Garden Landscaping

 

You would like to transform your garden into a garden paradise, but not knowing where to start can be frustrating. These days there are so many options to choose from having a professional landscaper plan and lay out your garden is a dream, but expensive. With some time, careful planning and a hint of creativity you can have the beautifully landscaped garden you desire.

 

There are six basic elements to landscape design; colour, texture, line, form, repetition and scale, each will be discussed.

 

Colour is very important when developing a garden as it sets the mood and can be used to manipulate space. Warm colours such as; reds, oranges, yellows and pinks will appear closer and make a space appear closer and make the space seem smaller. Soft colours such as; blues and lavenders provide a calming effect and give a feeling of distance and bigger spaces. With the changing of the seasons the colours of your garden will change and in sunny areas colours will appear washed out.

 

On the colour wheel, there are three colour schemes namely; monochromatic, analogous and complimentary. Monochromatic colour schemes use colour sparingly creating a calming effect. The only real colour change is different shades of green and the occasional flowing plant. Analogous colour schemes use colours that are close together on the colour scheme again creating unity and a calming effect. An example of this landscaping idea is to use white, off white, pink and light lavender flowers in an area. Complimentary colour schemes use colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel; reds with greens, yellows with violets and oranges with blues. This option is ideal if you want a bright, colourful garden infused with energy.

 

Texture in landscape design comes from two sources; plants and building materials, each compliment each other. Plant life such as; ground cover, the bark of trees, flowers and soil create interest in a garden. Thick lush grass with ferns and big trees, give the atmosphere of a forest, whereas cacti and succulents provide a desert scene. Building materials such as; stone, wood, and cement provide the contrast of textures in a garden making it interesting and giving the illusion of a smaller or larger space.

 

Line functions in landscaping design are used to lead the eye to a focal point. Theses lines flow in the following directions: vertical, horizontal, diagonal and curving. Vertical lines suggest stability and permanence and are used at the main body of trees. Horizontal lines are created by the tops of fences and shrubs and suggest tranquillity. Diagonal lines are created by hills and give a feeling of movement. Curving lines are found naturally in the wild. Winding paths and curved flower beds are used to create this flowing effect. Formal gardens use dramatic straight lines to draw the eye towards a focal point. In informal, natural gardens curved lines are used to lead the eye in a softer way to the garden’s focal point.

Form gives a landscaped garden structure. The shape of the garden structures, the outline of a tree of a group of trees, the spreading groundcover and the masses of shrubs are the basic elements of form in landscape design. These forms can resemble basic geometric shapes such as; squares, circles, ovals, rectangles, hexagons, etc. When it comes to form there are two important things to consider; integrate the forms and vary the size and shape. When varying sizes in a small area keep the shapes small and in a large area bigger shapes should be used. The fewer contrasts between large and small formats, the calmer the effect.

The technique of repetition is used in a garden to create unity. Plants, materials and colour used repetitively produce a feeling of order and harmony. Some examples of using repetition include; using a similar type of groundcover all over the garden, with different plants in the groundcover and repeating several colours of rose bushes in an area.

 

In garden landscaping, scale is the relationship between objects, therefore it’s important to select elements that are an appropriate size for the area they’re in. Don’t select for example an overly wide pathway in a small space or visa versa. A huge water feature will look out of place in a very small garden.