Planning principles and design styles 3.1-4.2; 7.1-7.3 Flashcards
Garden design principles
Unity/cohesion
Linking garden elements together creating a unified picture
Can be achieved through repeated/consistent use of a single material in hard landscaping or colour in hard and soft landscaping
Use of native stand of trees unifies a garden with the surrounding landscape (of native trees). A Ha-Ha creates uninterrupted view of the garden and surrounding landscape to create cohension
Movement/Direction
Can be achieved by placing focal points at the end of an avenue eg statue, to move and direct the eye to a view or ‘picture’ of the garden
Drifts of plants in sweeping borders creates movement of plants and draws the eye around a sweeping curve
Balance
Features with equal visual mass are placed to create intrinsic balance eg a temple and a copse of trees. Specimen trees either side of water, lawn or viewing point
Scale and proportion
Size and scale of garden features are equally proportioned. Large dramatic landscape space in proportion to Palladian bridges and temples to work with expanse of lawns, lakes, rolling vistas
Simplicity? repetition? (Sept 2020 Q3a)
Harmony
Using different but complementary elements in combination to a pleasing effect (too much uniformity is dull too much contrast results in visual conflict). Aim is a balance between harmony and contrast to achieve a desirable visual impact.
A contrast of one characteristic (form) can be successfully combined with harmony in another (texture)
Harmony should be within the garden and in relation to the house and environment
Ways to achieve harmony:
Materials for hard landscaping that match the house
The same hedging material all round the house
Hedges to screen areas within the garden (around rose or herb garden)
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 (flower or foliage)
Contrasting features:
Different forms, textures and colours of hard a soft landscaping
Form
Related to outline shape of individual elements and their 3D shape eg columnar, fastigiated or weeping forms of trees, plants or hard landscape features
Rhythm
Sense of motion created through placing of repeated elements and the flow of continuous lines. Rhythm moves the eye through the space by repeating hard landscape elements or plants through the garden or by creating flowing lines
Scale and proportion
The house and other permanent features will usually be the reference point from which other decisions are made.
It is possible to create illusions: path that narrows in width can make it look longer
Avoid:
Small patio next to a large house for example.
Paving units for paths and patios not in proportion to the size of the area.
Small flower beds around a large lawn
A large herbaceous border with range of different plants - include substantial drifts of tall perennials
Include height in planting to break the skyline
Lots of small features (can make garden look fussy)
Simplicity
Too great a variety of features, plants, materials can mask positive characteristics of individual elements resulting in a scheme that is fussy and unrestful
Limiting or separating features so they are not all visible simultaneously may help to create a more successful design
Small gardens in particular benefit from simplicity to create calm, uncluttered space
Balance
Good design relies on balance of masses (plants/structures) with voids (open spaces - patios, paths, lawns)
A shed appears less obtrusive if a similar sized tree is sited on the opposite side but further down the garden
On a slope features on higher ground will dominate. Larger features further down the slope will provide balance.
Grouping plants to add mass can produce a bold effect rather than a dot effect.
