Demystifying planting design terms: Part One - Garden Style
What does it mean when landscape designers talk about Style, Theme and Form?
When we’re trying to get a feel for your vision, it’s one of the first topics we touch on.
These terms may sound similar, but there are key differences and we thought our valued clients and readers might appreciate a rundown! Referring to the CLD Manual Style refers to the broad aesthetic and historical influences on the garden’s design.
It sets the overall mood and character of the space. Most styles can be classified as either formal or informal. In residential landscape design, the appropriate garden style is usually dictated by the architectural style of the home.
Theme focuses on a unifying concept within the design. Themes can refer to colour, season, mood, activity, geography or even a specific plant collection. Themes can personalize the space to a particular emotional or functional need.
Form is the physical arrangement of elements within the garden. It dictates the structure, layout, and flow, with focus on how lines and shapes interact. This is where the ‘bones’ of garden space are emphasised, whether it be through freeform curving lines or strict geometric shapes.
In Part One of our Planting design series, we’ll take a look at the most common garden “styles” used in landscape design:
English Garden Style
With its roots in English culture, this style is characterized by lush green lawns, native perennials with colourful, fragrant blooms and gently winding walkways of natural materials, or reclaimed brick. If space allows, secluded sitting areas with vine-covered arbours and grand shade trees are present.
More formal English-style gardens may feature tightly clipped hedges and topiary, while the more informal approach showcases cottage gardens bursting with blooms and herbs.
In the 20th century, garden designers Noel and Piet Odoulf took this style to a new level with drifts and groupings. They call this “Newperennialism”, read on to learn more about this style below.
Mediterranean and Australasian Garden Style
The Mediterranean is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, very much like our climate here on Southern Vancouver Island. This style is really a combination of various European influences... French, Spanish, Italian, Australian, Moroccan, Turkish, etc. Each region brings its own influences, but the overall general characteristics of this style include: soft colours, gravel walks, patterned tiles, and drought-tolerant plantings. Large, significant water features along the symmetrical axis, classical statuary, and strong focal points that dot the landscape may be featured in more formal versions of this landscape style.
Naturalistic Garden Style
Naturalistic Style or New Perennialism is a movement in naturalistic planting design that is about making gardens in symbiosis with nature. It calls for a wilder aesthetic, attuned to ecology, and informed by horticulture.
The New Perennial Movement is inspired by naturally occurring habitats. There are generally no rules, only guidelines. When designing a Naturalistic garden, we try to work with the existing conditions as much as possible. This greatly limits garden inputs resulting in a much more sustainable landscape. Matrix plantings group plants by common habitats and vigour which are able to attract and sustain pollinators. The general layout consists of grasses combined with structural, seasonal, and ground cover layers. Groupings and drifts make use of form, colour and textures to allow for a seasonal fireworks display even when the plants are dormant providing an architectural appeal along with sensory stimulus.
Photos Courtesy: Eden Projects
Japanese Garden Style
Japanese-style gardens may be the most emulated, yet poorest duplicated style of garden design. Some purists believe that Japanese style gardens are only possible in Japan because of the strict design philosophies involved and the belief that nature plays a dominant role in one's life. These gardens are a miniature and idealized view of nature.
In its purest form, Japanese gardens rely upon the feng shui art form where natural, elegant simplicity is key. Water plays a main role, either in actuality or is represented in gravel or pebbles. A bonsai plant form may be a central component and the overall colour scheme is green, and it promotes peace and relaxation. Japanese gardens tend to be of a single purpose: walking/strolling, a courtyard for contemplation and will often include carefully placed boulders of a prescribed shape and size.
At Eden Projects we understand that, realistically, not all homeowners have the time or budget for this level of maintenance. We find ways to incorporate elements featured in this style in a way that makes sense for the modern landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
Modern Garden Style
The hallmarks of the Modern Garden Style include clean, straight lines, and the use of negative space and logical organization to guide the eye through the area. The result is a tidy, polished, and contemporary-looking yard that many people find very satisfying to look at. If you’re someone who feels most at ease in an uncluttered, minimalist space, a modern landscape design might be for you. Modern or “Contemporary” landscape design tends to focus more on materials and hardscapes than on plantings; this style tends to use plants as ‘highlights’ within the space rather than as the focal feature. The use of materials like concrete, metal, wood, and stone often serve multiple purposes in this design approach. These materials not only provide durability and functionality but add visually interesting shapes that are both simple and bold.
Photo Courtesy of Eden Projects
Garden styles reflect a variety of cultural, aesthetic, and functional influences, allowing homeowners to express their unique preferences and personalities. Whatever your tastes, lifestyle, or budget, we can work together to create a green escape for relaxing, entertaining and enjoying.
Citations:
“Style, Theme and Form”. Landscape Design Manual. 2014 Pg 48-49
Tony Spencer. “Supernaturalistic: The New Perennial Pond Garden” The New Perennialist January 7, 2020
Photo Courtesy of Plantology