Like any business, the concept of landscape design is based on certain postulates. By violating them, you can destroy an already existing natural composition and instead create nothing worthwhile, constructing a kind of piles that are incompatible in style.
Therefore, before decorating a landscape design on your site, you should rely on certain rules - a kind of "code of laws" of art, located at the junction of four directions (architecture, plant growing, history and philosophy).
Universal landscape design techniques
There are several versatile design tricks that can help make your garden more beautiful and solve many problems at the same time.
They can be used without prior preparation, "here and now."
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"Eskimo Design"... A garden can be made visually larger by applying a technique known as Eskimo design. It is believed that the Eskimos used this little trick to visually push the boundaries of their modest dwellings. The method consists in dividing the space into many small bright details, turning it into a kind of "mosaic".
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"Print effect"... Using it, you can dissolve the boundaries of a fence or any other unwanted object. Plants are planted nearby with flowers of a certain color, say, red, and with variegated flowers, but those in which the color of the first group of plants is present. Example: combinations of phlox with raspberry flowers and phlox with variegated, white-crimson flowers.
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"Papuan Design"... If you need to make a large object less visible, use "Papuan design" - a technology that will make a large space cohesive and cozy. It includes many techniques, but the main one is a combination of a dark background with bright accents. Choose a dark paint for the fence and other buildings, and then plant around the plant with bright flowers, preferably red, yellow and orange. Plant some plants with dark flowers and foliage to support the composition.
The technique of landscape design called "mirroring" allows the garden to look especially harmonious. Pay attention to the views outside your garden. Repeat certain elements of what you see on your site. If you see a lake in the distance, a pond will be especially good on the site, if a river - a stream, if a birch grove - planting birches, if a hilly landscape - a rock garden. The principle is this: the surrounding nature should be reflected on your site, like in a mirror.
"Borderline" method of landscape design
All garden areas should have boundaries. Dense screens and screens are not always needed. The "border" method of landscape design dictates the following rules: in small areas, solid partitions look heavy, and openwork, light ones are much better suited - after all, you just need to mark the border. You can even mark the beginning of a new zone with a separate large decorative item or even a huge boulder. An unusual tree or shrub often acts as a "border guard".
Any boundaries must be correctly located - at the points of transition from one zone of the site to another, at the places of their "docking". But there can be many such places, and in order to choose a "strategic" point, check a few points. First, this place should be readable from different parts of the garden. Secondly, it must satisfy practical requirements: the partition should stand where its presence creates coziness and forms a good microclimate, which means that its location depends on how the resting place is planned in a given area, what objects and plantings it is filled with. Thirdly, the partition should not obscure the beautiful view that opens from the territory of a specific zone of the garden. If you are using a container as a zoning medium, it is best to make it in the same color as the flowers of the plant growing in it.
Design tricks: tracks and corners
Design a track configuration with little expansion at the beginning and end. This visually expands the boundaries of the site.
Use the corners of the plot - it is beautiful and practical, and it also allows you to visually enlarge the plot. This method is also known as the "cat method" because acts on the principle: "in each corner of the cat, opposite each cat - three cats." The method works great on any small volume, freeing up the maximum amount of space.
Interesting things worth emphasizing. If there are interesting geometric shapes and lines in the garden, try to emphasize them.
How to decorate the entrance area in landscape design
Particular attention should be paid to the design of the entrance area. The first impression is the strongest.
Don't show the entire garden at once. There must be intrigue in the garden. We must try not to see the entire site - its beauty should be revealed gradually, the landscape should be unhurriedly unfolding. It is imperative to place something in every corner: a bench, an unusual or fragrant plant, a sculpture, etc. leading to them should be winding.
Bizarre shapes on the site look bad. By placing complex objects, you run the risk that it will be impossible to examine them in detail - part of the exhibit will be hidden from view, besides, extravagance moves us away from natural, natural forms and may look "overkill". Always choose simplicity and naturalness: a slightly curved shape at one or two points, preferably oval - slightly elongated, widened or narrowed.
