Ground rules for great gardens

Create the perfect outdoor space with planning and inspiration

 
By Kris Wetherbee
 

Let's face it.  A lackluster landscape does little more than serve as an uninspiring transition to the indoors. Yet when you infuse the same landscape with inviting character, the view suddenly transforms to one that's endlessly alluring.

Of course, like any remodel or home-improvement project, renovating your yard requires a thoughtful plan and a measure of inspiration.  However, the real secret to a great garden lies in the essential elements of garden design.  So sit down, relax and read on for planning and design strategies that will transform your landscape from boring to sensational.

Scrutinize your space
In order to make your yard more inviting, you need to determine how you and your family will be using the space. Do you crave fresh herbs for your kitchen? Spice things up by selecting an area that's not only easily accessible, but also aesthetically pleasing, such as a courtyard container garden or perhaps an herb garden that can be viewed from your kitchen window. Entertaining can be more enticing if you expand your perspective beyond the deck or patio, such as a fragrant pathway leading to a dining room terrace with a jasmine-covered pergola as the roof. Or, envision a secluded spot to relax or read with a comfy chair in a shaded alcove surrounded by flowers.

When evaluating your yard, also consider site basics such as soil, sun and shade patterns, the direction of prevailing winds and the topography of the land, including slopes and grades as well as views you wish to enhance or screen out. For example, poor soil conditions are easily solved with raised beds filled with loamy garden soil that's been brought in. A row of evergreen shrubs or a vine-covered fence can also serve as a blockade against extreme winds or unsightly views.  

Planning your garden design
If you're not sure where to begin, start with a destination focal point that draws you inside--such as a water feature, plant grouping or cozy sitting area--then include a meandering path that leads to your destination. Walkways can also lead from one destination to the next, such as in a series of outdoor rooms, each with its own characteristics and uses.

Every plant and every garden element contributes a dimensional aspect to your overall design through its color,texture, form and scale. Color can be used to inspire a certain mood, change visual perspectives, or call attention to a treasured object. Shades of blue, gray and lavender evoke tranquility while red, orange, and yellow are energizing. Use the same warm tones to make a large expanse of space seem more welcoming, or use cool colors at the back of the border to visually expand a small garden. 

Texture--whether in the velvety leaves of lamb's ear or the intricate pattern of bark--provides tactile interest along with subtle distinctions of light and shade.  A plant's form (upright, columnar, spreading, weeping, etc.) lends substance and interest that ultimately give your garden structure. And scale, which is the size of an object, gives visual perspective in relation to the surrounding environment.

Engage in group efforts
While color, texture, form, and scale serve as pieces of the puzzle, design principles--unity and rhythm, variety and effect, balance and transition--are what connect their different personalities into a pleasing picture. Unity and rhythm bring harmony and order to the landscape through consistent style. This can be achieved through a color theme, design style, vegetative types, a continuing thread of mass plantings or garden structures and materials that tie in with your home's architectural details and design aspects. 

A careful balance of variety and effect adds visual excitement and brings the garden to life. One long border of daisies can be very monotonous, yet engages your interest when placed in separate groupings with other plants. Another way to add variety is to include plants that provide seasonal beauty throughout the year. A columnar cypress certainly adds architectural appeal, but it can look boring by itself since it remains green all year. In contrast, a redbud (Cercis spp.) paints the scene with a profusion of rosy pink blossoms in early spring followed by a summer display of newly formed seed pods and rich green leaves that turn light yellow or red for autumnal attraction. Then a framework of bare branches reveal reddish brown seed pods for winter fascination.

Create effect with a focal point that captures your attention and invites you to come in, such as an interesting sculpture or the unexpected serenity of a fountain. Garden structures, archways, or a prominent bed can also add effectual emphasis to an area.  Balance--whether symmetrical or asymmetrical--conveys visual stability while transition in beds and borders and from one garden area to the next provides visual flow. 

Add your own signature
Just as accessories can influence the way your home looks and feels, they can also reflect your individual style outdoors. Any decorative object can be used to add that personal touch--from statuary, decorative pots and outdoor furniture, to a whimsical garden shed, scarecrow, or rustic wheelbarrow filled with catmint and ornamental grasses. Use your creative sense to combine garden art with plants, arrange a medley of colorful bowling balls to brighten up a shady area, or tuck in a birdhouse collection or gargoyle for an element of surprise. 

As with any successful design, it's important to let form follow function. An arch or pergola lend structure and architectural interest to the landscape, but more importantly they provide support for your favorite clematis or climbing roses. And, while a birdbath and birdhouse add character, they also provide necessities for our feathered friends. It's worth repeating--form follows function. Top it off with your signature style and the end result will be a beautiful and comfortable