Landscaping Designs: Three Basic Principles

Creating a well designed landscape is a lot like creating a well designed piece of artwork.  The guiding principles of design are the same.  A well designed landscape is made of three basic elements, or principles: good balance of scale, color, and perspective.  In this article, we’ll explain what each of these design principles means, and how you can apply them when creating your landscaping plan.

The first basic principle, balance of scale, refers to the size of the various elements you incorporate into your plan.  For example, a landscape made up entirely of low, bushy plants that are all the same size would be fairly boring.  However, if you mix in a few large landscape trees, some tall ornamental grasses, and some groundcover plants, now you have a range of sizes that is more visually appealing.  A general rule of thumb is to balance the scale of your landscape by thirds.  One third of the visual space should be large, one third medium, and the last third small size.  Also remember that not all the elements have to be plants.  Other structures like trellises, arbors, and pergolas can be worked into a landscaping plan to lend additional variety and balance out the overall scale.

The second basic principle is color.  Color is a far more complex topic than many people realize; there are entire fields of study devoted to color.  To fully understand how colors work together, it is helpful to study a color wheel.  Colors are positioned around the wheel based on how they relate to one another.  Take the complimentary color scheme, for example, which is probably the most basic and fundamental of all the color schemes.  Complimentary colors are two colors directly opposite one another on the color wheel.  Other color scheme options include analogous, which is a group of two or three colors directly beside each other on the wheel, or triadic, which are three colors equidistant from each other on the wheel.  All this relates to landscape design in the colors of flower, plants, and other elements we choose.  For example, a yard made up entirely of yellow flowers would be visually overwhelming.  However, when you add a few colors next to yellow, such as orange and red, now you have an analogous color scheme that is aesthetically pleasing and visually interesting.  For more information on color schemes, it might be helpful to consult a book or website about color theory.

The last basic element of landscape design is perspective.  Perspective can mean a lot of different things, but for the purposes of our discussion, we will define it as the particular view of the observer, based on the location they are standing in relative to your yard or home.  Ideally, your landscape should have a well balanced perspective for all potential onlookers.  Many of us focus on the view of our home and yard from the street, but what about the view seen by your most frequent observers, your neighbors?  And then there is the most important perspective of all: the one seen when you are inside your home looking outward.  After all, it is your yard; shouldn’t you and your family be the ones to enjoy the most attractive view?  The point of a well designed landscape is to take into account the perspective of all potential vantage points, and try to make every view as attractive and balanced as possible.

By taking into account all three of the basic design elements, scale, color, and perspective, you will ensure that your landscape is well balanced and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  Remember, you don’t have to have a degree in art or landscape architecture to create a beautiful landscape.  When you design with these fundamental principles in mind, you’re sure to end up with an attractive result that you can enjoy for years to come.

Home Products ‘n’ More offers free shipping on a variety of products to assist you with your landscaping design. For pergola”>http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Pergola_Designs_s/43.htm“”>pergola kits, arbors”>http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Cedar_Arbors_s/41.htm””>arbors, and more, visit us at http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Pergola_Kits_s/630.htm”>http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Pergola_Kits_s/630.htm“”>http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Pergola_Kits_s/630.htm

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/landscaping-designs-three-basic-principles-1076941.html