Designing a Landscape for Your Unique Personality
Select a landscape design that match the look and feel of your home and still reflects your style.
An important decision to make before starting your new landscape project is selecting a landscape design style that best matches the look and feel of your home and still reflects your unique personality. This is the best way to create unity between your home and garden.
Below are samples of various landscape design styles to find some possibilities that may work for you and your home.
Formal Style:
Formal landscape design heavily depends on straight lines and geometrical shapes. The plantings are orderly and pruned neatly pruned to maintain their formal effect. The Georgian garden would reflect this style and would easily fall under this category.
Informal Style:
Informal landscape design is the exact opposite of the formal style. A more relaxed feel is achieved by using curved lines and irregular shapes. The plantings are massed in a more informal manner creating a naturalistic appearance.
Tuscan Style:
The roots of Tuscan landscaping came from the region of Tuscany located in southern Italy. This style creates an Old World ambiance reminiscent of the Italian countryside. The use of stone, old brick, wrought iron, heavy wooden beams and authentic Tuscan plants are typical of this style.
Italian Style:
An increasingly popular trend in Mediterranean regions is the creation of ecological Italian gardens. These gardens are designed with nature as opposed to the more classical "Palazzo" landscape design style which has its roots in the Italian Renaissance period.
Mediterranean Style:
There are many styles that fit neatly under this regional heading. Given its name partly from the climate, the Mediterranean landscape design style includes Tuscan, Andalusian, Santa Barbara Revival, Moroccan and French Country styles.
English Garden Style:
English garden design often is a blend of formal and informal styles. The cottage garden and country garden are similar examples of this casual style. The practice of mass layering using country garden plants confined within low hedge borders is a very common in this romantic garden style.
Tropical Style:
A well designed tropical garden can be very beautiful. Typically made up of plants with very large leaves and flowers with intense color. Lush foliage builds in height towards the back of the garden creating a dense planting area.
Asian Style:
This Asian style of garden design tries to mimic nature on a small scale. The informality of nature plays a dominate role here. Oriental gardens often incorporate the art of fung shui with it's nine zones that helps to instill a sense of peace and balance to one’s life.
Contemporary Style:
Modern landscape design has been quickly gaining ground in popularity. Clean lines, bold patterns and new use of materials all play a part is this fresh style. Mass planting in large groups and the use of abstract specimens are common practice.
Desert Style:
This landscape design style can be so beautiful and full of life. And the popular Southwest style is no exception but these designs require proper planning to ensure their success. The use of drought tolerant and native plants are highly recommended.
Xeriscape Style:
This form of design incorporates the practice of water conservation and is sometimes called "Natural style". Natural woodlands are a good example of this style. Xeriscape is commonly used in many coastal gardens and urban landscape projects
The above examples are just some of the more popular garden design styles. New and unique styles can be created by combining two or more styles, creating a fusion effect.
Since 1993, Susan Friedman Landscape Architecture has worked with hundreds of happy clients, engaging with them in our collaborative design process. Everyone has a unique story, so each of their designs provides a unique solution. The results are beautiful outdoor spaces that reflect their clients’ individual tastes and architectural styles.
At Susan Friedman Landscape Architecture we bring our clients closer to nature, community and themselves through communication, education and sharing our love of human relationships with the built and natural worlds.
For more information, call Susan Friedman Landscape Architecture at 925-806-0643 or visit them at www.susanfriedmanlandscape.com today.
