A beautiful landscape can add value to a home. But proper landscape design is more than just beautification. It makes a property more livable and enjoyable for entertaining and relaxing.
Landscaping designs can use bubble diagrams to layout different areas of a yard for their functional purposes, much like rooms in a house are arranged. A theme can be used to tie these general landscape areas together, such as a color or plant type. For professional expertise, call Landscaping Harrisburg PA now!
Color is one of the most important, yet difficult, elements to work with in a landscape design. It can be used to create contrast, highlight specific plants and flowers, or unify a space with repetition. As with spice, too much color can render the landscape unappetizing, so a balance of colors is needed to achieve the desired effect. Color should be among the last considerations when designing a landscape after functional needs, activity areas, and circulation patterns have been addressed.
Color relationships in a landscape design can be achieved through the use of complementary colors (colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel) or analogous colors (those that are adjacent to each other on the wheel). When choosing flower colors, Thomasson recommends keeping within either the warm or cool group to provide unity or contrast to the garden.
Another color element to consider is intensity, which can be achieved by varying the saturation of the color. For example, using a light yellow as a ground cover can be more intense than a dark green because the former has a higher saturation level.
Other aspects of color include a sense of movement and depth, which can be accomplished with the use of lines. The movement of lines can draw attention to a focal point, such as a statue or structure, and can also create a sense of scale in large or small spaces. Adding a sense of direction is also possible with the use of lines; for example, curved lines draw more attention than straight ones.
Mass is an important factor to consider when choosing plants and flowers for a landscape. Generally, larger masses of a single plant or a group of plants tend to be more appealing than smaller masses. The use of mass can be achieved with plant size, color, or texture, as well as with structures such as pergolas and trellises.
Texture
As with color, texture has the ability to add dimension and set moods in a landscape. Texture is a combination of the way a plant feels to the touch and how it looks to the eye from various vantage points in the garden. It also includes the surface quality of plants, mulches, and other hardscape elements, such as pavers and patios.
Plant textures vary from coarse to fine and can be used to create contrast in a garden. For example, Rhus typhina and large-leaved hostas have coarse foliage that lends structure and drama to the garden, while hydrangeas and coleus have fine foliage with a delicate feel. Our perception of a plant’s texture is dependent on the distance between us and it, which can affect how coarse or fine it seems. In addition, the branching pattern of a plant affects its texture. Tightly branched plants (like Japanese yew and Japanese barberry) produce dense, coarse textures, while loosely branched plants (like honey locust and royal fern) have a lighter, more finely textured effect.
Landscapes that have a high contrast of textures are often the most visually interesting and striking. Using plants with contrasting foliage textures is an easy way to achieve this. Alternatively, adding a smooth, sculptural hardscape element, like a trellis or pergola, or incorporating woven, wicker, and heavy linen fabrics can add texture to a garden.
A good rule of thumb for contrasting textures is to pair coarse textures with fine ones, or bold with soft. This helps the eye focus on one area at a time, rather than flitting between different textures. However, don’t go overboard with this principle, or you might overwhelm the garden.
Creating a sense of line is another key aspect of landscape design. Whether real or imaginary, lines draw the eye through a garden. Use lines to guide visitors to a special spot, entice them to explore an unknown part of the garden, or draw attention to a focal point. For instance, paths that are meant to be experienced by two people should be scaled larger than those designed for an individual, and curved lines are generally more interesting than straight ones.
Form
Form is a design element that helps direct the eye around a space. It can also help create a feeling of familiarity in a landscape. For example, if you have a series of low plants or structures near the entrance to your home, they can help direct the eye to the front door. The shapes of these elements are important as well, since they can affect how you feel about the landscape. For instance, round shapes tend to be more soothing than square or angular shapes.
Texture is another important design element to consider when designing a landscape. This includes the roughness or smoothness of leaves, twigs, bark, and branches. It is also important to have contrasting textures in your landscape, as this can add interest and depth to the landscape. For example, coarse-textured plants can be balanced with medium- or fine-textured plants to keep the landscape from looking too harsh.
Lines are a crucial component of a landscape, as they can create patterns and develop spaces in the design. They can also establish dominance and provide a sense of movement in the garden. The lines created can be real or implied, and they may be horizontal, vertical, or curvilinear. They can be created by the shape of plants, trees, fences, walkways, or where turf meets pavement.
When creating a landscape, repetition and rhythm are essential to keeping the design flowing. This is especially true when it comes to the placement of plants and hardscape features in the garden. This can help the design feel more seamless and make the house and landscape look like one whole piece.
Repetition can also help with focalization. This is the process of directing the eye to an area in the garden by creating a visual theme that repeats itself throughout the landscape. For example, using a similar shape for a seat or planter can help draw the eye to that area and make it a focal point in the garden.
Rhythm is similar to repetition, but it takes into account the pacing of a garden as you move through it. This is important because it can influence the way you feel about a landscape and how comfortable or at ease you are in it.
Unity
A great landscape design finds a way to elegantly balance unity and variety, the two most fundamental design principles. Unity creates the sense of an overall wholeness, or gestalt, in a composition. This can be achieved by establishing themes and incorporating symmetrical elements. Variety, on the other hand, is achieved through contrasting shapes, colors, and textures in both hardscape and softscape. It’s important to keep in mind that unity is not the same as uniformity but rather a way of organizing a composition so that its parts feel related to each other.
Color is an essential element in achieving unity. Warm colors like reds and oranges advance toward the viewer, making objects seem closer, while cool colors such as blues and greens recede. Color is also an effective tool for creating movement or rhythm in a landscape by using contrasting colors to form patterns or alternating sizes and shades.
Proportion is another important principle of landscape design. It refers to the size of design elements in relation to each other and to the landscape as a whole. Proper proportion is critical because it determines how people perceive the space as well as how comfortable and accessible it will be to use.
Line is another design element that can help create a sense of movement or direction in a landscape. It can be created horizontally by bed arrangement or the way that different elements fit together, vertically by height changes in plant or tree canopies, and diagonally by paths and directional lines. Straight lines are forceful and structural, while curved lines are more organic and natural.
Texture is a powerful element that can add a lot of character to a landscape. It can create feelings of warmth, lightness, and distance by varying the visual texture of plants and mulch. Fine textures create a light, delicate feeling and add distance dimension, while coarse textures provide a bold contrast and draw the eye to the focal point of a landscape.
While implementing the four landscape design principles mentioned above is an excellent starting point, it’s important to remember that these are only guidelines. Ultimately, the best landscape designs are those that are based on personal tastes and needs. So take your time to develop a design that is uniquely yours and that you will love for years to come.
