Nothing is more disconcerting than a garden that is a chaotic mishmash of all sorts of plants, ten different paving materials, and too many colours. Yet such is the hallmark of most of our gardens. The reason is simple: Most of us take to landscaping without a plan.
A good garden is not a collection of all your favourite plants and garden decor. Rather, it is a product of carefully selected harmonious elements and consistent and comprehensible forms and colours.
Have a plan
In short, all the parts and pieces of the garden are in harmony with one another. This kind of garden is pleasing to both the eye and the mind; and it makes for a place where you want to linger.
So how do you create harmony in the garden? The key is consistency. Let’s face it, not all good ideas can co-exist in the same garden. And just because an idea looked great elsewhere doesn’t necessarily mean it will somehow fit into yours.
Avoid the temptation to add every nice feature and plant you see out there to your garden without considering how they affect each other and the total space.
Instead, have a plan of your own and stick to it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing ideas from successful projects elsewhere or including the stuff that you love.
Make sure that they are well co-ordinated in a plan so that they are proportionate and well balanced with one another and other natural features and structures in your home.
And unless you are a master of design, keep the number of elements in your plan fairly minimal — a few plants, one or two hard-scape materials, and not too many of those collector items.
Having too many elements distracts the mind and comes out as chaotic even though the individual elements may be very appealing.
Decide on a style
Decide on a style and stick to it. Will your garden be formal, informal, geometric, curvy or rectilinear? Will it look tropical, Mediterranean or Japanese? Will it be chic, crisp and modern or more rustic and traditional?
You can choose whatever style you like and whatever is appropriate to the surroundings. But once you choose, apply it consistently to the last detail.
With some experience and adequate space, it is possible to blend styles. But extra care should be taken.
For instance, when blending a rectilinear perennial bed with curvy lawn edges or formal plantings with free flowing, meandering paths, other measures must be taken in order to reconcile the conflicting forms.
Be careful to co-ordinate the colours of your plantings, hard-scape elements and house. The best approach is to choose a colour scheme that you like and apply it consistently throughout the garden.
Suitable colour scheme
Complementary schemes, for instance, combine two colours that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.
Monochromatic colour schemes, on the other hand, use shades of just one colour while analogous schemes use two colours that are right next to each other on the colour wheel.
Whichever scheme you choose, repeat it in the entire garden to create a harmonious and beautiful environment where every element reads as part of the whole.
— The writer is a landscape architect
