Landscape design is the art of changing a normal piece of land into a nice and useful place.
It is not just planting flowers and trees, but it is creating a well-thought-out design that will be comfortable and easy with a free plant ID app for iPhone all year.
How to Divide the Garden into Functional Zones
The first and most important step in landscape design is making zones because your garden should not only be beautiful but also comfortable for living.
When you divide it into useful zones, you make the place logical and easy to use, so you should begin by thinking about what you need, like who will use the garden and what activities you want to do there.
Main zones you can have:
A relaxation zone is a place where you can relax, read a book, or spend time with your family. This zone can have comfortable benches, a hammock, garden swings, or a nice sofa, and it is often placed far from noisy paths and busy areas.
You can separate it from the rest of the garden with a living fence, a screen of climbing plants, or even a small gazebo.
A children's play zone. It must be a safe place that you can see from the house and that is in the shade so they can play without getting too hot.
You can place a sandbox, swings, or a small play area here, and you can separate it with a low bush or bright flowers to make it look nice and easy to see.
A utility zone. It is for the compost pile, a shed with tools, or a greenhouse, and people usually hide this zone from view and place it in the farthest corner of the garden.
A good idea is to hide it with tall bushes or a decorative fence with climbing plants.
A front zone, here you can plant beautiful flowers, green bushes, or a small tree because it is important that this zone is tidy and clean.
A vegetable or fruit garden zone is good if this area has a lot of sun, and you can use raised beds that are not only comfortable but also look very nice.
How to divide the zones: To separate the zones, you can use different methods. The easiest one is using garden paths that will go from one zone to another.
You can also use living fences made from thuja, boxwood, or spirea, which will make the place feel private and cozy.
Other ideas are decorative trellises with roses or clematis, low fences, or even piles of stones.
How to Combine Colors and Shapes of Plants
A monochromatic scheme uses different shades of one color, for example, only white, blue, or pink. To make it more interesting, you must play with different leaf textures and shapes.
An analogous scheme uses colors that are close to each other on the color wheel, for example, yellow, orange, and red.
These combinations look like a smooth change and feel peaceful.
A contrasting scheme uses opposite colors, like blue and orange, or yellow and purple.
Texture and shape should combine plants with big and small leaves and with different heights and shapes.
For example, the fluffy bushes of hosta will look good next to tall irises or grasses.
Modern Helpers for Landscape Design
To make caring for plants easier and more effective, you can use modern technology. Apps like AI Plant Finder, PictureThis, or Planta can help you find out what a plant is from a photo, recognize diseases, and even make a watering plan.
Annual and Perennial Flowers, Bushes, Trees
Choosing the right plants is not just about beauty, but also about being practical, so you must think about your climate, soil type, and the special features of your land.
Annual flowers bloom all summer and autumn, giving you rich colors, and popular annuals are petunia, marigolds, salvia, and zinnia.
You can plant them in flowerbeds, containers, or use them to make bright borders.
Perennial flowers bloom in spring, such as tulips and daffodils, others bloom in summer, such as peonies and phloxes, and some bloom in autumn, like asters and chrysanthemums.
By combining different types, you can have flowers all year.
Bushes make the garden's volume and structure and some of them, like spirea, lilac, and hydrangea, have beautiful flowers, and others, like barberry and cotoneaster, have nice leaves and berries.
Evergreen bushes, like thuja or juniper, look good all year and are often used for living fences.
Trees can be a background for other plants, make shade, or be the main point of the garden.
For a small area, it is better to choose small fruit trees, like an apple or a pear, or decorative types, like a maple or a birch.
Examples of Plants for Different Flowerbed Types
Flowerbed Type | Suitable Plants | Tip |
Mixborder | Rose, Phlox, Hosta, Thuja, Juniper | Combine plants of different heights to make a multi-level design |
Rocker | Hens and Chicks, Sedum, Thyme, Carnation | Choose plants that like dry weather and do not need rich soil |
Monoculture | Peony, Rose, Tulip, Dahlia | Try to plant different types of the same plant to play with colors |
Container | Petunia, Lobelia, Marigolds, Lavender | Choose small plants that look good in pots and containers |
Creating Flowerbeds: Examples of Designs
The flowerbed is the heart of the garden, and you can design it in different styles, with each style having its own features.
A mixborder is a long, multi-level design that has many different plants, and a mixborder combines perennials, annuals, bushes, and even small trees.
Plants are put in layers: tall ones in the back, medium ones in the middle, and low ones on the front, and a well-planned mixborder will have flowers from early spring to late autumn.
A rock garden uses low-growing perennials, sedums, hens and chicks, thyme, and other plants that cover the ground.
The stones are the main part, and their position should look natural.
A monoculture flowerbed is a flowerbed where you plant only one kind of plant, for example, roses, peonies, or tulips.
A container flowerbed is perfect for small areas, patios, or balconies in pots and containers, you can make different designs that are easy to move around the garden.
Using Garden Paths, Benches, and Decorative Items
Small architectural forms are not just decorations but are useful items that finish the look of the garden and make it easy to use.
Garden paths not only connect different zones but also set the style of the whole garden.
Paths can be straight, nicely curved, or made of stone, bricks, wood, or gravel, and it is important that the material is strong and not slippery when it rains.
Benches and gazebos make places for relaxing and thinking and you can put a bench in the shade of a big tree, by a fountain, or in the most beautiful corner of the garden.
A gazebo is a great place for eating outside.
Decorative items are things like garden statues, fountains, bird feeders, and lanterns.
You should use them carefully so you do not put too many in the garden.
Lighting can be lanterns along the paths or lights for trees and bushes, which will make a nice and mysterious look.
Ponds are also an additional, even a small pond or a stream. Water makes the air feel fresh and calm, and you can decorate a pond with water plants.
You should start with a small plan, not be afraid to try new things, and remember that your garden is a picture of who you are.