Garden Design IdeasGarden Ideas, Photos and Tips for Gardening at Home
Whether you project to build a garden from scratch or will be making rescript to your current garden , it ’s always helpful to get ideas and guidance from those who have been design garden for years . Four designer in New York , California , Washington State , and England portion out what they get word as they designed their own personal garden .
STORYBOOK BEAUTY
At their home plate in Long Island , NY , designer Conni Cross and her hubby naturalized the edges of an on an irregular basis work swimming kitty with moss rock and timber planting , allowing it to blend seamlessly into the wooded mount . Graceful crape myrtles and Japanese maples frame the pool with an engaging display of color in all seasons . Photo by : Claire Takacs .
New York garden fashion designer Conni Cross shares what she ’s learn while designing her garden in Long Island , New York — an on-going project that she has been work on for more than 30 years .
Do enquiry . We are all prone to impulse purchasing and take away menage plant with a pretty face . I ’ve learned to research plant varieties thoroughly and to choose sagely when it come to foundation trees and shrub that will last for many years .
Incorporate layers . Planting in layers mimics the canopy found in nature . you’re able to fulfil gaps around base tree diagram and shrubs with shorter - live perennial .
Encourage exploration . contrive an outdoor space so that you ca n’t see everything at once , to make a feeling of intrigue and whodunit .
Combine style . blend stately plants , such as boxwood , with realistic plants , such as Japanese maple , lends social organization and balance .
Plant for all four time of year . This is a trademark of my designs . opt plants with flowers , berries , barque , fragrance , and compelling structure .
Plan for growth . Whatever the spacing say on the works label , double that pattern . Happy works needs get larger than their judge size of it .
Maintain the space . even maintenance is an often - look out on component of designing a garden . I like to remain rightful to the original design as much as possible .
WATERWISE & WORRY-FREE
Richly layer planting of cosmetic grasses , perennial , and succulents outline the boardwalk and gravel path that lead from the house down the backyard slope at Debora Carl ’s property in Encinitas , CA . disconsolate chalksticks — Carl ’s favored go - to groundcover — full complement repeating peach - apricot highlights ofKniphofia(center ) andCordyline(far allow ) . Photo by : Richard Bloom .
At her prop in Encinitas , California , interior decorator Debora Carl created a sleek , modern , people of color - rich , waterwise garden . Here are a few tips she learned along the way .
land site strategically . invest seating areas and other significant feature close to the sign of the zodiac where you will be more potential to enjoy them . Elements lay too far aside may feel stranded , and therefore may be used less often .
Use vividness sagely . Combine plants with complemental colors such as blue and orange to make visual tension . Adding another popping of coloration such as ruby lends an additional layer of complexity and make an unexpected surprise . reprise these same colors to unify the landscape and establish rescript .
make optic Libra . Use inviolable , full-strength lines and axes to define the body structure of a garden , and soften the edges with plants .
Tie elements together . Match the color of your exterior rouge to a dominant prime or leafage gloss in a planting layer , then apply the same paint to a piece of garden furniture for repetition and a pleasing composition .
sum a focal gunpoint . Use a carving , garden art , or an interesting container to give the optic a position to break and appreciate the surroundings .
NORTHWEST TRANQUILITY
At this home in Vashon Island , WA , a European - enliven fountain was place outside the kitchen window and next to an arbor - cover dining expanse where it can be enjoyed year - pear-shaped . When David Pfeiffer and his partner , David Klein , determine to simplify the garden a few geezerhood ago , they removed aquatic plant from the fountain and replace them with untainted steel gazing egg that constantly move , reflecting the sky as they float on the surface of the water . Photo by : Claire Takacs .
Designer David Pfeiffer and his partner , Daniel Klein , took an undeveloped property on Vashon Island near Seattle and transformed it into a garden with dedicated areas for dining , lounging , placid contemplation , and entertaining . Pfeiffer share some of his crown for designing .
Unite garden and home . Design the garden the same way you would design the flooring programme for your place . settle how you want to hold up and entertain in your garden , and be sure your pathways , terraces , and furniture layout reflect this .
Remember that less is more . Limit garden decoration and accessorizing . or else , bank on architectural chemical element such as arbor , step , and walls to unify the menage with the garden . confine the amount of works varieties , and flora in big textural drift to aid focus the eye . Choose plants that demand minimal pruning and watering .
purpose establish on how you like to entertain . admit dining and conversation areas that accommodate how you live .
link up it all together . For hardscape and planting option , obtain true to the cant of your habitation ’s architecture and the area you live in . It does n’t have to be stringently aboriginal , but use local cloth when possible for a regional esthetic ( and to lighten your carbon paper footmark ) .
promote exploration and discovery . Key features such as a swim consortium or seating should be handily placed , but also include destinations like a terrace or summerhouse farther out that serve as goal and surprises .
STRUCTURE & STYLE
This definitive English - style perennial border at the home of Jeremy and Beverly Allen in southeast England is more than 100 yards long . The moulding was inspire by the grand border at Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Castle Garden and positioned to take advantage of the borrowed views of regal shade trees and nip hedge beyond , tot up an supererogatory dimension of layering and height . Late - summertime perennials — coneflower , phlox , Joe Pye weed , catmint , asters , and ornamental grasses — create a reposeful tapestry of texture and human body . Photo by : Richard Bloom .
Garden designer Jeremy Allen and his wife , Beverly , transformed a dim thicket into a beautiful countryside landscape painting with neatly defined garden room . Here are some of Allen ’s peak for designing .
habituate strong shapes . Using uniformly unbent or curving lines for component such as hardscape , hedges , or planting bed bestow lodge to a space .
Install morphological component first . Installing hardscape and planting trees , shrubs , and hedges first will specify the structure of your garden . This will provide a good level set to show off other industrial plant and winter interest when perennials go sleeping .
Consider how and where light come . Light and shadows create ambience and animate a blank . A cautiously placed tree or interesting topiary can make diffuse brightness level or atmospheric shadow .
Choose industrial plant that ply consistent form , texture , and foliage . The closed book to achieving a well - await border is selecting plants that continue to provide an attractive overall anatomy both before and after flowering .
apply repetition . Repeating the same plant throughout a border and in different region of your garden creates visual musical rhythm . It also creates cohesiveness and make a garden experience whole , even if area are disparate from each other .
These tips were excerpted from the clause “ Dream Gardens ” in the Winter 2018 issue of Garden Design magazine .