Basic rules of landscape design
When decorating your garden plot, rely on the basic rules of landscape design:
1. Use volumetric optical effects. In order for the site to visually appear larger, the garden pond needs to be filled with water not to the top, but just below the sides (by 2-3 cm). Make the border of the pond visually narrower by sprinkling it with stones or pebbles.
2. For some garden objects, there are ideal proportions. So, the reservoir should not occupy less than 1/5 of the area of \u200b\u200bthe site area, which you see simultaneously with it. Note that the same subject can be viewed from different areas at the same time, so balance the composition by looking at the largest “picture”.
3. Use the opposite method. This method will help balance out non-standard areas - for example, too narrow and long. If your site has a rectangular shape, choose an angular, diagonal layout, as the correct shape is better not a square, but a rhombus, etc. The option with soft shapes is also suitable: design winding paths, oval rest areas or fluid, irregular, wavy shape. All of the above applies to any site objects. Due to their soft shapes and diagonal arrangement on the site, sharp corners can be visually "rounded". This method can be applied locally: for example, if your site has separate inconvenient areas with sharp corners or narrowed ones.
4. Use a similar method. If your site has a complex, irregular layout, a bizarre shape with many sharp contractions and extensions, you can fix these shortcomings by applying a similar method. Try to make all the lines of your layout repeat the outlines of your site, be in tune with them. So, if your site has a "wavy" or rounded shape, the straight lines of the tracks will create a sense of dissonance. On the contrary, winding lines will support the composition, and it will look harmonious - after all, there are no perfectly correct forms in nature either. The layout of the site as a whole sets the pattern, consistency, "explains" the configuration of the garden. The ideal solution for the option discussed above is a round gazebo, oval paving, and the like. If your style requires the presence of geometrically correct objects, enter an element that will connect the two types of shapes (for example, a square can be inscribed in a circle, etc.).
5. Use a fence to visually widen narrow passages. It often happens that narrow aisles on a site are adjacent to a fence, and this visually reduces the site, creates the impression of being cramped. To avoid this, first, do not design paths perpendicular to such dead ends. Secondly, paint the fence a light color and decorate it with as many plants as possible, best of all with variegated light foliage and flowers. Plant white flowers, make mesh inserts in the fence, strengthen light arches in some parts of the fence and let climbing plants flow through them, which bloom best. One of the most "powerful" techniques is to fix large or medium-sized mirrors on a wall or fence in some places, but a group of small ones is also possible, and they need to be fixed not flat, but slightly at an angle, obliquely.
Lighting rules in landscape design
Light the garden correctly - this is an essential part of its image Lighting rules in landscape design say: it is better to illuminate the garden with separate "islands", and not evenly. There must be some kind of mystery, play, contrast of light and shadow. Highlight, highlight with light all the most beautiful places in the garden, beautiful structures, retaining walls, podiums, reservoirs, stone compositions, and, of course, the most spectacular plants. In short, you have to determine which objects should attract the most attention.
The light should fall from the side of the observer - so that it does not irritate the eyes or distort the landscape.
If you want to create special effects with plants, use colored light, and white or yellow to emphasize their natural beauty.
A tree or tall shrub illuminates completely.
If you want to highlight not only a corner of the landscape, but also its specific details, use a not too bright spotlight and spot lighting together.
If you want to emphasize the depth of the space, use bright light in the foreground and diffuse light in the background.
In terms of design, the best option is to have different types of fixtures. The more varied the lighting, the richer the impression of the site.
In addition, the most advantageous solution is to place the luminaires at different levels. It is ideal if they are of various heights, classic and built-in, "floor" for paving, suspended and wall. The more "dimensions" of light, the better.
If you want to illuminate, the light source must be in the back. Direct the stream of light so that the streams of falling water shine beautifully. Accentuate the beautiful line of a walkway or landing with a string of lights.
