The 5 Basic Elements of Landscape Architectural Design
How Matching Your Landscaping to Your Home’s Architecture Creates the Property of Your Dreams
Landscape architectural design is a blend of science, geometry and creativity. Our goal is to give customers a beautiful design that is functional for their lives. Here’s a brief overview of the five basic elements every quality landscape architect should consider:
- Lines
- Form
- Color
- Texture
- Scale
Lines: Lines can set the tone for the framework of a landscape design. If one has a symmetrical Federal style home, it may make sense to have a sidewalk coming from the street, straight to the front door. This then helps establish a formal style to the overall landscape. Conversely, bed lines of curves throughout a landscape can help give a landscape a more natural, informal feeling. The two line forms are also often mixed together.
Form: Form refers to the shapes in the landscape. Some plant forms, like as a sheared boxwood, may add to the sense of formality in a garden; such as a sheared hedge encircling a fountain. A loose Rhododendron on the other hand may give the feeling of walking in the woods.
Color: Colors play a big role in a landscape. When it comes to a landscape in front of a house, I typically like to have a backdrop of evergreens, which then provide the perfect backdrop for the flower colors of annuals and perennials.
Texture: Using a variety of different textures in a landscape can make a landscape much more interesting. A light and airy Lace-leafed Japanese Maple can add a nice sense of whimsy when contrasted with a grouping of holly shrubs.
Scale: It’s always important to keep things in proportion and know how big a plant can get. It’s often nice to frame a house with small trees. A two-to-three-story high River birch may look fine near the corner of a two or three story house. However, a birch might overwhelm a ranch-style home in scale. A smaller Jane Magnolia might be more appropriate for the ranch home.
These five basic elements of landscape architectural design are just the start to your ideal plan, but they are the foundation of a high-quality design. Your landscape architect should also have in-depth conversations with you about how you wish to use the property, any concerns you have and your aesthetic preferences.
This article was written by Mark Bambach, who offers his professional landscape architecture services to Paramount customers. His decades of experience and careful attention to homeowner dreams have transformed many Ohio landscapes. Learn more about Landscape Architect Cincinnati services from Paramount.
