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timeless landscape design

Secret Gardens: Creating Your Private Oasis

Have you ever wanted to escape to a place where nothing and no one can disturb you? A secret garden may be just what you need. Not only will it give you the opportunity to retreat to a private space outside of your home, but it will allow you to surround yourself in the beauty and tranquility of nature.

Total immersion in a hidden garden can help you forget your worries and reconnect with nature to rejuvenate your mind, body and soul. Call it the ultimate therapy session.

No matter what your style and how you plan to use your secret garden – whether for reading, meditating or private contemplating – it will need to be designed in a way that makes it partially hidden from the rest of your property. This can be done by creating a garden within a garden using tall shrubs and trees.

secret garden design ideas
Source: Philip Nimmo Design via Houzz

When selecting the spot for your hidden garden, choose somewhere somewhat tucked away and quiet. A neglected side yard, for example, can provide the perfect enclosed area for serene secret garden. However, for some homeowners, the entire landscape can become their own private retreat where only a select few are invited to visit.

Atlanta landscape architects
Source: Dear Garden Associates, Inc. via Houzz

We love Karen Chapman‘s idea of adding to the experience of entering the secret garden by building a little suspense and mystery with a winding path that twists and turns until it suddenly opens up to a small clearing. Envision a meandering stone path, for instance, that leads to a charming gate or arbor entryway where you are then greeted by gorgeous colors and textures and a charming flagstone patio with a lush live carpet.

Atlanta landscape design
Source: Bloom Landscape Design and Fine Gardening Service via Houzz

Amidst vibrant plantings and cascading containers, your secret garden can feature an elegant fountain, a stately statue or other piece of art as the focal point and centerpiece. A bench, a pair of lounge chairs or a bistro set with a small table and chairs can be used for creating a sitting area within your secret garden.

Cashiers Landscape Architects
Source: Exteriorscapes llc via Houzz

Are you enchanted by the idea of having your own secret garden? Dargan Landscape Architects in Atlanta can help you achieve the secret garden you thought only existed in movies and dreams. Contact us at 404.231.3889 to set up your design consultation. We can work with you virtually or in person and look forward to helping you create a space where you can Let Nature Speak!

For more information on creating a timeless landscape design or a secret garden, check out Mary Palmer’s book, Timeless Landscape Design.

Landscape Design Inspiration – Hidcote Manor & Garden

We encourage homeowners to look at different gardens around the world to draw inspiration for their own landscapes. There are so many gorgeous spaces that offer unique selections of plants, flowers and textures that appeal to the senses. One that we are very fond of is Hidcote Manor & Garden, a National Trust Garden located in Cotswolds, not too far from Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

A garden at Hidcote as seen in Timeless Landscape Design

Hidcote is a product of the very talented American horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston. He created this masterpiece throughout the first half of the twentieth century around his Tudor-style home. From 1907 to 1914, Johnston concentrated on developing the gardens closest to his home. His most significant works during that period include the Maple, Fuchsia and White Gardens, along with the Bathing Pool. These spaces were designed formally by intention.

Pool, Hidcote Manor gardens by G E Jeal
Source: © Copyright G E Jeal and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Over the next six years, Johnston began creating garden rooms, featuring designs heavily influenced by classic French and Italian styles. He also designed a space called “Mrs. Winthrop’s Garden,” featuring a Mediterranean theme. During this time, Johnston also created the plans for numerous pavilions and the Stilt Garden, which form part of a corridor along the west end of the house.

Mrs Winthrop's Garden by David Stowell
Source: © Copyright David Stowell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

In the decades that followed, Johnston continued to expand the gardens, adding the Long Walk and the Pillar Garden, before finally presenting the National Trust with Hidcote in 1948. Now, visitors come to Hidcote by the thousands each year to marvel in Johnston’s works, which are “always full of surprises.”

Hidcote Manor garden by Jerry Evans
Source: © Copyright Jerry Evans and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

What inspires us most from Hidcote is its utilization of permanent color all year long, as well as how this garden is set up to create vistas and inward views beyond the enclosed garden rooms. As stated in our book, Timeless Landscape Design, Hidcote’s “level of horticulture is unsurpassed, with borders in theme colors, hidden rooms, the use of form, repetition, and focalization.” In just a few words, Hidcote is simply breathtaking.

Are the elements of Hidcote or another garden inspiring your thoughts for your own garden oasis? Contact Dargan Landscape Architects, and let us know what you’d like to see in your landscape. Either in person or virtually, we can take what you find inspiring and create a master plan or a tune-up for your own personal retreat.

Essential Design Principles of Timeless Landscape Design – Part 2

As we previously shared, there are several design principles that must be taken into consideration in order to develop a timeless landscape. In the first part of this series, we covered axial relationships;  focalization; symmetry and asymmetry; and repetition and rhythm. Today, we’ll continue our discussion on the principles of landscape design by taking a look at light and shadow; proportion and scale; and reflection.

