3 - Principles of Garden Design

Question 1

What are the five principles of garden design?

Answer 1

• Harmony and contrast
• Simplicity
• Balance
• Scale and Proportion
• Unity

Question 2

What does harmony mean in garden design?

Answer 2

• Harmony in the garden successfully uses different components in combination to a pleasing effect. It relies on using elements that are similar, together with those that are different (contrast).
• There should be harmony between the buildings and the garden, within the garden itself, and between the garden and the space outside it.

Question 3

Give examples of how harmony can be achieved.

Answer 3

• Materials for hard landscaping that match the house
• The same hedging material all around the house
• Features like hedges, walls, arches and pergolas to lead from one part of the garden to another
• Repeating geometric shapes
• Repeating plant types, including trees, or repeating plant colours (whether of flowers or foliage).

Question 4

What does contrast mean in garden design?

Answer 4

Contrast can be found between different forms, textures and colours of both hard and soft landscaping and should create a complementary, mutually-supportive composition of different characteristics.

Question 5

Why must there be a balance between harmony and contrast?

Answer 5

There must be a balance between harmony and contrast to achieve a desirable visual impact.

Too much harmony is uninteresting.

Too much contrast results in visual conflict.

Balance is most successful when a contrast of one characteristic, such as form, is combined with harmony in another, such as texture.

Question 6

What does simplicity mean in garden design? And how is it used?

Answer 6

Too great a variety of features, plants or materials can mask the positive characteristics of individual elements, making the composition fussy and unrestful.

Limiting or separating features so that they are not all visible simultaneously may help to create a more successful design.

It is particularly important to achieve simplicity in a small garden.

Question 7

What is balance in garden design?

Answer 7

A well-designed garden has a balance of masses (plants and structures) with void (open spaces, such as patios, paths and lawns).

Balance should not be confused with symmetry.

Balance can be achieved by including elements of a similar weight and by careful siting.

Question 8

What is scale and proportion in garden design?

Answer 8

Scale and proportion are aspects of harmony that deal with the size and shape relationship of one object to another.

All elements should be the appropriate size for each other and for the garden overall.

Question 9

What are some considerations of scale and proportion?

Answer 9

• Including a lot of small features in a garden can make it look fussy
• The number of people a space needs to accommodate, compared to the size of the house
• In individual beds and borders, have plants at the back approx. 1.5x the width of the border
• Have some plants higher than eye level so that they break the skyline
• Have large groups of the same plant in a large garden (a large number of different plants can look fussy)
• It is possible to create illusions of size and shape in particular circumstances. e.g. having a path that narrows in width to make it look longer.

Question 10

What do we mean by unity in garden design?

Answer 10

The idea of unity draws together all the other design principles and gives a sense of oneness while retaining interest.

Individual parts of a design must relate to one another and their surroundings

The fewer the number of elements the easier it is to unify a design.

Question 11

Give some examples of how unity can be achieved in garden design.

Answer 11

• Unity of ideas. e.g. cottage garden style planting sits well with brick and wood but may combine less well with polished slate
• Unity of style. Formal styles are often symmetrical, whereas informal styles are more often assymetrical with soft lines.
• Unity of detail. Limiting the number of different materials. e.g. using the same materials used for the house in the garden. Repeating shapes, plants and colours.
• Unity with the surrounding landscape. May be achieved by using elements such as stone and native trees.
• Unity of colour themes. Colour themes may unify a design, e.g. the white garden at Sissinghurst or the hot garden at Rosemoor.
• Texture. May be linked to give the garden unity. e.g. the use of clipped hedges, raked gravel paths, reclaimed York stone paving and closely mown fine turf will promote a strong heritage theme.