Lay of the Landscape: Theme Gardens

When it comes to deciding what you want your landscape to look like, it is great to have a starting point. Exploring the different styles of gardens which have evolved over time and throughout the world will give you an idea of what works best for you. Learning the components that comprise a landscape style can help you recreate that look on your space.

That is great if you want a particular style of garden. But there is another alternative– the theme backyard. It might be a quiet sanctuary, a reflection of colors you love or an outside version of your interior decorating style. It might also be something completely different, perhaps a recreation of a youth dream garden or a tribute to your favourite plants or preferred game. Or it may be something that’s simply and uniquely your own.

Theme gardens may be any size, from an whole plot of land to a little corner. It is nice if they fit with the rest of the style, but that is not crucial. Should they make you happy, that is all you need.

The list of potential theme gardens is endless, only limited by your imagination. But here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Deborah Cerbone Associates, Inc..

The shade garden. Dealing with a particular color scheme is probably among the easiest ways to make a garden distinctively your own. They say white is the absence of color, but it is the component. Additionally, it is a classic look.

Style suggestion: A green and white color scheme visually cools a backyard on a hot summer afternoon.

Noland Landscape Design

If bright and bright is the style, look to yellows, oranges and reds to spice up your backyard. They also hold up against intense sunlight.

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

Purples and blues produce a relaxed retreat, especially welcome at the end of a hectic workweek. If you want a bit more shade, pink is a logical choice, but orange is likely to make a more powerful statement.

Style suggestion: Whether your taste runs to trendy colors or hot, including a single plant with a flower color from the opposite side of the color wheel will include punch and a focal point towards your space.

Glenna Partridge Garden Design

A green backyard, which is determined by foliage rather than blooms to provide the color, can nevertheless be surprisingly intricate. Even inside the single-color guideline, you’ll locate foliage and flowers which vary from yellow to grey and everything in between.

Debora carl landscape design

The collector’s backyard. Sometimes a lone plant captures your fancy; occasionally it is a family of crops. Either way, feature that fire in your backyard design. In this case, it is a mix of succulents, thoughtfully placed to underline the uniqueness of each form of plant while still fitting together in a seamless fashion.

Margie Grace – Grace Design Associates

Traditional rose gardens let you show off plants while streamlining care — it is simpler to deadhead roses or offer essential nourishment and water when each plant in a space has the same care requirements. They are also stunning when in full blossom, and they are a featured element in traditional garden design.

Style suggestion: Don’t feel bound by convention. Roses are also at home when sprinkled through the garden, such as your vegetable patch. After all, a few varieties have petals and shoulders which are edible.

Studio H Landscape Architecture

The refuge garden. While many people locate gardens inherently relaxing, creating a spot specifically designed for that purpose may draw you to the space more often.The key to the space is the easy, almost minimalist, look. There’s a touch of a Zen approach, yet this look will combine with a number of garden styles.

Devall Designs & Home

A meditation spot like this can serve several purposes: a sitting place, a dining room, a perch with a perspective and, with all the furniture moved, a lovely spot for yoga on a tranquil day.

Design suggestion: Even in the event that you don’t have a great view, you can easily tuck a little pavilion to a corner of your backyard.

Saint Dizier Design

A meditation garden outside a breakfast nook makes sure that your day will begin peacefully and calmly, even if it doesn’t end like that.

Daryl Toby – AguaFina Gardens International

Meditation doesn’t necessarily mean inactivity. A simple feature like this meditation walk would be really a garden focal point and a way to focus your thoughts. Notice how the size of these stones goes from small to large as you move to the inside of the circle.

My Romantic Home

The romantic garden. There’s nothing wrong with a normal patio dining set complete with umbrella, a tiny wrought-iron table or perhaps a picnic bench setup. After all, these are outside classics because of this. But don’t stop there. If shabby chic is the indoor style, take it outside, with linens, pillows and fresh-cut flowers from the garden. It may not be practical for everyday use, but it is ideal for a tea party.

Amazon

Forget about the lattice overhead and put in exotic flair with softly draped panels which evoke the feeling of a luxurious tent. The rug underfoot adds to the ambiance, as do the pillows. There’s color, but enough light filters to keep the space from feeling too closed in and dim.

Design suggestion: Recreating this look is rather simple — you just need supports to the cloth and long sheets of fabric. However, be sure to attach the fabric firmly to the supports or it may blow away to land on different parts of your backyard.

Kristen Rudger Landscape Design

The drama backyard. Juggling play space and garden design can be challenging. You are often left with a swingset in the center of your yard and a sand pit where your conversation pit. Rather than putting play constructions in a safe spot and hoping for the best, incorporate them into the whole design.

Design suggestion: Matching the timber and the plan of the play structure to the timber of the fence and bench helps pull everything together.

Noland Landscape Design

In what otherwise could be an adult area, a bright, child-friendly dining table and chairs make a fun spot for small fry.

This wall serves two purposes. By day, it is a way to practice your climbing holds. By night (or if not in use), it is a bright accent in an otherwise neutral area.

Style suggestion: Matching random squares of the patio to the color of the wall will be really a fun touch.

Harold Leidner Landscape Architects

For chess fanatics, what can be greater than your very own giant chessboard? It might not be quite Harry Potter size, but it is still large enough that it’s easy to watch the action even when you’re not standing next to it.

It is a touch of paradise: a tropical beach in the center of a Chicago yard. It might not be large, but using a hammock, chair and umbrella, plus a great deal of sand, what more do you need? The owner says it holds up under winter snow without any negative effects.

Design suggestion: The proprietor simply rakes the area once a week to remove debris such as fallen leaves, but you might want to cover the area or put in chicken cable just under the sand to keep out both debris and the local cats.

Between Naps on the Porch

The amazing backyard. The majority of us have a desire to personalize some aspect of our area — a few of us are just more obvious about it. Still, it’s difficult to resist this backyard bed (in all senses of the phrase).

Design suggestion: Although this looks casual, you’ll need to plan ahead to keep this look moving. Beneath the mass of flowers is a solid, soil-filled enclosure between the posts of the bedframe. You will also need to water regularly to maintain the bed in blossom.

Exteriorscapes llc

Standard garden features, like this bench, take on fresh life with a bright shade. The coordinating spikes past in the planting bed ensure that this garden corner will not be dismissed.

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