaceful ambiance with natural elements as the central focus. Flowering trees, evergreens, water features, and rocks will be integral to your landscape with a Japanese feeling. Just be sure to keep everything balanced.
Traditional
Evergreens form the backdrop of a traditional landscape along with large, old trees such as maples and tall oaks like those seen at Kourtney Kardashian's home in Calabasas. Symmetry characterizes this garden, with everything planted formally. Be sure to include roses, hydrangeas, lilies, and other plants of heirloom quality as you create your traditional landscape.
Your celebrity-style landscape may well elicit as much buzz as any celebrity. One thing is sure: It will garner compliments.