Romantic Blooms: Creating a Garden in Renoir's Style

2 days ago
3 min read

Last week I encouraged you to consider designing your garden inspired by the paintings of Monet. Monet invites us to marvel at the landscape, he painted the garden as a place of light and movement. But where Claude Monet captured the atmosphere, Pierre-Auguste Renoir captured the soul of the garden. When Renoir painted flowers, they were abundant and had a softness to them. When he painted landscapes they weren't just full of flowers - they were full of life and gentle leisure. Renoir invites us to cherish the life unfolding within gardens and the landscape. And so, a garden in Renoir's style is romantic, abundant, joyful and lived-in. Here's how to bring that painterly warmth into your own green space.

Choose Romantic Flowers

Side-by-side peonies: a Renoir painting and a photo of bright pink blooms with green leaves.

His floral scenes were often filled with roses, peonies and geraniums - flowers that are lush, layered and sun-kissed. Add in daisies or wild meadow flowers for a light, happy scatter of simple blooms. To replicate his signature softness, consider intermingling these simple blooms among the heavier perennials. Or, intermingle two colours, like blue Salvia amongst red poppies so that from a distance they shimmer like a brushstroke. Plant with abundance in mind, creating layers, depth, and a sense of delightful fullness rather than rigid structure.

Capture Sunlight and Joy

Impressionist Renoir garden dance scene beside a real patio with table, chairs, and lush greenery under filtered daylight

Renoir's small brushstrokes were a part of his obsession with light, specifically how it filters through a canopy of leaves or bounces off skin and petals. He also captured the glow of the soft golden hour light that wraps the garden in warmth. Position your seating areas where they can catch those late-day rays filtering through trees.

Embrace a Soft Colour Palette

Split image of a painted vase of roses and a photo of pink rose bush, both soft and colourful.

For a Renoir inspired garden palette, lean into warm, luminous, and romantic tones. Think blush pink, delicate peach, cream or butter yellow, coral or warm red, and soft greens. You can extend this palette beyond the borders by choosing garden accessories in natural, warm tones. Include terra cotta pots, woven straw hats hung on a peg, and peach-toned cushions for your garden furniture. You can watch various colour palette videos on Everlea's YouTube channel.

Invite Life Into the Garden

Split image: impressionist Renoir garden painting with young people, and a white bench surrounded by lush pink roses in the garden

Renoir's garden moments were never empty; they were settings for conversation, shared meals, and quiet reflection. Women with parasols, children playing, and soft breezes through trees. Add little luxuries such as lace curtains on a patio, and a basket for gathering flowers. To bring this into your own space, create a sense of invitation. Add comfortable, inviting spaces to sit and socialize - a pair of wrought-iron chairs, a weathered bench, or a bistro set tucked under a shade tree. You can even create an intimate "floral room" using climbing roses, trellised vines, or living hedges. On the patio, cluster multiple pots filled with flowers, ferns, and varied textures to wrap the space in life.

Let Flowers Spill into Daily Life

Side-by-side floral still lifes: a painted blue vase of mixed blooms and a pink vase of daisies and roses against a brick wall.

Embrace the joy of simplicity, bring in roses for the kitchen table or put peonies into a simple ceramic pitcher. Let the garden spill into your everyday indoor life.

A garden inspired by Renoir reminds us that beauty often lives in the simple act of pausing amongst the blooms. It's about slowing down to notice the bees with their fat bottoms moving between foxgloves. It's picking a bouquet for your bedside table without any occasion or reason. Or it's sitting outside at a dining table with family, enjoying a cool breeze and a hearty, unhurried meal.