Camouflage concept in landscape design
Use the concept of camouflage actively in landscape design. In the garden, masking is one of the most pressing problems when working with any landscape. Even if you start creating a composition on a newly acquired plot, there are areas that you would like to hide. Needless to say about the already inhabited spaces!
On any site there are many objects that annoyingly nullify all good impressions, do not correspond to the composition and style of the garden, give the impression of sloppiness, neglect, unfinished business. Old foundations, massive monotonous fences, temporary buildings, sheds are just a few of the possible "unsightly" objects. However, it is not always possible to abandon household facilities - it is better to disguise them.
Garden camouflage techniques will allow you to both completely hide objects and decorate them in order to then "fit" into the overall concept of the site.
Of course, the deposits of garbage and various scrap definitely need to be cleared. Clutter has no place on the site! Sort out whatever you want to keep, and throw away the rest without regret.
Of course, this is not about re-designing your life completely. It is unlikely that a garden can make another person out of its owner. Rather, designed contrary to the habit of the owners, it will be inconvenient, and nothing more. Therefore, the rule about the adaptation of the garden to people, of course, remains in force. But, following it, introspection cannot be avoided, and if so, why not at the same time revise your relationships with the outside world and try to improve them? Let's start first: How does your garden entrance affect you and your guests?
Returning home, it is helpful to leave discontent and irritation at the door. Relax! Do not exacerbate stress by acting out at home. You can rush into the house without noticing anything around, continuing to experience misunderstanding of the bosses, the whims of clients and the mistakes of subordinates. Or you can look around the welcoming space at the entrance, breathe in the evening freshness of the garden and say to yourself: "I'm finally home!"
On the way home, many of us do not have enough time to gradually let go of worries, as well as thoughts and images that can displace unnecessary things from our heads. The entrance zone, "charged" with a chain of positive impressions, will help to switch the mood. Try to make the garden greet you from a distance. Where does the entrance to the site become visible when you return home? Here let the first view of the "outer" garden, located in front of the gate, open.
Usually this is a narrow strip of space between the hedge and the road, and all you can do here is plant trees and bushes that beautifully frame the entrance. If there is no direct road to the entrance and it becomes visible at the last moment, look for a place for a tall tree - maybe it will be clearly visible from afar.
We usually return home after dark, so the lighting in the outside garden is important. Not in any village it is possible to place decorative lamps in the open area, but make at least a street lamp that floods the area in front of the entrance with light. The most pleasant is yellow light, it is associated with comfort, pleasantly "warms" the landscape in cold weather. Such light is produced by lamps with a color code from 827 to 830, for example, halogen or metal halide. Don't leave the garden gate in a dusk that heightens anxiety.
The monotony is boring. Better if changes take place in the outer garden. For example, on Fridays do you usually have dinner with the whole family in the living room while watching a good comedy? Special "Friday" lighting will create a good mood, remind you that loved ones, goodies and entertainment are waiting at home. It's good if you can attach a festive decor at the entrance - New Year's decorations, balloons.
Between the entrance to the plot and the house, there is usually an entrance zone - a modern front garden. When choosing a design for it, try to make it contrast favorably with the environment outside. When we pass through any door, the instinct of self-preservation "adds volume" to all our senses. During the first seconds, we acutely perceive changes in temperature, smells, sounds, and they can lead us to both a depressed and an elated mood.
For example, on a summer evening it is very pleasant to get from the heat and dust of the street into a humid, shady cool area. If the front garden is facing south or west, perhaps shady trees will help you here - deciduous trees are better, which do not create a gloomy shadow in winter. A great idea is to plant fragrant plants in front of the house (if you work during the day, choose petunia, matthiola two-horned, honeysuckle, honeysuckle, linden, lobularia).
