Spring
will soon be upon us, and if you are thinking about designing
your own garden, here are some specific design tips we'd
like to pass along. We won't get into specific plants, just
design concepts for you to consider. All of these design
concepts overlap one another to a certain degree.
Movement
and Rhythm
A key element in any design is not to use so many different
varieties of plants that it starts to look like an arboretum,
with
one plant here and two plants there. If you plant this way,
the perception of the whole design is thatof being choppy
and broken up, with no uniformity or flow.
Obviously, the larger the bed you have, the more varieties
of plants you can use. But always plant in 'sweeps' of plantings,
with certain groupings overlapping others or disappearing
behind others. This creates movement and rhythm within the
beds, even if the bed itself is very linear.
Landscape
showing both movement and repetition
Repetition
Repetition
helps you begin to unify a space. You can achieve repetition
in several ways. You can repeat a specific plant at certain
intervals. You place a certain colour of plant (not necessarily
the same plant) at intervals. Choosing plants of the same
colour that bloom at specific times, you can still create
repetition, but change the colours within your beds for
each season. You can repeat a certain form of plant (again,
not necessarily the same plant). Repetition is a key element
to garden design, because it can "tie together"
beds that may be in separate areas of the garden but that
you want to unify visually.
Height
and Sight
Height
is obviously an important factor in design. You do not want
to put a plant that will ultimately grow six feet in front
of your perennial that will only grow two feet, thus blocking
your sight of the perennial. You need to consider height
when determining how and from where you'll want to look
at your garden. Will you be looking at it from only one
direction, or will you be viewing it from other locations?
If viewing from only one direction, you can use height to
"tier down" from back to front, with occasional
jumps in height to maintain interest. However, if you will
see your garden from multiple locations, then you may want
to create your height in the middle of the bed and "tier
down" from center to all sides. Also the sweeps of
plantings discussed earlier in Movement
& Rhythm, should sweep to face you as you look
at it. This will let you "capture the space."
Form
Form relates to the structure of the
plants themselves as well as the "feel" you want
to create. Certain forms evoke certain feels. Weeping plants
tend to give an oriental feel to a space. Structured and
very tightly formed plants lend a formal feel. Loose, billowy
forms give a cottagy feel. Consider your design, and choose
the appropriate form of the plants to use for the feel you
want to create.
Texture
For
how plantings and construction elements relate to one another,
texture becomes a main design consideration.
Contrasting
textures: fuzzy flowers against hard stone
Texture
refers not only to the leaf form and plant shape, but also
to its texture when it blooms. Plants "sweeping in
and around" one another will have far more interest
if you consider contrasts in their textures against each
other and how they perform season to season. For example,
the soft, fuzzy leaf of the pulsatilla vulgaris perennial
against the feathery texture of the Pennisetum 'little bunny'
is a beautiful contrast in not only texture, but also
form.
Texture
is also important as it relates to scale. If you are planting
a bed at the far end of your lot, yet want to enjoy it from
your house, you need to consider coarser, larger texture
and form plantings. If you use small leafed, small flowered
plantings you will not enjoy their beauty from a far distance.
Similarly, if you are planting a small, intimate patio,
you would put in plantings that are smaller in texture and
form, keeping the scale related to
the smaller space.
Colour
Colour
creates the emotion and feel of the garden, compelling you
to consider a
number of factors. Are there any colours you simply have
to have in your garden? Do you have any limiting factors
surrounding your garden, such as an oddly coloured brick
wall or a backdrop you can't control? You'll want to consider
your garden's surrounding environment and make sure the
colours you choose harmonize with it. What about viewing
distance? Again, if you will see our garden from a distance,
you'll want to avoid using soft pastel colours. You won't
be able to appreciate them from a distance. On the other
hand, if you want to create a soft, romantic feel for your
small, intimate patio, soft pastels are perfect. If you
want to create excitement and drama in this same small space,
use lots of bright, strong colours.
Keep in mind, too, what the plants do from season to season.
A Nandina Firepower in the summer may look great in the
garden, but will it still fit when it turns fiery red in
the fall?
Scale
Scale relates to how you will view
your garden and how it relates to its surroundings. Will
you see one of your beds only as you pass it in the car
to and from your house? If this is the case, you'll want
to make the bed big enough within its surroundings, so it
doesn't appear to be an afterthought. Also, you'll not want
to make the plantings within the bed so many and so varied
that you cannot appreciate them as you drive past.
Is your garden made of beds that you'll stroll through and
view up close? Then you can make it more detailed. Keep
the scale of not only such beds, but also the plantings
and elements within them proporionate to the space.
