Joanna Gaines Is Already Planning Next Year's Garden—and It's Based on This Beloved Children's Novel

Joanna Gaines' home renovations and designs look like perfection, as if she planned and picked each detail with thought and care for months. And according to the summer issue of Magnolia Journal, it's no different from her personal garden plans. Next summer, Gaines is pulling inspiration from one whimsical and adored childhood read—here's how to make your garden look like a certain lush getaway.

Peek into the Summer 2025 Issue

In a spread titled "Lessons From My Summer Garden" in the Magnolia Journal, the Gaines' quarterly magazine, she shared how she's already designing and planning for next year's garden. While busy enjoying this year's blooms (lots of pink zinnias, dahlias, and white Fata Morgana scabiosa), Gaines said she likes to daydream, design, and plan for next summer's garden so she remembers what the garden looks and feels like.

"I've learned that it's helpful to think ahead about how I want the garden to look and feel while I'm still in the season I'm planning for," Gaines wrote in the issue. "So, before summer fades away, I'm capturing what I loved about this season's bounty and dreaming about what I'll do differently next year and beyond."

Plans for Next Summer

As for next summer's garden, Gaines is thinking big. Instead of staying within the confines of her garden, she's dreaming of creating a new meadow of flowers in a different spot inspired by the classic novel, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The Secret Garden, published in 1911, details the story of a young girl and boy who nurse a neglected garden back to life. Readers have loved the novel for over a century due to its whimsical setting and themes of imagination, resilience, and restoration.

"Knowing I want to bring a more wild and whimsical look to our landscaping around the farm, I sketched out this idea for a Secret Garden-style meadow in the pasture by the bees," Gaines said. "For now, it's just a seed of a dream, but it's always fun to imagine out-of-the-box ideas when it comes to the garden."

Secret Garden-Inspired Ideas

There are plenty of ways to turn an average garden into the magical one described in the classic story. Make use of natural features, private nooks, and the flowers and plants described in the book.

Pick matching flowers. If you want your garden to feel straight out of the storybook, plant the exact flowers mentioned in the novel, like roses, crocuses, hyacinths, snowdrops, and daffodils.

Incorporate climbing plants. Part of what makes the garden in the novel seem so mystical is the illusion that every surface is covered with flowers and plants. To get that look in your garden, use climbing vines and plants, like ivy and wild vines, to cover walls, trellises, and fences.

Maximize hidden spots. Hide a bench or small table next to a gate, trellis, or tree to create the look of a hidden garden nook.

Make a stone path. If your garden is big enough, add a homemade stone path throughout the area. Wind the path through your favorite parts of the garden to mimic the hidden feeling of the Secret Garden.