Emotional Gardening Is Trending – 7 Plants to Try in Your April Garden That Boost Mood and Mindfulness

A well-designed outdoor space has the power to reduce stress, elevate mood, and enhance mindfulness. The concept of emotional landscaping is a key trend that has grown out of this. It sets out to tap into these positives more fully to support your wellbeing.

Using the scents, colors, and textures of plants can have many positive benefits to help manage stress and boost how we feel. It's an easy way of nurturing our emotional health with mindful gardening techniques. Nothing is so beneficial as working out a life-enhancing planting scheme, then getting your hands in the soil to make it happen.

It can be as simple as creating a garden with breathtaking plants that delight you, or choosing to grow plants that nurture a sense of calm so you feel your garden is a place to retreat from the world. Our selection of the key plants for emotional landscaping will help you find ways of boosting your mood whenever you're outside.

1. Lily of the Valley

In spring, I'm lucky that lily of the valley grows abundantly in a shady corner of my garden. These precious little plants thrive beneath a lilac tree, where they offer an easy-care ground cover choice that looks beautiful, too.

Find petite lily of the valley bulbs here at Wayfair. The best time to plant them is in the spring.

Often associated with springtime renewal, wellbeing and happiness, I find it so uplifting when I see the first green leaves shooting up in April, followed by the delicate flowers that fill the air with such an intoxicating scent. Green and sweet with hints of lemon, it's hard to imagine a more spring-like scent. Or one that's so comforting if you're looking for wellness garden ideas.

These delicate flowers thrive in dry or damp shade, in Zones 3-8. Every few years, I dig up some of the plants to thin them out and regenerate the clumps. While lily of the valley can be invasive, this isn't the case in my garden, but it's good to be aware.

2. Angelica

One of my favorite feel-good moments in the spring garden is when the majestic angelica plants come into bloom. Grown from one tiny seed several years ago (you can buy angelica seeds here at True Leaf Market), my original has now multiplied into several more handsome plants to create an eye-catching statement.

For me, this statuesque beauty is one of the standouts of the new season. Known for centuries for its medicinal qualities, the masses of lime-green umbellifer flowers on tall, branching stems are a real wake-up in the garden. Growing up to six feet tall in Zones 4-7, these starburst flowers are a magnet for pollinators who love the delicious scent, and it's lovely to see the bees getting busy on them.

My angelica plants make a strong architectural statement at the back of a deep border, flowering right into midsummer, when the ornamental grasses and flowering perennials planted with them start to catch up.

The flowers turn a lovely pale yellow as the weather gets warmer, and I love to pick them for flower displays in the house, too. I mix them with other big blooms like peonies and hydrangea flowers to bring more of those positive garden vibes indoors.

3. Parrot Tulips

Is there anything more joyful to behold than a mass of tulips in the spring garden? In particular, I love the flamboyant parrot tulips, the ones with ruffled and fringed petals that add an explosion of the most vibrant colors. Just the sight of them is balm to the soul.

Parrot tulips have such a decadent and luxurious feel. I'm a big fan of the 'Apricot Parrot' cultivar, so pack in as many as I can, in both flower beds and spring planter ideas. A lovely sugary pink with flashes of contrasting lime green on the outer petals, they're a pure serotonin hit when you catch a glimpse of them in the garden. Find a parrot tulip bulb bundle of four different varieties here at Amazon.

These are a mid to late blooming variety, and as I'm such a big fan of tulips in general, I like to mix in other types with different flowering times to ensure a succession of blooms that will take me from the beginning of April right through to the end of May to extend the feel-good factor for as long as possible. The good news is that tulips thrive as perennials in Zones 3–7, so they will bloom year after year.

4. Lemon Balm

If you love the idea of adding a plant with scented leaves you can pick to brew a soothing tea, make lemon balm your go-to. This aromatic plant, which is a member of the mint family, is known for promoting relaxation and a sense of calm, and the oil is used for meditation.

I love the ritual of snipping the leaves and steeping them in boiling water. Drinking a cup of this before bedtime can promote relaxation and help you get a good night’s sleep. It's best to harvest the leaves during the spring season, though, as this is when they're at their freshest and most flavorful.

It's possibly the easiest plant I've ever grown, and it flourishes in Zones 4-9. Find lemon balm seeds here at True Leaf Market, and you will be harvesting leaves in six weeks.

As well as making sure I have plenty of lemon balm in the herb garden, I like to add it to flowerbed ideas too, as it's a great leafy perennial to fill out any gaps in the planting.

5. Lamb's Ears

The tactile qualities of some plants can be especially soothing, and none more so than lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina). Touching the soft velvety leaves is such a soothing experience that I have some planted up in patio pots, so I can stroke the leaves whenever I'm relaxing in the garden. It's a great way to enhance those mindfulness moments.

The muted gray leaves are so calming; it's no surprise this plant is the number one choice for emotional landscaping in any sensory garden design. Thriving in Zones 4-9, lamb's ears will be covered in pretty pink flowers from spring through summer, making it a good addition to a relaxed planting scheme.

It's also one of the best plants for pollinators, for more of the feel-good factor. Plant one of these, and the butterflies will come in droves. Find the Helene Von Stein cultivar of lamb's ears here at Nature Hills to add delightful texture to your borders.

6. Sweet Peas

Nostalgia plays a big role in emotional landscaping, and this is often connected to associations triggered by scent. Gorgeously fragranced sweet peas take me right back, as my grandmother always grew rows of them in her garden. Now, when I smell that sweet powdery fragrance, I'm instantly transported back to childhood with an emotional connection. It's such a lovely memory, I get a real dopamine boost.

I grow sweet peas for their beautiful ruffled flowers too, which come in both delicate pastels and bold shades. I start sweet pea seeds indoors in early spring, then transfer them outside to the garden when the young plants are sturdy enough. Sweet peas flourish in Zones 2-11, and you can find 'Royal Family' sweet pea seeds in strong mauve and red colors here at True Leaf Market, just like the ones we've pictured here.

It's a rush when the first flowers unfurl, and the tendrils start to race up the sweet pea teepee, and for me, it's the first real scent of summer. To keep the blooms coming, I pick them regularly to arrange in vases and bring that gorgeous fragrance indoors to enhance the mood inside the house, too.

7. Dahlias

Color is everything in emotional landscaping, and this is where dahlias are something of a superstar. They come in a huge range of colors (as well as shapes and sizes). Once you've cracked how to grow them – sunny position and plenty of fertilizer – the adrenaline rush keeps coming all summer and into fall as a multitude of blooms follow one after another.

There’s a smorgasbord of different types to choose from in every color, from hot pink, orange, and red to faded coral, soft lilac, and blush.

I have had most success with the decorative dinner-plate dahlia varieties with their massive blooms, such as Cafe au Lait. These add such joyful, eye-popping detail to your flowerbeds that everything else tends to pale into significance. Find Cafe au Lait dahlia tubers here at Amazon.

Dahlias are tender perennials hardy in Zones 8–11, while in Zones 3–7, they need to be lifted and stored for winter.

When you experience success with your planting choices, as I have with dahlias, it's such a thrill. For me, this is one of the biggest dopamine hits of all in terms of the well-being benefits of emotional landscaping.

Find out more about how gardening can improve your physical and mental wellbeing, and check out other plants with soothing properties for emotional landscaping such as lavender, chamomile, and aloe.

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