Nov 13, 2016

Landscape Design: The Principles and Elements of Landscaping

A good landscape design is characterized by various elements and principles. You may opt to borrow or come up with own ideas for your landscape designs. Most people assume that the principles and elements are a must have for your design. They are meant to guide you but not restrict. Therefore, do not shy away from using your creativity to spice up the process. This article will outline some of the important elements and principles that can help you to come up with an excellent landscape design.

In any form of art, simplicity is among the basic principles that you are encouraged to use. Especially if you are a beginner, use the simple concepts to learn the complex ones. You can keep your décor within a specific theme, maintaining consistency and simplicity.


The concept of unity is brought about by repetition and consistency. It is the ultimate goal in landscape design. Through repetition, you can achieve unity by applying similar elements such as plant groups, plants or decor. On the other hand, consistency can be emphasized through characters such as height, size, color schemes and texture. Coming up with themes will also help in attaining simplicity. When creating a garden theme, it is best when you stick what you are passionate about; it will be easy to execute. You can use one or more elements to attain unity in your landscape design in a harmonious way.


When you are coming up with a landscape design, using bright colors such as orange, red and yellow can help in bringing the object closer to you. It is a way of adding dimensions of interests and real life to the landscape. You can also opt for cool colors such as blue and green. Such colors will draw the object far from you. Neutral colors such as white, black and grey are best applied in the background when dealing with bright colors in the foreground. Alternatively, you can decide to use coarse and dark textured plants in the foreground while you apply the lighted colored and fine textured plants in the background. This will assist in increasing landscape depth.


When you are dealing with landscape design, attaining a sense of equality is important. In landscape design, there are two types of balance. That is, asymmetrical and symmetrical. Under the symmetrical balance, less or more equally spaced matching elements of the design are used. For instance, you can splash paint on a piece of paper and then fold it into two to achieve the symmetrical balance. This design tends to give a reflection or mirror image. On the other hand, asymmetrical balance is more complex. You may opt to hold elements such as colors, textures and forms constant to attain unity but make random hardscapes. In such a case, the themes used are different.  A good example is the difference in the sides of a pavement,


This refers to the relations among elements. You can design your landscape to meet the proper proportion. It is an important element in landscape design that requires planning.

Natural Transition

This element is often applied to prevent abrupt or radical changes in the landscape design. It is often applied in all elements of landscape design. The transition should be gradual in a natural way. This concept is used to create illusions such as standing out or bringing the object in closer.

In conclusion, we all have different priorities that will affect our landscape design. You should use some of these factors to achieve what you want in your design.

Written by Boulder Creek Lawn & Landscape, the best service for landscaping in Jefferson City, MO.

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