Chitika

tisdag 22 september 2009

Garden Design - Doing It Lasting Beauty

By Marshall Clewis

Design means the arrangement of parts in any work of art, such as a painting, a building, or a garden. Good design satisfies us; poor design is irritating.

The principles of good design are really quite simple. Unity, propriety, variety, scale and harmony are the main ones. Anyone can understand what they mean if we cut away the attempt to appear intellectual. Though simple words, they should be taken seriously.

Unity is created by any common bond that ties the parts together. A picture frame defines the picture and makes it a unit separate from the wall paper, but a number of pictures are given unity by having similar frames. The parts of a garden are drawn together by defining them by planting around the boundaries, by connecting them with paths of similar material or by repeating plants of the same species. Even the color of green common to most plants has a strong uniting effect.

Variety is interesting if you are a collector but too much variety is confusing. Rather than using single plants of a lot of different varieties, use large numbers of a few sorts to create the desired mass effect. Then plant one or two well-chosen specimens to create interest at strategic points against this unifying background.

Propriety too, is simple. No one puts on a dinner jacket to dig a ditch. Potted geraniums or hybrid tea roses are equally out of place when planted in a rock garden. Similarly, the symmetry and geometric form of formal gardens look out of place in the middle of a gently rolling lawn, but most pleasing from a paved terrace.

Scale simply means relative size. An elm planted beside a modern bungalow does not complement the house; it dwarfs it. A paved path 8 feet wide is suitable in a public park but in most city gardens it would be a patio.

Harmony is the easy, gradual blending of color, texture and form. Contrast is a sudden change that creates more dramatic effect but may cause conflict of interest.

These are the plant questions and answers together with principles we must keep in mind when thinking of the various units in detail. Good design, or good taste, is hard to define together with plant questions and answers but most people appreciate it when they meet it.

You need not be too tied down to rules and it is not necessary to create an artistic masterpiece. The important thing is to create a property that meets the needs of your family for pleasant outdoor living. if the artistic effect satisfies your need for beauty and comfort, then it is the right garden for you.

About the Author:

Inga kommentarer:

Skicka en kommentar