Mirroring bold plants/planters on either side of a path can also create balance
Seasonal change makes balance difficult to achieve
Unity
Ensure individual elements of a design relate to each other and surroundings (easier to create unity from fewer elements)
May be achieved by
Ideas (materials?) - cottage garden planting with brick and wood - not polished slate
Style - formal styles are symmetrical, informal styles are asymmetrical with soft lines (large gardens can contain both - formal near house - less formal moving away)
Detail - eg. limiting the number of different materials, repeating plants, shapes, colours
Complementing surrounding landscape - local stone, native trees
Colour themes - white garden at Sissinghurst or hot garden at Rosemore. Simple palettes of harmonising colour
Use of repeated colour to paint all timber in the garden, which is repeated in the planting
Texture - eg clipped hedges, raked gravel paths, reclaimed York stone paving and closely mown fine turf promotes strong heritage theme
Cohesion - landscaping materials
Consistent use of materials - red brick house - red brick paths, edges
Use of materials from surrounding location - use of slate patio or slate mulch in Welsh garden
Materials in keeping with style of the garden - rustic in cottage, Japanese-style hard landscaping
Cohesion - features of house/surroundings
Size of garden-facing windows, bays, doors to provide proportions for patios, beds, paths and other features
Colour of paint for wood work on house repeated in paths, terraces wall and plant colours
Colour of material of house construction repeated in garden walls, patios, steps
Borrowed views, churches, mountains
local hard landscape materials eg Cotswold stone, flint, cobbles
Focal point - define with examples
Uses:
Movement - a physical object which draws the viewer’s eye, catches their attention and invites exploration
Distract from ugly view - a specimen tree
Symmetry - a central focal point can emphasise symmetry
Unity and cohesion - repeated colour or materials for focal points throughout the garden which reflect the house, boundary or other features. Eg blue bench, blue window frame
Hard landscaping: marble statue, sculpture against a Taxus hedge, follies, temples, stone fountain within a pool, blue bench at end of path
Soft landscaping: tree with a strong form/seasonal interest Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’, Large architectural plant Phormium tenax in a gravel garden, dot plant in bedding scheme Musa basjoo
Use of focal points
Stone statue at the end of path - draws the eye - movement
Standard tree in a lawn draws they eye away from an ugly view in surrounding area
Stone fountain in a square pond in the centre of formal garden emphases symmetry of layout
Repeated colour for focus points throughout the garden which reflect the house, boundary other features eg blue bench, blue window frames
Formal design elements
Formal
Symmetrical
Trees: topiarised, geometric designs, planting in straight lines but can contain curves (mirror images along axis)
Planting: limited range of geometrically clipped evergreen shrubs
Water: classical statuary spouting water, fountains of jet or complex form (granite/marble), circle/square stone edged pool (contain no or only one plant eg Nympaea alba)
A rill, water flowing along a straight shallow channel made from steel or polished stone with square cut stone edges. Water falls from rill into a square pool
Seating: classic limestone or concrete benches of geometric shape, Lutyen style benches
Separation of areas: Taxus baccata cut vertically with sharp profiles, brick or stone walls with copings
Paths: straight wide paths with right angle turns, precisely cut and dressed stone units
Informal design elements
Asymmetry
Forms: Irregular and loose shapes for borders, paths, patios and garden features including plants which are allowed to grow to natural and flowing forms
Trees: natural growth habits; use of native species planted irregularly
Water: winding streams of varying width/ naturalist cascades, irregular shaped pool with marginals
Seating: rough hewn timber with bark retained; living willow seating, bench from sawn log
Structures: obelisk in rustic style
Separation of areas: loose planting, eg Rosa rugosa; rustic trellis eg Corylus avellana with bark retained
Paths: meandering grass paths; reclaimed bricks loose gravel or bark; winding paths of reclaimed brick
Use of native hedging plants which link garden and provide cohesion with the local landscape
Wildflower meadow
Cottage garden
Path made from reclaimed bricks set in a herringbone patter. Plants self seed and tumble over edging
Straight path made from loose natural material - hoggin, gravel or trodden earth. Edged with brick or logs. Plants gwoing over - Alchemilla or Thymus
Fence - picket painted. Low to enable views in and out of garden - allows herbaceous plants/climbers to grow through
Hurdles of Corylus with bark retained - Lonicera growing through
Soft landscaping - cohesion through mis of colour with elements repeated - eg repeating species, Digitalis, or Alcea
Plants spilling on to paths for naturalistic look
Planting with densely packed drifts with mixed her perennial and edible borders which look natural - no soil showing
Hedging - use of native hedging links garden and cohesion with local landscape Crataegus - small white flowers in May and red fruits in autumn
Prunus - small green ovate leaves on thorny stems and small white flowers on short stalks and bare stems. Round blue/black fruits follow
Fagus - bright green foliage wavy edged and russet brown in autumn
