Landscape Design Basics: How to Create a Functional and Aesthetic Outdoor Space
Landscape Design Wellington involves the arrangement of various elements within an outdoor space. These include flowers, shrubs, trees, ponds, pools, patios, walkways and more.
The basic principles of design are color, line, form and texture. Those same qualities apply to landscaping as they do to art. Standard symbols are used to depict the types of plants to be included in a plan.
Color
In landscape design, every element is carefully considered to create a cohesive and visually appealing outdoor space. From plant selection to walkway designs, landscape architects balance aesthetics and practicality to create beautiful yet functional gardens. One often overlooked component is mulch-and specifically its color. Vibrant mulches can add a pop of color, draw attention to focal points, and unify the landscape.
A savvy gardener knows that using the power of color in the landscape can make a small garden appear larger or a large yard feel cozy. However, incorporating color into the landscape can be a daunting task at first. There are numerous considerations to keep in mind, such as the colors of surrounding buildings and environmental conditions. It is also important to choose colors that will complement each other and add contrast. Fortunately, a well-versed landscape designer can help you navigate this process with ease.
The color wheel is a helpful tool when designing a landscape because it shows the relationships between primary and secondary colors. For instance, orange and yellow combine to produce red, while blue and green produce purple. Landscape designers use this knowledge to create harmonious color schemes that will complement each other and enhance the landscape.
In addition to plants, the color of structures such as patios and retaining walls can be used to create a unified and welcoming outdoor space. Colors may also be added to hardscape materials through staining and painting, which opens up additional creative options for landscapers.
The relationship between colors is best described as complementary or contrasting, which means that two colors are more or less opposite on the color wheel. Complementary colors are those that most optimally accentuate each other. For example, a bright burst of red in a sea of green can create a striking focal point. Another option is to use a monochromatic scheme, which uses different shades of the same color. This is a good choice when you want to create unity within a planting bed or throughout your entire landscape.
Line
A line is a simple tool that landscape designers use to shape and define space, create forms, control movement, establish dominance, and bring the elements of the design together. It can be created by the edge between two materials, the outline of a form, or a long linear feature, such as a fence or pathway. It is also the foundation to all other design elements, and can be straight, curved, thick, thin, or diagonal.
The arrangement of the different plant and hardscape materials is another important aspect of landscape design. The designer arranges these elements to create a cohesive theme that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. This is done through the principles of composition, including proportion, order, repetition, and unity. The designer may use sketches and online tools like iScape to help visualize the layout before any actual work begins.
The guiding idea of the landscape design should complement the home and its surroundings. This is achieved through the selection of plants, materials, and motifs that fit the style of the property and its architectural characteristics. For example, azaleas and dogwoods may be used to add color to a naturalistic or rustic home, while junipers and yuccas might pair well with a Spanish-styled house. The use of formal plants such as trimmed hedges or old-fashioned shrubbery can complement a colonial or Georgian-style home, while the addition of a pergola-shaded seating area might be perfect for a courtyard style house with vaulted ceilings. A well-defined set of sight lines is also important in a landscape design. These are the lines that guide visitors through the landscape and toward a specific point of interest. Whether this is a focal garden, pool, water feature, or a special structure like a gazebo, the presence of well-defined sight lines can provide a sense of discovery.
Form
The shape of the objects in your landscape and their relationship to one another is referred to as form. The house, walkways and driveways have a form; the plants have an individual form that can be pyramidal, rounded or a columnar shape. Plants that are planted in groups or arranged in a composition take on a new form as a group. Form can be a geometric theme, such as squares and rectangles or a naturalistic theme using curves or meandering lines.
When determining a form theme, you want to consider the way your landscape will be used and what the overall effect will be. For example, if you are planning a formal garden with a lot of beds and shrubs that will be kept neatly clipped, a geometric form would be best. If you have a rustic home on a wooded lot, it may be appropriate to take a more naturalistic approach and use naturalistic shapes such as circles or irregular forms.
The rate of growth and mature size of the plant should be taken into consideration as well. It is important to choose plants that will not grow out of control and overwhelm the landscape. If you do not know how tall a plant will get, ask the nursery or read the information provided by the plants at purchase to determine its mature height.
Keeping these seven elements in mind when creating your landscape design will help to ensure that the overall effect is harmonious and pleasing. Whether you have a large specimen plant that is to be the focal point of your landscape or a small garden with a variety of plants, it is important to keep these principles in mind when designing your landscape to avoid creating a chaotic or disjointed look.
Texture
A key landscape principle is texture. Different textures add interest, depth, and balance to a design, influencing the overall aesthetic and feel of a space. Texture can also be used to guide movement, create focal points, and establish connections between elements. For example, combining coarse textures with smooth surfaces can create visual contrast and balance, while adding a touch of formality or dynamism.
Plants are often used as materials, or building blocks, to apply the principles of design. They offer qualities that help direct and moderate foot traffic, hide or reveal objects, provide a sense of enclosure, and stimulate other senses such as smell and touch. Landscape design can also include the manipulation of site micro-climates, views, and grades; the placement of water, ponds and waterfalls; and other site improvements.
The form of a landscape is the way in which plants are arranged. The form of the plants should be suited to the space, complementing both its shape and size. For example, tall plants should be positioned away from the house to avoid overshadowing it, and small groundcovers should be grouped together in a way that makes them appear larger. Forms should also be repeated throughout the landscape to create a unified look. Using too many forms can result in a disorganized, chaotic look, while too few forms can seem boring. Try to use a variety of forms, including arches, spires, cascading plants, and mounding, and try to combine both simple and complex shapes.
Unity
A strong sense of unity is crucial to landscape design, ensuring that diverse plants and hardscape materials fit together seamlessly. This can be achieved through repetition (repeating the same colors, textures, or forms) and consistency (maintaining a unified style throughout the landscape).
Color is one of the most important elements of landscape composition because it can create dramatic effects. Warm colors like orange and red seem to advance toward the viewer, while cool colors like blues and grays recede away from the eye. Landscape designers use this effect to guide the viewer’s eye through the space, directing it to a focal point such as a front door or specimen shrub.
Line is another of the essential principles of landscape design, referring to the overall pattern and movement of the landscape. It can be created horizontally through the layout of plant beds, and vertically by incorporating height changes in building elevations or within the canopy of trees and shrubs. Straight lines are more forceful and structural, while curved lines are softer and more kinetic.
Texture is also an important element of landscape composition, and it can be created by varying the surface quality of different plants and hardscape materials. Coarse, medium, and fine texture are three common ways to categorize the difference between plant materials, but it is important to balance these elements to achieve a harmonious composition.
There are many ways to discover your personal style and identify a unifying theme for your landscape. Start by observing the landscapes in your neighborhood and community, then think about the characteristics that appeal to you most. Once you have identified your style, try experimenting with the other elements of composition to see how they work together.