Every garden deserves a great plan
DESIGN
Design is important to ensure a garden’s long term success. It determines the selection, composition and arrangement of the desired landscape. Even with planning, a garden is ever dynamic and regular attention will help plants flourish in the environment. There are six elements in designing a harmonious and beautiful garden.
BALANCE
Balance is the foremost element to consider before beginning your project. Does symmetrical, mirror images of both sides of a dividing line, such as the classical French formal garden; or asymmetrical, a more natural and random organization fit the style of your home and your personal preferences?
FOCAL POINT
A harmonious garden usually has an area that is noticed first and most often. A focal point demands attention and stimulates interest. A bright red highly textured Japanese maple or a sparkling, splashing water feature are good examples of a focal point. This element invites and encourages visitors to explore the spaces around it and then return again.
CONTRAST
Contrast is what makes certain elements stand out in any visual setting. It is an element of surprise and one that has to be used judiciously. Too little and it won’t be visible. Too much and it won’t be contrast anymore. Contrasting the sizes, shapes, colors and textures keeps the garden from becoming boring. The trick is to use just enough!
MOVEMENT
Some gardens seem to invite you to come and explore every corner and curve. Others invite stillness and reflection. Before starting the design process, it is important to determine how you will use your garden space. You will direct movement in your garden by arranging straight and curved lines to admire a particular view or a curving path. Movement entices you to come and see what is waiting just around the corner out of sight.
UNITY
Unity results when all of the basic garden design principles come together in a balanced, harmonious whole and all the garden's individual parts make sense together. They feel right. More importantly, they express what you had in mind when you imagined your perfect garden.
REPETITION
Using the same materials over and over tends to promote harmony, reduce confusion and make you feel more comfortable in a space. It can be an obvious repetition of the same alternating flowers displayed down the front of a border, or more subtle, like repeating the shapes of shrubs or trees or even structures. Repetition sets the rhythm with which the eye moves around the garden. Evenly spaced plants produce a predictable, well-controlled, peaceful feeling; staggered, uneven repetition will have a bouncy, energetic effect. Repetition helps define whether the garden will have formal or informal look.
We're inspired by hearing our customer's vision for their space. We love helping to make that vision seen.