thebestgardentips.comHandy Lawn Maintenance and Fine Gardening Tips

 

Background:

To start,  I am not a landscape design artist with credentials so it wouldn’t be prudent to cite this article as a resource as such. Truthfully, I have just a couple of horticulture , landscape and Ikebana courses in my background.  But, I have years of practice with landscaping , with the trials and tribulations of successes (in my view) and failures coupled with a huge interest in the subject. I just wanted to share some of this experience with you, from the point of this blog ‘s intention, to pass on and collect yard and garden tips.

Exterior Decorating:

Landscaping design and interior decorating have similar elements to consider. My mother told me that the foundation or canvas for decorating a room are  the walls, floors and windows, then furniture and accessories. Now take these concepts outdoors and your foundation is lawn, house and walkways. Add trees and shrubs , perennial plants and flowers and then  your annuals, and you have considered most everything for exterior decorating. There are some design basics to consider next : namely style, structure, form, texture and color.

Style:

• The landscaping design should complement your house style.  A traditional formal style house would look silly with a natural landscape design where as a contemporary house style with cedar siding would be a more suitable style for a natural look.  A cottage would look perfect with an old English flower garden. However ,  just like interior decorating where an eclectic style can work, so be it in a landscape.

Structure:

• Structural elements to consider are the shape of the house and the lot it sits on. Is the house a ranch style, two story or split level? Do you have a flat lot or one with gentle slopes or a steep lot where terracing may be desirable,  if not required for landscaping. Are there architectural elements like walls, decks arbors, patios or a swimming pool, or pond? All of these elements figure into the landscape and how you incorporate them into design that flows to meet the needs of your personal style and creates curb appeal.

Form:

• This is where the fun begins. The lines of your design should be dynamic yet flowing uniting all of the elements of your structure. Some formal styles of houses can lend themselves to straight lines and rows of foundation plants and trees, but you don’t want your design to be stiff and your plants to look like they are soldiers standing guard on your property.
• There is a need for foundation shrubs. Just as in a painting, where the artist grounds a tree with plants, weeds or grasses. A house should look as if it belongs in the landscape and wasn’t dropped into it.
• Balance your design with concepts of symmetry, which can be accomplished with odd numbers. If you desire a balance, for example, have one tree or three and form triangles with the focal point of your house, usually the front door.
• Use layering of plants of different heights and shapes to soften the look of your design and to add dimension.
• Whether you are considering how to place plants for an overall design or in small groupings in beds use this formula: choose something spiky, roundy, and fluffy. I heard this many years ago on a public television show and have used this formula above and beyond any other source for landscape design, and it works!

Texture:

• Nature is one big tapestry of form, texture and color. Use this to your advantage in creating your own landscape to provide a natural but rich look.

 

Color:

• Create a palette that works with your house and with your own favorite colors, whether it be more of the warm colors or cool colors. Your trees should be considered in this scheme for there are trees with leaves from light green, to dark green to blue-green and red. If you plan for it you can create a color design for all seasons using flowering trees, evergreens and deciduous trees that have leaves that change color.
• If you love a variety of plants and colors you can incorporate many areas of flower beds that can allow you that freedom of choice.

Examples:

Before

Lack of color

All straight lines

 

 

 

After