A pleasant looking, psychologically charged picture will be created by a miniature recreation area with a bench and a table - with it the space will seem more habitable and comfortable. At the same time, there will be somewhere to seat a neighbor who has dropped in "for five minutes" (it is not customary to talk while standing on the doorstep, and if you invite her into the house, you know what).
It is no coincidence that many are now fascinated by traditional rural-style front gardens: they remind of childhood, create an atmosphere of security and peace. In the entrance area everything that is associated with home comfort will work perfectly: plants in containers, furniture, well-groomed flower beds. Each of us can make our own list of "iconic" images, and the longer you think about it, the more examples you will find.
Any suburban area that is owned requires development: the construction of a house and outbuildings, a garden and a vegetable garden, the arrangement of a recreation area and the construction of enclosing structures. However, not a single private house or summer cottage is complete without the most important organizational zone - the entrance, the place where the owners, their friends and relatives, guests and just visitors first of all get. At the same time, all entrance areas require competent design, including garage doors, a gate and, of course, the entrance to the site.
Many summer residents and owners of country cottages often have to think about how to uniquely design an entrance to a personal plot, because it is he who first of all catches the eye when visiting a garden, on vacation or when receiving guests.
Design principles
Usually, the entrance area to the garden consists of several fundamental elements:
- directly entrance;
- wickets, gates or blind doors to the garden;
- paths leading from the entrance to the house to the beginning of the garden;
- the actual doors to the building.
To create a single integrated solution and a positive atmosphere, all details, colors and materials for the design of this space must be selected in the same style. Before you uniquely design the entrance to the personal plot, you need to analyze the features of landscape design and decorative finishing of the house and the surrounding area.
If the garden is fenced with a metal fence with an author's, original forging, then the gate is selected in the same style. Wooden carved structures can be combined with heavy products made of rough metal, stylized to be antique and aged. For a house and a fence built of red brick, structures made of metal and wood, or combined products that combine two materials at the same time, will equally organically fit.
The only exceptions are ethnic styles or a highly specialized country direction. But even in such styles, you can find unusual design solutions, using metal tinting under aged copper or a stylish, trendy fence and a wattle fence today. Clay household items or metal parts hung on enclosing structures can give originality to such structures.
Decorating
Planting a hedge of low-growing trees or evergreen bushes at the entrance to the site is today the most popular and fashionable type of landscape zoning. An elegant picket fence painted pure white is perfect for such a "green" fence. Structures made of thin metal rods tinted with silver or gold paint will also look exquisite. Such products give the site originality and exclusivity, transparency and lightness.
Planning and arrangement of the path
The next element is the path to the porch of the house from the entrance to the garden. It is advisable to plan its placement along the shortest route. Some design solutions include gentle curves along the path to the house, which are stylishly emphasized by lanterns or decorative borders. In accordance with the theory of the feng shui teaching that is fashionable today, it is the bends and smooth transitions that can attract positive energy from the outside to the premises, which is favorable for all family members.
Undoubtedly, even the smallest path leading from the gate to the front door of the house should be beautiful and picturesque. Both the atmosphere in the garden and the atmosphere in the house depend on the design of this path. A special role in decoration of the entrance area plays and selected plants.
Arrangement of the entrance area on the site Is a rather troublesome occupation, since it is the business card of the owner of the building and the garden plot. It is she who "meets" and "sees off" all the guests and, which is important, creates a certain mood and impression of the owner. This fact determines a responsible and creative approach to the design of the entrance area. Of course, it should match the style of the entire house and garden area. So, the entrance area should be in harmony with, the material and color of which should organically fit into the surrounding space. The strong contrast, both in terms of color and overall style, will certainly spoil the first impression somewhat.
A light one involves installing a door in light pastel colors, and a darker facade means installing brown or black doors. So, having correctly selected the front door, you can go to the visual decorating the entrance area with plants.
