Media13.com is a source of free to republish or reprint articles, writers may submit your articles in our database as long so you agree that your article will be freely republish or reprint by other.

Submit Article

Search our database

Received article from us.

Name

Email Address

Friends

Bollywood News
Link building
Article submission service
Freelance Writers
Laser hair removal

We have been looking for freelance writers. Contact us

The Basic Principles Of Landscape Design

Whether you plan to "borrow ideas" or plan on creating your own landscaping design, you should have at the very least a basic understanding of the principles of landscape design.

Don’t feel that you have to apply every principle to every part of your plan. Just having an understanding of these principles can help you generate ideas and increase your creativity.

Great landscaping lies in the eyes of the its creator. So, while the principles of landscape design are great guidelines to follow, don't feel like they're the "have to rules" of landscaping. Abstract and creativity are allowed.

Unity should be one of your main goals in your design. It may be better understood and applied as consistency and repetition. Repetition creates unity by repeating alike elements like plants, plant groups, or decor throughout the landscape. Consistency creates unity in the sense that some or all of the different elements of the landscape fit together to create a whole.

Unity can be created by the consistency of character of elements in the design. By character, I mean the size, height, texture, color schemes, etc. of different elements.

A good example would be in the use of accent rocks and boulders. If you've ever seen a landscape design that had several different colors and sizes of boulders, then you've seen that unity wasn't created by this particular element.

This is just one example but the principle applies to all other elements such as groups of plants and materials.

A simple way to create unity in your landscape is by creating theme gardens. Creating a theme garden is easier when it's related to something you're interested in or have a passion for.

If you're interested in butterflies for instance, you could create a theme using plants that attract butterflies as well as using statues, ornaments, and other decor that are related to butterflies.

Unity should be expressed through at least one element in your landscape and preferably more. Using elements to express a main idea through consistent style and a specific theme is what creates harmony.

Balance in design is just as the word implies. Equality. There are basically two types of balance in landscape design. Symmetrical and Asymmetrical.

Symmetrical balance is where there are more or less equally spaced matching elements of the garden design. With a garden equally divided, both sides could share the same shape, form, plant height, plant groupings, colors, bed shapes, theme, etc.

You may remember creating something like this when you were a kid in art class at school. Where you take a piece of paper, splash paint on it, fold it in half, unfold it, and then it magically creates an interesting symmetrical design. So symmetrical balance or design is somewhat of a mirror image or reflection.

Asymmetrical balance on the other hand is one of the principles of landscape design that's a little more complex. While textures, forms, colors, etc. may remain constant to create some unity, shapes and hardscapes may be more random. This form of balance often has separate or different themes with each having an equal but different type of attraction.

Asymmetrical may be better understood as actually being unbalanced, abstract, or free form while still creating unity through some elements.

A good example of this would be where bed shapes or paths differ on both sides of the landscape dividing line. One side could be curved with a sense of flow while the other side is straight, direct, and hard.

This can also create a neat contrast. Flowing lines are pleasing to the eye but the bold contrast of a curve combined with a straight line can be very interesting.

Asymmetrical balance isn't necessarily limited to just the shape of your garden.

An example might be where one side of the garden is mostly large shade trees while the other side is predominately a lower growing flower garden or even a mix of both examples. Like I stated earlier, the landscaping can be abstract while still maintaining unity through other elements such as rocks, plants, and decor.

Contrast and harmony can also be achieved using plants. Fine foliage verses coarser foliage, round leaves verses spiked leaves as well as color compliments and contrasts.

Plant height, color, and texture may be varied from one area to the next but each area should stay consistent within its own theme.

You'll hear me talk about "themes" a lot. Many successful do it yourself designs follow a basic theme to achieve most of the principles of landscape design described on this page. It’s a simple starting point for do it yourselfers that can be added to later.

Color adds the dimension of real life and interest to the landscape. Bright colors like reds, yellows and oranges seem to advance toward you and can actually make an object seem closer to you. Cool colors like greens, blues, and pastels seem to move away from you and can make an object seem farther from you.
Grays, blacks, and whites are considered neutral colors and are best used in the background with bright colors in the foreground. However, to increase depth in a landscape, you can use dark and coarse textured plants in the foreground and use fine textured and light colored plants in the background.

Colors can also be used to direct your attention to a specific area of the garden. A bright display among cooler colors would naturally catch the eye.

Natural transition can be applied to avoid radical or abrupt changes in your landscape design. Transition is basically gradual change. It can best be illustrated in terms of plant height or color but can also be applied to all elements in the landscape including but not limited to textures, foliage shape or size, and the size and shape of different elements.

In other words transition can be achieved by the gradual, ascending or descending, arrangement of different elements with varying textures, forms, colors, or sizes.

