Jupiter Landscaping involves creating an attractive outdoor environment for your home. The process incorporates both hardscape and softscaping to balance function and beauty.
Your yard’s landscaping can be a reflection of your personality and lifestyle. The elements you choose for your landscape influence its aesthetics, cost, and maintenance needs. Landscaping also includes ecosystem support by using native plants and promoting water conservation through xeriscaping.
Whether implied by the arrangement of plant material or through physical, man-made features, lines establish direction and flow within landscape design. Often, this is done by creating a pathway through the space that beckons people to explore or experience a focal point. It may be a walkway or garden path, or it could also be a row of trees or hedges that lead to a water feature or outdoor seating area.
The type of line you choose will affect how the space feels, and can elicit an emotional response from viewers. For example, straight lines tend to communicate a formal, rigid feel and create forceful movement through the space. Curved lines, on the other hand, communicate a more relaxed, natural atmosphere. They also slow the eye down to a more contemplative pace, allowing the viewer to slowly absorb and appreciate the design.
While curved lines are important to a landscape, you will also want to include some straight elements for balance and harmony. For example, if you have a walkway that is lined with curved lines, you will want to complement it with some straight pathways or rock walls. This way, you will have a balanced design that is visually appealing and easy to navigate.
Another type of line is the horizontal line, which pulls the eye across the ground plane and broadens the view. This is a great feature to use if you have a smaller garden, as it will help make it feel larger by enclosing the space. Low, horizontal lines can also be calming and restful and are an effective way to tie spaces together or separate them. For example, a short garden wall or a clean line between turf and plants can both work as a horizontal line.
There are also diagonal lines, which add a bit of dynamic flair and energy to the landscape. This type of line can be used in walkways, paths, and flower beds to add interest and depth. They are also a great way to draw the eye away from a feature and toward other areas in the garden.
Form
Landscapes use shape to create a feeling or to bring attention to particular elements. Form contrasts with lines in that it considers the overall three-dimensional shape of elements. Form may be expressed through plants or through built structures like pergolas and arbors.
Plants have different shapes depending on their species and growing conditions. Form is also impacted by the style of pruning or trimming. For example, a formal garden may use tightly clipped hedges while an informal garden uses looser, more natural forms. Form is often a component of the overall theme for the landscape design, such as a traditional or contemporary feel.
Form can be combined with line to create a balanced landscape. For instance, a curvilinear design approach is ideal for sweeping landscapes that require large curved paths to guide the eye through the property. Straighter forms are more appropriate for sites with a more structured feel, such as on-grade patios and walkways.
Shape is important in the design process because it evokes emotions and creates ambiance. Rectilinear shapes are rigid and formal, circles are soft, triangles are strong, and irregular shapes are casual and free. Using form in the landscape allows designers to create unique and personal landscapes that express their style.
Color is one of the most prominent and easiest to recognize aspects of a landscape. It can be the most impactful, whether it is bright and bold or subtle and muted. It is essential in defining the overall theme of a space and can be used to create contrast, highlight focal points, or add a sense of movement.
When choosing colors for both hardscape and plants, it is essential to consider the season. Colors that offer brightness and vibrancy for the summer are great for warm weather gardens but may not be as appealing in the fall and winter. Choosing color schemes that will offer appeal in all seasons is the best way to ensure your landscape can be enjoyed year-round.
Michigan-based company Landscape Forms specializes in outdoor site furniture. In fact, you’ve probably come across their products dozens of times without realizing it. The benches, bike racks, and transit stops you see on the street or at your local park are all part of their product portfolio. The company believes that institutional doesn’t have to equal ugly, so they work with world-class designers to add beauty and style to their pieces. They use SolidWorks design visualization tools to help them push the limits of innovation.
Texture
When you think of a landscape, color often comes to mind, but one of the most important elements of a garden is texture. It’s the visual and tactile characteristics of plant foliage, flowers, grasses, and even bark that add depth, interest, and a sense of dimension to your outdoor space.
Plants vary in their textures, from fine (delicate) to medium to coarse (bold). When designing your landscape, it’s important to balance different types of textures to add visual appeal and a variety of experiences to the garden.
Using texture to create depth in a landscape is not just about the roughness of leaves, flowers, and bark; it also includes the size and shape of a leaf or branch, its overall branching pattern, and the shade or tint of its color. The amount of detail in a plant’s appearance is another factor to consider when creating texture.
Texture is experienced through touch, but it can also be perceived visually, either by the eye or the brain. A smooth surface can appear rough, and vice versa, depending on the distance of the observer. When creating a textured landscape, it is important to think about the different vantage points that will be used throughout your garden.
When using texture to create contrast, the key is to use a mixture of plants with similar but contrasting characteristics. For example, pairing the soft, wispy foliage of Silver Lace dusty miller with the rough foliage of red salvia is a great way to create a bold, yet balanced contrast. The same principles can be applied to hardscape features as well. Adding a stone pathway to a garden filled with sandstone steps is a great way to break up the smooth texture of the pavers and add a bit of visual contrast.
Contrasting textures isn’t only about the colors of plants and hardscape materials, however. The type of mulch you choose for your garden can impact its overall texture as well. Finely shredded mulch has a much more delicate feel, while larger nuggets of bark have a bolder texture. By varying the texture of your plants and mulch, you can create a more textured landscape that is visually stimulating.
Light
Lighting is an often overlooked element of landscape design. It plays a key role in illuminating pathways, highlighting plants and architectural features and creating ambiance in outdoor spaces after the sun goes down. Landscape lighting can also extend the usability of a space by allowing you to entertain and relax in your garden or patio long after sunset.
One of the first steps in planning your landscape lighting is to consider what functions you want your yard to serve. Will you be using the space for dining or entertaining, as a play area or exercise area, or will you simply want to make your home safer by preventing slips and falls at night? Answering these questions will help determine the location and amount of lights you will need.
When selecting the type of lighting to use, it is important to keep in mind your budget and the effort required to install the fixtures. There are a wide variety of outdoor lighting fixtures to choose from, and the cost can vary greatly depending on the number of light sources and how complex your desired effect is. A professional lighting designer can help you create a lighting scheme that fits your budget and lifestyle.
Spotlights are a versatile landscape lighting option that can be used as up-lights, down-lights or path lights. They are perfect for highlighting a specific plant or architectural feature because they can be directed exactly where you need them. They are also great for illuminating hardscape elements such as walls and steps.
Another landscape lighting technique that we love is silhouetting. This is done by placing flood or spotlights behind a specific feature such as a tree, wall or unique architecture and directing the beam angle towards the surface you would like to highlight.
Backlighting is a fantastic way to highlight the color, texture and form of many different types of plants. Especially in winter, when many plants turn a brilliant red or have unique gnarled textures, this can really make them stand out.