Entrance zone style
As a rule, the entrance area is decorated with plants in accordance with the general style of the garden, however, there are exceptions when the entrance area contrasts significantly with the design of the rest of the site. Such a touch requires special skill, good taste, deep knowledge of landscape design and a sense of proportion. If, nevertheless, you adhere to the general style, then all landscape and architectural elements must be maintained in it. Surely a matter of choice entrance area design style
faces each owner of a residential building and, in order to choose the most optimal option, you should familiarize yourself with the most common solutions.
So, lovers of summer cottages are ideally suited for people who want to take a break from the noisy city, calm down and plunge into the atmosphere of childhood. This style is chosen by the owners of plots with a fairly calm relief. The flower solution is usually simple, in addition, there is a touch of slight negligence. To create an entrance area in this style, fruit trees must be present, at least in the amount of several pieces. Their bloom in the spring creates an amazing atmosphere of comfort and warmth. Flowering shrubs and perennial plants will enhance the nostalgic motive.
Bushes of lilacs, hydrangeas, rose hips or mock-mushrooms will look great at the very entrance or adjacent fence. The veranda and the path leading to the house can be decorated with small plants with "grandmother's" - phlox, peonies, geraniums, asters.
Another interesting solution would be natural garden, that is, the design of the entrance area and the entire garden area in a style as close as possible to natural conditions and natural surroundings. For the entrance zone in this style, plants of those forms and species that grow in their natural environment and are more traditional for the Russian garden are quite characteristic.
A bright and attractive accent will be the front garden near the entrance to the house, where bells, asters, phloxes, stonecrop, nivyanik can be planted. The predominance of shade in this area of \u200b\u200bthe garden allows you to plant beautiful shade-tolerant perennial plants, for example, badan, hostu, aquilegia. In addition, the entrance area can be decorated with a trellis entwined with maiden grapes, which will give a pleasant shade on hot summer days. A garden swing will be a nice addition.
To hide the house from the hustle and bustle of the street, thickets of elderberry, Irga canadian or hazel help help. Thus, the main principles of decorating the entrance area in the style of a natural garden are naturalness and environmental friendliness.
As for the one also used in landscape design, then, according to its fundamental principles, the garden is an ethological continuation of the house, which is why it should stylistically form a single whole with the building. In this case, a patio will be quite appropriate - an open patio framed by plants.
Entrance area and patio you can decorate with a flower garden in purple tones typical for Art Nouveau, or create a border of beautiful and flowering shrubs, for example, hydrangea tree or Japanese spirea.
In such a garden it will be very useful, while it can be located directly in the entrance area. A small raised pond or wall will liven up the entrance area and make it more attractive. You can decorate the water composition with an iridarium with a variety of types of irises. recommends that the collection be solid and slightly diluted with sage or polyanthus roses. Wrought iron arches entwined with climbing roses will be quite useful. It is worth noting that when choosing plants for decorating the entrance area in the Art Nouveau style, it is best to pay attention to those of them that are distinguished by the original architectonics of the crown and the decorative color of the leaves.
An unusual and original solution will be for the design of the entrance area. Minimalism, which is relevant today for interiors, has somewhat expanded the field of its "activity" and has affected gardens. As for the vegetation design of the entrance zone, this style is characterized by mono-plantings, consisting of several types of plants and planted in separate large blocks. As an example, we can cite a group of three plant species - Cossack juniper, Ottawa barberry and sulfur spirea. In addition, single plants, in particular, Japanese scarlet, winged euonymus, will perfectly fit into the modern minimalist composition of the entrance zone.
When arranging the entrance area, you should pay great attention to the front gardens, as they allow you to create certain visual effects and are an excellent decoration for the paths leading to the house.
Front gardens at the entrance to the house
A well-designed front garden allows you to hide unsightly parts of the house or to emphasize its virtues and beauties of architecture. In addition, the front garden is an integral part of the landscape design of the entire garden. Today, there are many very different types of front gardens, which are classified by size, configuration and many other parameters.