An example of a good transition would be a stair step effect from large trees to medium trees to shrubs to bedding plants. This example is where a little knowledge of proper plant selection would come in handy.

Transition is one of the principles of landscape design that can be used to "create illusions" in the landscape. For example a transition from taller to shorter plants can give a sense of depth and distance (like in a painting), making the garden seem larger than it really is. A transition from shorter to taller plants could be used to frame a focal point to make it stand out and seem closer than it really is.

Line is of the more structural principles of landscape design. It can mostly be related to the way beds, walkways, and entryways move and flow.

Straight lines are forceful and direct while curvy lines have a more natural, gentle, flowing effect.

Proportion simply refers to the size of elements in relation to each other. Of all the principles of landscape design, this one is quite obvious but still requires a little thought and planning. Most of the elements in landscape design can be intentionally planned to meet the proper proportions.

For instance if you are creating a small courtyard garden, an enormous seven foot garden statue placed in the center would be way out of proportion and a little tacky to say the least. Or a small four foot waterfall and pond placed in the center of a large open yard would get lost in the expanse.

Don't misunderstand this to mean that if you have a large yard you can't have smaller features or garden decor. Proportion is relative and elements can be scaled to fit by creating different rooms in the garden. The goal is to create a pleasing relationship among the three dimensions of length, breadth, and depth or height.

A small water feature can be proportionate if placed in a corner or on the edge of a large area and becomes a focal point of the larger area while creating its own distinct atmosphere. An entire room, sitting area, or theme can be created around it. Other rooms and themes can be created as well. See small gardens for ideas on creating rooms and creating illusions.

Also, special consideration and study should be given to proper plant selection to avoid using plants that are out of proportion.

Repetition is directly related to unity. Its good to have a variety of elements and forms in the garden but repeating these elements gives variety expression.

Unity is achieved by repeating objects or elements that are alike. Too many unrelated objects can make the garden look cluttered and unplanned.

There's a fine line here. It's possible that too much of one element can make a garden or landscape feel uninteresting, boring and monotonous.

However, unity can still be created by using several different elements repeatedly. This in turn keeps the garden interesting.

Author Info:

Written by Steve Boulden. Steve is the owner and chief designer for S&S Designed Landscaping in Carlsbad, NM. He is also the creator of The Landscape Design Site.com which offers free professional landscaping advice, tips, plans, and ideas to do it yourselfers and homeowners. Visit his site at The Landscape Design Site.com

Latest 20 articles

Why Should I Hire a Seattle Real Estate Attorney? In every real estate transaction there are a wide variety of legal issues that must be taken care of. Contracts should always be reviewed by an attorney who understands the nuances of real estate law. But there are also state specific State laws to contend with. A Seattle real estate lawyer deals with a large number of State legal issues related to acquiring, financing, developing, managing, co

California IT Professionals – In Need of California Class Action Attorneys! It is hard to miss the wave of California wage and hour litigation related to California IT professionals and Computer employee overtime that has been sweeping California recently. Even the largest software and computer companies have paid out millions of dollars to employees wrongfully classified as “exempt”, or in other words, not entitled to overtime. A layperson would believe that with pr

Protect Your Mental Health With A Payday Loan Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any worse, more banks went under. More countries are declaring economic crisis. It seems that the world’s financial problems are bound to get worse. Even if you do not have considerable investments in various banks, I am sure that you are feeling the stress that results from these economic upheavals. I sure am. I am just an average person, with a

Free Bulk SMS services People are getting very busy these days without having enough time to talk unless it is very important. Mobile SMS have supported this need to contemporary times as now people do not want to call and enter in the unproductive conversation before coming up to the actual issue. SMS provides you the benefit to come straight to the point and also saves money. What if you get this totally free?

HELP – I Have IRS Levy Problems! If IRS collection notices are ignored, the IRS is forced to collect from taxpayers by force. They do this with their dreaded IRS levy. By law, the IRS has the right to levy bank accounts (IRS bank levy), garnish your paychecks (IRS wage levy), or even seize your assets. But you do not have to let the IRS bully you or your family. There are ways to stop an IRS levy. The first step is to know the

Why Use Professional Tax Debt Help? Good IRS tax relief is hard to find and for people with complicated tax issues, it is an absolute necessity. But how do you know which tax reduction firm is the best one to try? How can you be sure you're going to get the tax debt help that you need? And why is it so vital to receive help from professionals? Settling Your IRS Tax Debt For Less When your IRS tax debt is spiraling out

