What Landscape Style are You? Minimalist or the Active Gardener?
So, you’re interested in a new landscape design. But where do you even begin? Do you want a tropical, southwest or minimalist landscape design? Understanding the various styles of landscape & garden design is the perfect place to start! Don’t feel pressured to have just one preferred style, but knowing what general theme of landscape design you like will help landscape construction team significantly.
The landscape design and construction team you ultimately choose will help make suggestions to your front or backyard based on your lifestyle and geographic area. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, we’ll get into the most popular styles of landscape design to help you narrow your choice!
Note that many elements within these styles can be blended – for more landscape design inspiration, browse our portfolio.
8 Landscape Styles
Xeriscape Landscape Design:
We had to start here. We specialize in drought-tolerant landscaping, you know. Xeriscaping is a popular style of landscape design among western states, because they require minimal (and we mean minimal) maintenance and water.
Many people think of desert landscapes when they picture xeriscapes. While that’s not far off, your San Diego home doesn’t need to have a Southwestern/desert theme in order to be a xeriscape. There are plenty of colorful, lush plants require minimal water and upkeep.
Read more about xeriscapes in our recent blog post, The Beginners Guide to Xeriscape Landscaping.
Southwestern Landscape Design:
Southwestern style landscapes are xeriscapes by nature. But like we said above, not all xeriscapes need to look Southwestern. Make sense?
This is popular landscape design in style in San Diego, thanks to our year-round sunshine, coastal desert climate. There are so many homes throughout SD county that have gone Southwestern, and their homes are always eye-catching and lively! There are a ton of hardy plants and cacti that can add color to a Southwestern style yard. Plus, the low maintenance factor is a huge plus.
Mediterranean Landscape Design:
Mediterranean landscape design is becoming so popular, not just in San Diego, but throughout the country. Lush plants, flowers, colored tiles, sand, and old-world accents are used to create a worldly vibe that almost feels tropical in a sense. Homeowners who love cooking, entertaining, and relaxing in their outdoor living areas typically request mediterranean elements in their landscape remodel.
We’ve had the pleasure of helping a couple in North Park with a complete mediterranean outdoor living space remodel. From front to back, we love how this mediterranean landscape design turned out.
Minimalist Landscape Design:
Think clean lines, uncluttered spaces, and straight edges. Modern and minimalism are huge trends, and we don’t think they’re going away anytime soon.
We love modern landscapes because their well-maintained and low clutter vibe create huge relaxation factor. There’s just something about symmetry that makes you feel calm!
If you’re looking for a more modern landscape, make sure that your pathways are clean. We love laying custom square concrete pavers as walkways for our clients – and you’ll see this aspect featured in many of our designs.
You can decorate with large pots of plants (as long as they’re symmetrical) or line a small garden with flowers…again, symmetry is key.
English & Cottage Landscape Design:
Country cottage is a popular interior design style amongst homeowners, and it’s easy to bring this style outdoors as well! Think large vegetable planters, herb gardens, bird baths, arbors, asymmetric natural stone walkways, comfortable family seating, and plenty of packed flower beds teeming with bright flowers. Country cottage landscape designs have a slight look of being “out of control”… but in just the right way.
These are the kinds of yards that you dream about drinking your morning coffee in…robe included. They make you feel comfortable and at home – perfect for busy families and for those who want to relax and enjoy nature right outside their home.
Oriental Landscape Design:
Think traditional zen Japanese Garden. This style of landscape design is similar to modern landscapes in that minimalism is encouraged. Pathways should be clear and lines should be clean. The elements that make oriental landscapes so peaceful are quite simple: water features, lush greenery and rocks.
There are so many ways to get creative with an oriental landscape design. You can incorporate bamboo, ponds (koi fish optional!), asian-style pergolas with a bed or lounge seating underneath, a zen sand garden, statues, large floor cushions for seating, meditation benches, and more.
Modern Tropical Landscape Design:
We love tropical landscapes, especially in our sunny San Diego climate. Tropical landscapes need to include plant-life that can survive all year long…again, not tough when you live in Southern California. However, if you live near the coast – the temperatures can change more rapidly, so it’s best to choose hyper local plant life that can survive near the water. Tropical plants thrive in warm, humid environments.
The plant-life needed to pull of a beautiful topical landscape takes lots of maintenance and water. So consider this style carefully. Do you have the time for upkeep? Do you have the budget for a monthly landscape gardener? Can you afford higher water bills? Paradise can be yours, but it comes at a price!
A key tip before choosing this landscape style is to determine if your soil quality can support it. Tropical landscapes need moist, well-drained soil. Soil that is very sandy, mushy, or full of clay may not be ideal for this type of environment. During your landscape design consultation, an expert can help you.
Craftsman Landscape Design:
American craftsman is really an architectural style, but because craftsman homes are so popular in San Diego, we wanted to share some tips on the best ways to landscape them!
First things first. Craftsman style homes typically have a distinct color pattern, so choosing a color palette for your front or backyard is the best place to start. This will help everything blend and coordinate perfectly.
Craftsman style homes are often praised for their “bones,” aka for having great structure. You can carry this element outside by remodeling your porch, lining walkways with planters (not too high!), and keeping the lines of the space clean. Be sure that shrubs and plants are trimmed and don’t block windows or walkways. Less is more with the landscape design of a craftsman style home. Going overboard will make your home look shabby.
Use lighting, outdoor seating, and decking to complete the perfect craftsman style backyard. Small elements like water features or an herb garden can help give your yard character without overdoing it. Grass lawns are very popular with craftsman style homes, but it’s easy and affordable to install synthetic turf to keep your yards low-maintenance.
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We’ve just about covered all of the most popular landscape design styles you can choose from! Are you a fan of a particular landscape design style? Or would you want to incorporate more than one of these to create something unique for your home? We’d love to hear your thoughts, leave us a shoutout on social or get in touch with our team!
Your Friends,
Deep Rooted Designs