Open and closed front gardens are worth highlighting. The open front garden is a small area decorated with decorative compositions. These compositions can include individual trees, shrubs, garden figures and, of course, flower beds. The advantage of such a front garden is that it visually makes the garden plot larger, in addition, it does not cover the entrance area of \u200b\u200bthe residential building.
A front garden with thicker thickets is considered to be closed. Forming a dense green hedge, it helps to protect the house from unnecessary noise and dirt. Thus, a little effort and imagination will turn the entrance area of \u200b\u200byour home into a real work of landscape art.
The garden is planned as an ideal place for relaxation and therefore in the eyes of others it becomes a reflection of the character and habits of the owners. And the project of the entrance zone of the garden in landscape design is a very important detail, because this is the territory from which acquaintance with it, the house and its inhabitants begins. Following the logic, the garden, its main entrance and the facade of the house should harmoniously complement each other.
The European tradition calls for giving the entrance area and the space adjacent to the house an open character. This deprives her of the privacy we are used to. It is achieved by fences with entrance gates. They are trying to revive these rather monumental structures with green spaces, paths in the style of a garden. Presentability and convenience - these are two key words that define the approach of the architects and landscape designers of Greentek company in solving this problem. Many elements should be tied together: the nature of structures and buildings, competent lighting, site and garden planning, selection of planting material and small architectural forms.
Styles of decoration of the entrance area of \u200b\u200bthe garden
Let's pay attention to the most popular styles, they are preferred by the clients of the landscape company "Greentek" (Moscow).
- Russian country style
These gardens come from childhood, which we spent at the dachas of our grandmothers. The house is located deep in the garden, paths with flower borders lead to it. It is obligatory at the entrance to the house to have a front garden, a recreation area with a swing and a rocking chair, a terrace with cozy tea parties.
The design of the entrance zone of the garden is decorated with trees: cherries, apple trees, pears. Bushes of lilacs, jasmine, lilies, planted as if slightly carelessly, in a natural order, look romantic.
- Cottage style
An option for city dwellers who are not used to giving up the benefits of civilization even outside the city. This style retains signs of architectural unity with neighboring cottages. The entrance to the territory of the cottage is functional, decorated with a porch with a wide canopy. Forging or wood panels are used as decorative elements of the fence. The entrance area to the garage, the gates of which repeat the color of the front entrance to the house, is clearly defined.
Paths and open spaces in front of the house are paved with tiles. The cottage style is the closest to the European one, therefore, the popularity of lawns, topiary, sundials in it is natural. Sheared hedges or low picket fence act as borders. A traditional New Year's tree is planted in front of the house, and rose gardens are arranged. Symmetrical flowerpots with green sculptures, flowers or ampelous plants are placed near the front porch.
- Modern
Simplicity and grace are the hallmarks of Art Nouveau. Lightness is emphasized by many details: rounded steps of stairs, twisted pergolas, forging with floral ornaments, stained glass windows, tiled tiles.
Right at the gate, paired benches are placed under the lanterns, irises, lilies, lush bushes of hydrangeas are planted there. Do not forget about the reservoir: fountains, including wall fountains, ponds with water lilies and a decorative bridge. In Art Nouveau, tunnels entwined with ivy and roses, ideally with luxurious wisterias, are warmly welcomed. The final touch is sophisticated lighting that dramatically enhances the beauty of the garden in the evening. By the way, lunar silvery gardens are characteristic of this particular style.
- Minimalism
Minimum decor, maximum expressiveness in geometric lines - this is the philosophy of minimalism. The laconicism of the image can be traced in the design of the entrance: a ramp and steps made of marble or tiles, handrails made of metal, a canopy made of plexiglass. No flowerpots, only tall cylindrical containers are appropriate. We choose succulents, cereals, silvery conifers and junipers from their plants. Combined paving is used in combination with lawns. Lighting device with remote control, the entrance gate also has it.
