A solid landscape design provides your house which all-important curb appeal, but, more importantly, it lets you discover an enjoyable respite only outside the doors of your home. Although hiring a respectable landscape designer would be worth the price tag, you could have the ability to customize your own design. Armed with the basics of landscape design, a few green thumbs and lots of sweat equity, you can alter the appearance of your outdoor space.

Theme

A landscape design theme reflects your preferences and personal style. Formal designs rely heavily on straight lines and symmetry, and may include components such as knot gardens or even stately hedges. Natural layouts have curved lines which “bend” and comprise loose cottage-garden styles. Vital to any design is the thought of how much time you need to keep your completed work. If you opt for a labor-intensive design, but you work full time, then you may need to hire a landscaper or gardener for upkeep. Look at incorporating xeriscaping into any design, which maximizes water use and reduces labor and watering costs.

Form

Gail Hansen, of the University of Florida’s Environmental Horticulture Department, notes which form is the primary determinant of casual or formal gardens. Plants, structures, garden beds and open spaces represent form. Deciduous plants may show similar shapes in winter, but their forms may be summarized with bare branches as opposed to complete canopies. Plant forms include round, columnar, upright, weeping and vase-shaped. Form meets function with the alternative of shade trees, that ought to be round or oval, and solitude plants, which are normally columnar or pyramidal.

Plants

Plant picks include factors of size, texture and color. Native plants are great choices for most landscapes because they are adapted to growing in your own climate and soil. Perennial plants generally require less maintenance since they are permanently established, but annual flowers offer a profusion of colour which often lasts longer than perennials. Interplanting a few annuals with perennials provides one of the very best of the worlds. Color is not limited to blooms, but in addition contains foliage, bark and fruits. Texture often shines in the winter garden, when deciduous plants reveal exfoliating or coloured bark.

Harmony

Achieving a harmoniously aesthetic design rather than a random, arbitrary appearance is the objective of your completed project. You are able to achieve balance by incorporating proportion, balance and repetition. Proportion is specific to your residence, existing plants and people. If your home is the tallest construction in your landscape, planting taller trees will balance it proportionately. Balance also presumes symmetry or asymmetry. Symmetrical designs, which are generally found in formal gardens, symbolize mirror pictures on either side of a central axis or about a focal point. Asymmetrical layouts usually define everyday gardens and put similar visual weight on each side of the axis, but with different forms and colors. Repetition is a fundamental of landscape design and is achieved by repeating the same plant, or even groups of plants, through a garden.

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