Understanding Garden Design Elements
Garden design is quite the art form. It takes a creative, detail-oriented eye to design an exterior that is as practical as it is beautiful. When creating a landscape design, there are a wide variety of elements to consider. A landscape designer has to strategically pair features that will work well together while contributing to the overall needs of the client. Luckily, at Deep Rooted Designs, we specialize in landscape design and have a team of experts to help build you your dream exterior.
However, with so many things to consider, it’s important to be well-versed on what goes into garden design so you know what to ask for. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know. Worry not, we’ve got you covered with this comprehensive guide to garden design and everything that comes along with it.
Finding the Ideal Balance
This is arguably the foundation of garden design. The simple placement of certain features can drastically alter the final outcome. As humans, we naturally find symmetry the most appealing. In terms of garden design, this means that each side mirrors the other side exactly. However, we recognize that this is not always the top preference. This is where balance comes into play.
For some yards, perfect symmetry is unrealistic. However, with strategic placement, asymmetry can look just as appealing as a symmetric garden design. In simpler terms, as long as the general amount of foliage matches on both sides, this creates an optical illusion of balance.
We try to avoid excessive imbalance as much as possible. When one side of a yard is open space but the other side is filled with lush foliage, it actually make the yard look smaller. Likewise, symmetry can make your yard look bigger, even if there is less open space because of it. It’s all about creating visual tricks to enhance the aesthetics of exterior space.
All Elements Need to Work Together
This is a huge one! That’s because unity is a common issue to overcome when designing a garden. When looking at individual features on their own, they can look perfectly fine in the space. However, once everything comes together, it looks like a hodgepodge of plants and garden features. It goes without saying that this is something to be avoided.
To establish harmony, it’s always great to start with the type of plants you expect to use. Try to pick foliage from the same family. For example, one of our favorite styles of design is to use a variety of different succulents. Despite being different in shape, size, and color, these plants all have subtle commonalities since they are so closely related, thus allowing them to blend nicely together. If you were to try and pair a cherry blossom tree with a cactus, it would be extremely difficult to unify these elements as they are so different from each other, it almost feels unnatural.
A Fair Amount of Contrast
We promise we’re not contradicting ourselves with this one. While unity is important, there needs to be a degree of uniqueness among the elements you include in your garden. By incorporating varying colors, textures, and shapes into the exterior, it makes it much more dynamic. Unique differences add an element of interest to the landscape, quickly making it a centerpiece of the yard.
When balancing contrast with unity, it’s important to remember the principles of symmetry and asymmetry. Two plants that look different but share a common characteristic, say height for example, can can create an illusion of symmetry. Yet, since they are not identical, it preserves the degree of contrast that keeps it exciting.
Consider Scale and Pattern
When selecting certain garden elements, scale is another important perspective to focus on. Going back to the idea of balance, a plant that’s in an incorrect scale can make the yard look unnecessarily smaller than it actually it. A quaint little home would be completely dwarfed by a huge palm tree, for example. A good rule of thumb is to avoid elements that are 1.5 times taller than your home. Maintaining this scale will ensure that any addition to your garden will look natural and seamless.
Another aspect to consider alongside scale is the pattern of the elements. Certain arrangements can smoothly blend into your landscape while others may stick out like a sore thumb. Incorporating a repetitive pattern can reinforce the illusion of symmetry. This looks different for every yard but a few examples can include a sleek fence, uniform pavers, and plants arranged in a tabulated form. Even little nuances like these make a big difference in the aesthetics of your yard.
The Art of Shade and Light
Strategic placement of certain elements can introduce light and darkness into the space. Creating highlights will instantly direct focus to the area, whereas adding shade will disguise it into the background. There are certain elements that should be highlighted such as walking paths, large trees, and other prominent garden features. Typically, this is done by outdoor lighting, but this can also be accomplished by using contrasting colors (ie: outlining walkways with a lightly colored border). On the other hand, the same is true for diminishing certain elements. Either lighting can be omitted in those areas or dark colors can be incorporated.
In their practice, shade and light can be used to change the aesthetic of the yard. For example, by not lighting up plants on the perimeter of your property, it can create the illusion that your yard has more depth. When lighting up a specific feature, it not only draws the eye in but can also make it appear closer than it really is. Doing so can create a more inviting, quaint feeling. At the end of the day, with so many different options, it really comes down to personal preference.
Hopefully this guide gave you some more insight on the key principles of garden design that go into an exterior renovation. As you can see, landscape design is about practicality as much as it is about aesthetics. If you’re interested in understanding how you can improve the garden design of your exterior, feel free to reach out to us! We’re always here to help 🙂