Light and shadow, like color, often establish certain feelings or emotions within a landscape. Oftentimes, these can occur naturally, such as light filtering through the leaves and onto a garden floor in a pattern that is ever changing. Playing with light and shadow is a great way to create a serene and peaceful area one can retreat to at the end of a day.

light and shadow

In residential landscape design, proportion is used to develop “harmonious spatial relationships between the parts of a design and the whole.” More simply put, proportion is what helps create cohesiveness within the landscape. Scale refers to the size of certain elements in the landscape in relation to where it’s been placed. Sometimes we notice that elements of a landscape have been under-scaled – meaning objects are too small for their surroundings – or that they are out of scale, or too big for the area. Choosing appropriately-scaled elements for a landscape is essential in creating a balanced space.

proportion and scale

Reflective qualities add so much to a landscape’s character and can also be used to set the area’s mood, bringing depth, mystery and drama to the space. The reflection of light in a landscape, especially when it’s reflected across water, instantly attracts the eye and adds life not only to the landscape, but the entire property as well.

reflection

The design principles of axial relationships; focalization; symmetry and asymmetry; repetition and rhythm; light and shadow; proportion and scale; and reflection are all necessary to create a timeless landscape design to enjoy for years to come. Contact Dargan Landscape Architects today to learn how we can help you develop a master plan or a tune-up for your property. We work with clients in all locations and can meet with you in person or virtually to discuss your needs and start planning your landscape’s new look.

For more information on creating a timeless landscape and to see further examples of these design principles at work, take a look at Mary Palmer’s book, Timeless Landscape Design.

Essential Design Principles of Timeless Landscape Design – Part 1

As we’ve previously discussed, the four visual tools of landscape design – lines, color, form and texture – are some of the most powerful elements of a landscape because of what they add to the space visually. However, there are still other landscape design principles that are essential for creating the perfect space to call your own. These principles, which include axial relationships; focalization; symmetry vs. asymmetry; repetition and rhythm; light and shadow; proportion and scale; and reflection, play an important role not only in how a landscape looks, but also in “describ[ing] why a garden visually works.”

Let’s take a closer look at each.

Axial relationships have a very profound effect on landscapes. They are generally created when a pathway or a line of trees extends from its starting point to a visual focal point at the other end. Cross-axial designs are created as two lines intersect, and in many cases, create the structural foundation for the space. Axial and cross-axial designs have tremendous power in directing the eyes to certain visual elements of a garden, and are extremely useful in distracting the eyes from an unattractive area of the garden.

axial relationships

Focalization is the technique we use to make “order out of chaos” by giving the eyes a point their line of sight can be funneled to. These focal points can be as simple as a planter filled with colorful blooms or as extravagant as a statue or a one-of-a-kind fountain. Focalization can also be used to frame a view and is almost always included in axial and cross-axial designs.

focalization

In landscape design, symmetry and asymmetry are often associated with order and chaos. Symmetry, or order, is achieved by striking a balance of shape, form and volume on both sides of the centerpiece of the garden or along an axis. Symmetry is a hallmark feature of most formal, traditional gardens, while asymmetrical designs are generally found in those with Asian or contemporary influences.

symmetry

Similar forms repeated at either regular or irregular intervals create rhythmic results in a garden. When these forms repeat in a single direction, the rhythmic movement created grows stronger. This technique creates harmony and unity within the space. One of the most common examples of repetition and rhythm in landscape design is the incorporation of boxwoods. However, clipped cedars are also useful in incorporating this principle of design, as they add authority and sophistication.

repetition

We’ll take a closer look at the design principles of light and shadow; proportion and scale; and reflection in the near future, so stay tuned for more.

And if you’re in need of assistance in incorporating principles like these into your garden oasis, contact Dargan Landscape Architects. Virtually or in person, we can help you create a master plan or a tune-up for your garden. Contact us for more information. Also, for more information on these principles of landscape design, check out Mary Palmer’s book, Timeless Landscape Design. 

Four Visual Tools of Landscape Design

Flowers, plants and trees all play a very important role in the way a landscape looks. However, the most important, if not most powerful, elements are those that give the landscape depth, dimension and energy. The four basic tools of visual art for landscape design include lines, color, form and texture.

Lines are important because they help shape the landscape, as well as establish its purpose. Lines can be represented as rows of plants, such as hedges or an allée of trees, in addition to the line of a curving or straight pathway.

line

Color is perhaps the most exciting element to work with because it can be as extravagant or simple as you wish for it to be. Varying shades of green create the backdrop upon which floral selections ranging from vivid brights to deep, rich hues can be splashed about to energize the overall look. Or, a monochromatic color scheme can be used for a more calm and relaxed feeling.

color

Every part of a landscape has form, whether its form is horizontal, vertical, linear, curving, or symmetrical, to name a few. Certain elements of your landscape will be selected specifically for the distinctive form they bring to the space. For instance, Italian cypresses are often chosen for landscapes that are inspired by gardens found in Italy. Other elements that add to a landscape’s form include the delicately manicured lawn, stone features like urns and even topiaries trimmed to look like a whimsical creature.

form

And finally, there’s texture. Texture in a landscape is best explained as representing the relationship between the size of a plant’s leaves, the size of the space they will occupy, and other textures nearby. Plant textures are categorized as large, often seen in magnolias and hydrangeas; medium, found in plants like camellia and ivy; and fine, represented in grasses like zoysia and plants with daintier leaves.

texture

Other elements of the landscape, such as stone and brick, are considered important textural elements as well. Often times, plants and building materials like these are selected to have similar textures to help define the landscape at hand and further enhance the spirit of the space.

These four art elements of landscape design, lines, color, form and texture, are the basic visual tools needed to create a garden or landscape that will withstand the test of time. If you’re interested in learning more about these elements and how they can improve your landscape, contact Dargan Landscape Architects! We would love to assist you, either virtually or in person, in creating a turn-up or master plan for your property.