Landscape Design for Beginners

If you'd like to give your front yard a makeover for some added curb appeal or design a garden for personal enjoyment, it helps to learn the basics of landscape design.

The goal of landscape design is to create a harmonious aesthetic through the use of elements such as color, line, and texture. By following the basics, you can design your own landscaping and achieve a yard and garden that's sustainable, balanced, and beautiful.

6 Basic Principles of Landscape Design

When you plan a landscape layout, consider all six basic principles for the best results. The first three principles of garden design (proportion, transition, and unity) apply to the overall feel of the landscape.

The second set of principles (rhythm, balance, and focalization) pertains to controlling a viewer's eye movement. These principles are achieved with the use of five landscape design elements: color, form, texture, line, and scale (see below).

Proportion

Proportion is the sense that the size of the individual components (the landscape plants or structures) or groups of components in a landscape is consistent with the landscape as a whole.

Transition

A garden design that is out of proportion looks marred by abrupt transitions or by a lack of transitions.

For instance, a 5-foot-high stone wall might elegantly set off a large home, but the same wall would make a small home look smaller, due to the height of the wall being too close to that of the house. There should be a transition of taller trees between the house and the wall, creating gradual change.

Unity

A garden design with a sense of proportion also exhibits unity. The placement of landscape plants in a thoughtful manner regarding their form is one method for promoting a unified feel.

For instance, small trees flanking a driveway or an entrance should have the same form to create unity. The repetition of the same form also promotes unity. Unity, or "harmony," is achieved when the viewer senses that all the landscape plants in a garden design complement each other and have been chosen with one overarching theme in mind.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the patterned repetition of a motif. In a home landscape design, a motif could be a type of plant, for example. One type of plant could be placed in a row or hedge to channel the viewer's gaze in one direction rather than another. Nothing controls eye movement more readily than a straight line.

Balance

Balance refers to the consistency and visual weight of attractions in the yard. For example, balance can be achieved through the repetition of the same size, shape, and color plants that are evenly placed around a property or garden. A large tree on both sides of a house can balance the yard, for example.

Focalization

Understanding balance is, in turn, important for an understanding of focalization. Focalization is the forcing of the viewer’s perspective to a specific focal point without it appearing jarring. While it can be achieved through various means, more intense focalization is created through the use of balanced, consistent arrangements of elements.

Types of Landscapes

Before putting pen to paper, think about where you live because that will impact what you successfully plant in your yard. Become acquainted with the USDA zone map to find your zone and determine if you can plant tropicals or should stick with cold-hardy plants. There are three basic types of landscapes to consider:

• Mountain landscapes differ from sea-level landscapes, requiring plants that survive in the rough weather and harsh conditions of higher altitudes.
• Flat landscapes consist of flat lands, meadows, and farms, which means lots of open land and a lack of protection for plants in extreme weather, sustained winds, or droughts.
• Coastal landscapes usually demand salt- and drought-tolerant plants.

How to Design a Landscape

When planning both the hardscape and softscape of your property, consider the five basic elements that should be incorporated into landscape design, which include:

Color

Color is usually the most important element in a successful landscape design. Combine flowers of warm and cool colors for contrast. Or, keep flowers within either the warm or cool group for a unified look. Using a color wheel will help determine the colors used in your landscape design.

Form

The element of form is created by the shape of a plant and the structure of its branching pattern. Trees come in many shapes (especially if pruned), including columnar and globular shapes. Likewise, tree forms range structurally from having the stiffly upright branches of Lombardy poplar trees to the droopy quality of a weeping willow.

The form of individual components of a plant also needs to be considered. For example, the leaf form of one type of tree can be very different from that of another type of tree.

Texture

Texture is primarily a visual matter in landscape design. For example, a plant's leaf size often determines its texture. The texture of one bedding plant can be more or less coarse than an adjacent plant due to differences in leaf size.

Use plants that vary in texture to create variety in your landscape design so it doesn't look overly unified.

Line

The element of line refers to how you arrange borders to control a viewer's eye movements. Eye movement is unconsciously influenced by how plant groupings fit or flow together on horizontal and vertical planes. For example, a straight row of trees can be used as a wall to indicate boundaries and direct a viewer's gaze.

Scale

Scale is simply the size of one component relative to adjacent components. For example, shrubs should not look like dwarf plantings if planted alone (without a transition) in front of a large home with a deep yard, but they may be scaled well to a smaller yard and house without the need for any transition.

Landscape Design Costs

Landscape design costs can vary depending on how extensive the project is. If you're designing and planting yourself, you'll only have the cost of the plants, trees, or elements like stone or rock you want to add to your yard. A beginner, basic landscape project will generally cost around $2,600. If you're hiring a landscape designer, they cost an average of $8,150.

Landscape Design Explained Through Pictures

Take the time to look through completed projects for additional inspiring landscape design ideas. Looking through images helps you to see what style, elements, or designs resonate with you.

By studying landscape design pictures, you will begin to see examples of landscape design principles and elements in action. Then you can get a better idea of what a realistic budget for landscaping your home might be. Start with the following types of landscape designs for ideas:

• How to Build Rock Gardens
• How to Plant Flower Beds
• How to Plant Hedges