Garden Landscape Design
The Basics of Garden Landscape Design
When you own your own property, it’s natural to want to have a hand in its design and layout. And thus, many homeowners will take on the task of trying to develop their own gardens, sometimes without understanding the basics of landscape design.
Young landscape architecture students in college learn five principles that become the foundation of all design work they do from that moment on. Luckily, these principles are easy to learn and thus any homeowner can take on the role of designer too. But, probably best way to illustrate these principles is to give an example of a typical landscape application for each of them.
- We all learned about the color wheel in high school art classes. Color theory focuses heavily on the way colors interact with each other, particularly their pairings across the wheel, warm with cool and vice versa. And developing color palettes in garden design relies on this principle pretty much to the letter, except to consider that green is often a backdrop to more vibrant hues. Perhaps the easiest example would be to consider the look of bluish succulents highlighted by the flowers of native poppies in their fiery orange. The orange does not take over the blue, but rather enhances it by providing contrast and drawing the eye toward the succulent. Contrast is key, as we will see again and again in this discussion.
- The simple outline of a landscape element, whether it be a plant or a piece of pottery, can mean the difference between communicating a style that is traditional or contemporary. Contrast begets our interpretation of form as our eye analyzes the shape of an object. For example, a weeping tree may express a feeling of melancholy, while strong lines that comprise a concrete planter can show strength.
- Naturally, landscapes are meant to be looked at, but how the garden’s landscape design is laid out can affect how the viewer takes it in. Lines created by hardscapes, fences, even groupings of plants all play a role in directing attention to different points of interest. The trick is to use forms to get the eye moving and give it opportunities to rest in between sights—often called “white space” in graphic design—before catching another line that draws the viewer’s attention to another part of the garden.
- This may be an obvious one, but it’s not to be overlooked, either. Scale is the consideration of how big things are in relation to the space they reside in. Scale is particularly important when considering the growth habit of plants. Will that shrub eventually overtake the garden and block windows? Best to select something smaller, then. Likewise, site furnishings and even paving materials should be selected with a mindful eye toward the scale of the space being designed.
- Just as we are inclined to create contrast with color, contrasting textures in the garden landscape design brings out the best of every plant present. For example, large, smooth leaves of a tropical plant will always shine, literally, when they are placed next to a contrasting texture, such as that of an ornamental grass or a prickly succulent.
Taking each of these basics into consideration as you lay out your garden landscape will help pull the design together and create a landscape that allows for the appreciation of each and every plant. If you are overwhelmed by the prospect, consider teaming with a landscape design professional who can help you through the process.
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