Useful Design Principles To Apply In Your Residential Landscaping Projects

By William Parker


In the realms of property development, landscaping plays a critical role in determining the value of a property. To a homeowner, proper landscaping adds some functional and aesthetic appeal. The good thing is that there are several ways you can beautify your home. For instance, you can improve your backyard with a pool, outdoor kitchen, and fire feature among others. Similarly, you can improve the front yard with walkways or eco-friendly gardens. Essentially, undertaking a residential landscaping project should not be difficult if you follow the right rules. Here are the top design principles that will guide you in your projects.

One of the greatest design principles that will help you to construct beautiful gardens is the law of significant other. Essentially, this is a law that you should follow. It states that the right garden should respect horizontal and vertical space in order for people to feel enclosed. That is, the vertical space should not be more than a third of the horizontal space.

Besides this, you should also take into consideration the regulating line when placing different elements. It is assumed that there is an imaginary line that is generated by existing features. This could be the edge of a house or a tree. The line should guide you organize your design in a way that is orderly and cohesive.

The use of golden rectangles will help you in setting up the proportions. This Golden ration is a design principle that is widely seen on Great Pyramids at Giza. It states that the ratio of the long side to the sum of the short and long side is equal to the ration of the short side and the long side. Mathematically, the golden ratio is about 1: 1.6. You can apply this when laying out the patios, lawns, arbors, and terraces.

As you do plan for your project, know that size matters. Always try to go big. For instance, if you have a choice of constructing a pool shorter or longer, a staircase narrower or wider, always go with the bigger one. It might seem excessive at the moment but several years down the line time will prove you right.

When it comes to plants, always start from biggest ones to the smallest. For instance, start planting trees first, then you can consider shrubs before bring in perennials, and finally the ground cover. Practically, it would be difficult to plant a big tree, which might require several gardeners or a machine. This might require some space for maneuvering, so if you had made your bed then you will definitely damage it.

Another thing to consider when planting plants is how well you mix separate species. It is more powerful to plant in masses because it is much better to have several vegetations of the same species than having a variety of mix is a small area.

Lastly, the way your plants are planted is very important to the overall outcome. If you get it wrong - not considering the right height and pit sizes - with this one, then you will have wasted your effort in following the above principles.




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