IRS Settlement – Can You Really Settle Your IRS Tax Debt for Less? It's possible to settle your IRS tax debt, but it presents a challenge. Proving you can settle your tax debt for less is a daunting experience. You have to contend with pages of IRS paperwork rife with technical terms. Settling tax debt is indeed a reality and it can be done. However, there's a lot you need to know before you attempt to settle your IRS tax debt. Rebuking the Lies - The

IRS Tax Relief – The Most Popular IRS Tax Relief Solutions Tax law provides many solutions for resolving tax debt. But if you were to contact the IRS directly, they would only alert you to one solution, and that's paying the tax debt in full. Here are five popular IRS tax relief solutions you should know about to be more informed. IRS Tax Settlement It is possible to settle your IRS tax debt. But there are some pitfalls you need to know. Fi

Hire the California Labor Board or California Labor Law Attorneys - You Decide With a downturn in the economy, many employers are cutting back on payroll. Unfortunately, some employers are reducing payroll costs by violating the California overtime laws. When this occurs, employees have essentially two options to recover their California overtime pay: the California labor board, or hiring California labor law attorneys. Although the California Labor Board is a commonly

Hiring a Car At Bangalore - Is More of Necessity Than A Luxury Your sedan is probably the best materialistic thing that you own and while going to a new place, that is what you ought to miss the most but if you are going to Bangalore then you probably have a option of getting a replacement so that you don’t miss it all that most because it will be as comfortable and as obedient as your own car and the Bangalor

How to Choose a Car Rental Company in Bangalore Bangalore is a place that lists one of the best as far as infrastructure is considered in India as it is the IT hub of India and thus the roads to drive is atmost pleasure and thus if Bangalore is the destination that you are planning for next then the best way to move around is by hiring a car. To hire is car is very simple if it is in Bangalore because there are some very good car rental compani

Car Rental Companies in Bangalore If you are travelling to Bangalore and hiring a car is what worrying you then you can be relaxed because this is one service that you will easily get in Bangalore and that too at very affordable and economic prices. Basically there are really good car rental companies in Bangalore available for renting the cars and you can either book in advance or go there and hire a car for yourself. Also, you h

Tips to Hire a Car in Bangalore One thing that most of us agree is that the fact that the most comfortable way to move around at any place is by your own vehicle but what if you are going to a new place, it is not possible to carry your vehicle along with you and you actually cannot trust too much on the public transportation system and at such situation the best possible option is to hire a car for yourself, at some places it c

Hire a Car: Comfortable Way to explore Bangalore If you are out to a new place than the first thing that comes into your mind is a comfortable accommodation and then the second one on the priority list is a comfortable way to move around in the city and if Bangalore is your preferred location, than you’ll be having options for both of the facilities, but if we specifically speak about the second one that is moving comfortably than the best opti

Car Rental – A convenient mode of transport in Bangalore Bangalore, a place which probably is considered one of the best places in India as far as infrastructure is considered and reasons are many for that, one is because of the IT hub that it is and also because it is one of very good places if you are considering holidays and because of this very good facility provided for the people visiting Bangalore is that you have many options in case if you are

Rent a Car in Bangalore: Take the Right Decision In today’s world, time is money; the more you save it better it is for you. And in that case if you are going to another place where you are not too familiar with the surroundings, then instead of wasting time on travelling by locating and travelling by public transport is to hire a vehicle for yourself. This helps in many ways, one it saves on time and also it moves at your pace so you don’t have

Bangalore Car Rental: Save Your Time When you are at an unknown place or for that matter known place and time is your major factor of concern then, the best way to save on time is by having your own vehicle for conveyance. This gives you freedom to move at your own pace and wish. And for that matter if you are at a place like Bangalore where the roads are so beautiful that it is a sheer pleasure to travel through your own rented vehi

Best Package Tours to Kerala Kerala – God’s own country which means heaven for those who appreciate the real untouched, naïve beauty of nature and if you are one of those than consider Kerala as the option for you next holiday. Kerala gives an option to explore the nature to the fullest because it has all the places where you can explore the nature be it scenic beaches or the hill stations or the ethnic culture, just everythi

Kerala Tour: A Getaway from Regular Stress If you are tired of daily stress and meetings and looking for a getaway so that you snatch some time for yourself with your loved one’s than Kerala holidays is the perfect is the perfect thing for you. Its calmness and closeness to nature would give you that much needed peace of mind that you always wanted. Also along with enjoying the beauty of this scenic place on your holidays to Kerala you can

Kerala Tour Packages: Have A Look If holidays are on your mind, then Kerala is one option that you cannot choose to neglect. Because Kerala is one place that offers you all from calm and serene natural places to exciting sports to exotic beaches and also beautiful hill stations, everything provided at one place which is also known as god’s own country. And obviously such wide range of activities would make it a tough job to cover