• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Dargan Landscape Architects

Create Nourishing Flourishing Home Utopias

  • Home
  • About
    • Vitae
  • Services
    • Dargan Landscape Architects
    • Consultations & Tune-Ups
  • Events
    • Events
    • Courses & Workshops
    • Need a Speaker?
  • The Toolbox
    • The Placemakers Academy Landscape Design Course
  • Blog
  • Press
  • Contact

Landscape Architecture Projects

How do I Bring Eye-Catching Textures into My Garden?

November 17, 2014

As sensory beings, incorporating texture into your garden design ideas will generate appeal that draws all passers. Not only will your garden provide a beautiful visual effect with color and depth, it will exude wonderful scents to fulfill the sense of smell and stimulate the sensations of touch and sight when you add texture.

Many people shy away from experimenting with texture worrying that their garden may take on an air of messiness or become overly cluttered. But when done properly, eye-catching garden texture can bring beauty and serenity into a number of settings.

 36Source: Dargan Landscape Architects

To create a sense of luxury, try layering colors and textures in your garden beds by combining short and tall plants with similar colors. Shorter plants and flowers should be situated toward the front of the garden, while taller varieties can go in the background. This simple garden design idea really draws to your landscape.

For a look that can be striking, while still giving a sense of serenity at the same time, combine textural elements in a single color such as paving bricks or garden path tiles. These textural elements can be surrounded by smooth pebbles in muted shades or bordered with lush green feather grass. Not only will you be adding several textures, you are adding a striking contrast with the foliage that borders your design.

If you have limited space for your garden design, there are many different options when container gardening. These eye-catching vessels can lift up a garden while incorporating texture. To keep the setting cohesive, you may wish to center your design on a single color scheme.

Finding the right garden design can be a difficult challenge. Dargan Landscape Architects are experts at taking the concept you visualize in your head and bringing them to life. Please visit our website to learn how we can help you bring your design to life.

Filed Under: Appearances, Lectures and Shows, Atlanta Garden Landscape Projects, Bloom Where you are Planted, Climate Change, Dovecote, Fairy Gardens, General Landscape Commentary, Landscape Architecture Projects, Landscape Design Tips, Mary's Events, PlaceMakers, Poppy's Environmental Tips, Poppy's Horticultural Tips, Poppy's Project, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged With: landscape architecture tips, Landscape Design Tips, landscaping with textures

Catch Mary Palmer Dargan’s Lecture at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston

November 11, 2014

Have you wanted to plant or design a romantic garden for your home? If so, mark your calendar for Friday, November 14th, so you do not miss Hugh and Mary Palmer Dargan’s lecture at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, located at 3550 Ashley River Road in Charleston. For the general admission adult price of only $15.00, you can attend the lecture in Magnolia’s Orientation Theatre and enjoy the gardens afterwards with a new perspective.

10312372_10152303616417303_8625450424520461076_n

Source: Dargan Landscape Architects via Facebook

The lecture will explore romantic-style gardening and its influence. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens provides a perfect location for such an event as it is the last large-scale romantic garden in America. As a licensed and vastly experienced landscape architect, Mary Palmer will share the knowledge she has gained from extensive travels both home and abroad, and how they played a part in her romantic garden designs. 

Having designed many beautiful romantic gardens in Charleston and other areas in North Carolina and Georgia, Mary Palmer will discuss how a romantic garden differs from a formal garden. She will also share tips on how to create a romantic garden within your own landscape. Mary Palmer believes, “A romantic garden provides the perfect canvas for creative thought and inspiration to solace your soul.” Not only will you learn the fundamental elements to this style of gardening, you are guaranteed to find some inspiration in Mary Palmer’s words.

Steeped in history, Magnolia Plantation has been family-owned for more than 300 years. In the late 17th century the gardens were started and during the 18th century their beauty and size expanded exponentially, however, it was not until the 19th century that they took on the grand scale that they maintain today. 

Join Mary Palmer of Dargan Landscape Architects as she details this beautiful, romantic style of gardening and bask in the beauty of the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.

