Garden Architecture
by Richard Liberto
Recently I taught an adult evening course on design, and on the first night, I asked the class what the single most important design criteria was when creating a new landscape or revising an existing landscape. After nine or so responses ranging from the “style” to the “color,” I wrote my answer, Garden Architecture, on the board. There were a few gasps from the students, but mostly blank faces and glazed over eyes stared back at me. Not that anyone had provided a bad or wrong answer necessarily, but remember the original question, “what is the single most important design criteria?” I’ll explain.
The elements of garden architecture – paths, walls, gates, fences, terraces, lighting, pottery, water features and sculpture all work together to form the “bones” of a well-designed landscape or garden. The bones of the garden is an expression that gardeners or design professionals use quite often. When they do, they are referring to the prominent, permanent elements that give form and structure to their landscapes. These bones may be natural – trees, rocks or perhaps a body of water or they may be man-made. The man-made ones – paths, terraces, trellises, fences, arbors, gates, decks and even pools are the basis for this article. The garden architecture is what bounds and focuses the space. It gives your garden or landscape purpose, character and expression.
Before you begin your landscape project, even if you plan to act as your own designer or hire a professional, it’s a good idea to identify all the uses the landscape will accommodate. How do you intend to use that space? Is it for outdoor entertaining or dining and do you enjoy throwing large parties or having only a few invited guests for a quite dinner?
Do you collect sculpture and intend to showcase the pieces in the landscape? Or perhaps, the garden is meant as a refuge, a sacred place in which to mask the demands and noise of everyday living. This is where the sound of a water feature could be both calming and soothing and a place where the mind, body and spirit may be rejuvenated.
Writing out your “wish list,” is a way to focus your thinking. If one tries to design or revise a garden off the cuff, it will be too difficult to coordinate all the parts that contribute to a successful project. Secondly, once a garden and landscape has been installed without a clear plan, making any changes after the fact usually requires a great deal of effort and expense. It makes good sense to design or plan the garden on paper, not on the ground!
So where to begin? The following points listed are essential to the success of good garden architecture.
Listen to the House
Whenever possible, rely on the architecture of the house to inspire a new design. This helps to establish the “marriage” between house and garden, turning the two parts into a unified whole. A Tudor-style house should have a cottage-style garden with natural flagstone walks, walls or patios and likewise for a Cape Cod or an Arts & Crafts house. For a contemporary house, select plants that have a strong branching structure – either vertically or horizontally – and use materials such as brick or exposed aggregate to distinguish the sidewalks, driveways or patios surfaces.
Decide Architectural Elements First
Typically, one should decide on the garden’s architectural elements first before selecting the plants that surround them. The garden architecture and plantings must work together in order to bring visual unity to the landscape; otherwise a hodge-podge effect will result.
Think Proportionally
Having the correct proportions for the garden spaces and the architectural elements within them is crucial to the final result and attractiveness of the overall landscape. The size of the space needs to be sufficient enough to accommodate the intended uses or activities. For example, a patio: if the intended purpose is for entertaining, then it should be large enough to allow for a table surrounded by six dining chairs, a few small tables and additional chairs with enough room left for those guests who wish to remain standing.
Choose Materials Wisely
To a large extent, the materials used help to pull a garden together. One suggestion is to choose materials that are indigenous to the region. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, native bluestone looks very much at home while limestone, which is quarried in the Mid-West, reflects that particular region. This practice helps to identify a sense of place – something that is being lost to homogenization.
Learn to Stop
Resist the urge to fill every available space with plantings or furnishings. Remember that empty space is sometimes an essential counterpoint to the mass of built structures on any one property. Before installing any new elements in the garden, ask yourself whether it is essential and how it will contribute to the effect of the overall design.
As a final note, don’t hold back when selecting landscape enhancements such as gates, arbors, fountains, pottery or decorative furniture. Feel free to experiment when using color and selecting sculptural forms. Dramatic night lighting can also make your landscape unique and powerful, especially during the winter with the backlighting of several trees.
Designing a garden should be fun and most of all rewarding. By following these principles, your landscape will have good bone structure. Well-planned garden architecture will embody all the materials and textures necessary to create the foundation for successful, year-round beauty – even here in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
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