Understanding the Basic Principles of Landscape Design
Organizing your backyard garden or the front lawn of your home are tasks that will affect the value of your entire property. Other than this, it can also increase the quality of life in your household and give you a fun and relaxing hobby. Landscaping can:
Boost your home’s curb appeal
Incentivize you to spend more time outdoors
Create a personal oasis on your own property
In order for any or all of these to be true, you need to start by applying the right strategy. This starts by understanding your end goals and being honest about the impression you want your garden to make. Here are several basic principles of landscaping design that can help guide you through the planning stage.
The Focal Point
Organizing your backyard becomes so much easier when you have a focal point to work around. A focal point in the backyard can be anything from a single item to a whole thematic area.
A focal point needs to dominate the area that is lush and vibrant. This is not an easy task, and the best way to get there is with. This contrast can be achieved through:
Size
Shape
Color
Position
There are no rules regarding the size of the item that is supposed to serve as a focal point. You can go with something as tiny as a garden gnome or a Grecian urn. Others choose something bigger like a pond, fountain, or a pool. A watery element is a particularly good idea for a focal point, seeing as how it creates a natural contrast from a tactile standpoint.
When talking about proportions, it is usually a good idea to keep the place a bit asymmetrical. For a lot of people, landscaping is all about balance, but you need to understand that balance and symmetry are not one and the same.
Don’t Go Over the Top
When you first think about landscaping, what probably crosses your mind is a freshly mowed lawn. Other than this, you might also think of a well-placed three or a nicely pruned shrub. If you think of a garden path, it’s also probably made of simple, natural material.
So, what do all of these things have in common?
They’re simple and natural-looking.
Remember that your garden needs to represent the combination of nature and order. This is why simple shapes, natural colors, and, most importantly, natural materials are probably the best way for you to get there.
So, whenever choosing an option, consider whether it has a simpler alternative that might be more elegant.
For instance, let’s say you want to add a fiery element to your backyard. For some people, the solution would be to go for an outdoor (possibly Mediterranean-styled) fireplace. However, it’s probably better to go for a classic stone fire pit instead.
The Contrast of Textures and Materials
A green cover made out of leaves, pine needles, and blades of grass is supposed to be the backbone of your garden. However, this green, vibrant cover is not the only material out there. When combining different elements and materials, you should probably go with something natural and natural-looking. Sure, going for vinyl around your pool is pragmatic but keep in mind that stone, wood, and materials that look like stone and wood are a better solution for the rest of your garden.
For instance, instead of just going for concrete, you can go for concrete pavers instead. These concrete pavers will look more like stone than regular concrete would. Concrete pavers can also come in different textures and colors, which may make them look like a specific type of stone like granite. They can even have the look of wooden planks, thus giving you a chance to create a more resilient and maintenance-friendly deck-like structure.
The cheapest solution to your problem is to use pea pebbles. This solution will probably cost you as little as $6 per square foot. Compare this to using stone pavers which could cost well above $20 per square foot, and you can clearly see the difference.
Naturally, if budget is not the issue, you should go for real stone. This will interact great with the rest of your property, especially for homes that use gray slate for their roofing.
Take Your Time to Plant Everything
There’s a saying that it’s far more efficient to plant a 50-cent plant in a $5 hole than a $5 plant in a 50-cent hole. While this is an interesting landscaping principle, it’s also a concept that you can apply to anything else you decide to do in life. Preparation is always the key to success, and if you take enough time to do the preparatory work, success is inevitable.
If you are willing to invest more time and effort, you could potentially consider the concept of raised garden beds. This will provide all your plants, vegetables, even shrubs with more nutrients, better moisture retention (for the soil), and protection from foot traffic. The number of benefits that it creates for your landscape is worth the extra effort/cost. The best part is that it doesn’t really increase maintenance by that much. In some scenarios, it will even make your maintenance slightly easier.
The majority of people fear this form of planning because they want their garden to give away the impression of wild growth. The key thing to remember is that these two principles aren’t mutually exclusive. You can have every inch of your garden planned out and still have it look spontaneous and wild.
In Conclusion
It will take a lot of strategy, planning, and effort to create a perfect landscape design. With the above-listed principles, you will have a general idea of the direction that you should take your plans. Also, keep in mind that gardening and landscaping are also affected by your budget.
The most important thing you need to understand here is that time is your greatest adversary. Once you achieve the ultimate landscape design, it won’t take long until the wild growth overtakes everything. This is why your job is never truly done. Once you have everything as you want it, the battle for preserving your design can begin.