Filed Under: Appearances, Lectures and Shows, Atlanta Garden Landscape Projects, Bloom Where you are Planted, Climate Change, Dovecote, Fairy Gardens, General Landscape Commentary, Landscape Architecture Projects, Landscape Design Tips, Mary's Events, PlaceMakers, Poppy's Environmental Tips, Poppy's Horticultural Tips, Poppy's Project, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged With: Charleston landscape architects, dargan landscape architects

Join Mary Palmer Dargan at the North Georgia Camellia Society

November 10, 2014

Are you struggling to bring camellias into your landscape design? On Monday, Nov. 10, Mary Palmer Dargan would like to invite you to a lecture titled, “Camellias Dazzle your Landscape Design with Flowers, Form and Structure.” Presented by Mary Palmer herself, this lecture will be held at the North Georgia Camellia Society, which meets at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, Ga on the second Monday of each month.  

10153242_351923944979093_4623940056292486712_n
Source: North Georgia Camellia Society Facebook

As a licensed and storied landscape architect and designer, Mary Palmer will share her knowledge with you about creating idyllic garden designs featuring camellias. Due to the vast variety, size, color and multi-season blooming capabilities of this versatile flowering plant, understanding the important concepts in Mary’s lecture will help inspire your creative endeavors. Mary will also share some of her tips and tricks on how best to work with camellias.

Members of the non-profit North Georgia Camellia Society meet on the second Monday of every month from September through April at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. They share their passion for camellias, as well as their ideas for grafting, planting and maintaining these beautiful plants.

As low-maintenance shrubs, camellias can easily be incorporated into garden designs as a privacy screen or even a shrub border. Although the appropriate spot for planting is critical to their growth success, camellias are a hardy shrub and can grow as tall as 12 feet.  And according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they thrive best in hardiness zones seven through nine.

Come join Mary Palmer Dargan on Nov. 10 and learn more about this incredible flowering shrub. To learn more about Mary Palmer and Dargan Landscape Architects, we invite you to browse around our website, or contact us to discuss the design and development of your idyllic garden.

Filed Under: Appearances, Lectures and Shows, Atlanta Garden Landscape Projects, Bloom Where you are Planted, Climate Change, Dovecote, Fairy Gardens, General Landscape Commentary, Landscape Architecture Projects, Landscape Design Tips, Mary's Events, PlaceMakers, Poppy's Environmental Tips, Poppy's Horticultural Tips, Poppy's Project, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged With: Atlanta landscape architects, Dargan lectures

Need Ideas On How to Design a Shady Front Yard?

September 15, 2014

A Project We completed last month — and is now featured on Houzz:

Traditional Landscape by Atlanta Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Dargan Landscape Architects
 
 
Remodeling and Home Design

Filed Under: Landscape Architecture Projects, Uncategorized

An Antique Rose Garden – in the North Carolina Mountains

August 3, 2014

Susan and Bill Young have a beautiful farm overlooking the Mountains in Western North Carolina. Susan has an interior design and decorative accessories shop called Summer Place, in  Cashiers, North Carolina. Bill is a builder and designed and built the house that Mary Palmer lives in today.

Susan always wanted a formal garden on the upper terrace. Dargan Landscape Architects designed the master plan for the property when it was built.

As things go with construction, the terrace was a little bit tricky because of a boulder retaining wall. This made alignment of the formal garden a challenge!

Because Susan loves bright colors for her beautiful interiors, specific rose varieties of old-fashioned heritage were chosen. Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham Texas is our favorite rose provider, for clients all over the country. We like the Antique Rose stock is just that it’s hardy and durable and has beautiful classical forms and colors.

Some of the rose varieties chosen were: 

  • Climbing Rose Prosperity
  • American Beauty
  • New Dawn
  • Graeme Thomas
  • Shrub roses including Pinky, Souvenir da la malmason and others.

Over 60 roses were planted in the small parterre rose garden just after Mother’s day. This is the frost free date for North Carolina. Of course, as luck would have it, the temperature went to 30° with wind chill the day the roses were installed on May 18!

A deep planting technique used in Canada by Ofc. Doug Green was employed in the installation. This hopefully will protect the delicate roots and stems of the roses.

Another challenge encountered was that of rabbits! Rabbits are very happy here as are the sheep and the donkeys. Therefore Fencing was necessary to protect the roses.

The existing hemlock hedge is treated yearly for Woolly Adelegifs and was sheared to create an oeil-de-boeuf (or bull’s eye) that is framed by a Rhododendron and Laurel arch.

IMG_8279 IMG_8277 Young Rose Garden Project

 

Filed Under: Landscape Architecture Projects, Uncategorized

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3

Footer

Let’s Get Started on Your Project

Contact us to kick things off. This will be more fun than you think!
Get In Touch

Copyright © 2025 · Dargan Landscape Architects, All Rights Reserved