Steve and I love collaborating on projects. We find that we both have complimentary talents. This is also true when we are creating gardens. During the years of working on gardens, we have found that there are rules we follow in order to create the out door spaces that we love. I thought for my Hooked on Friday post, I would share some of these rules with you.
Rule #1:
Lay out the rooms and build the walls.
We think of the outdoor spaces as being similar to the indoor spaces of a home.
What are you going to be doing in those spaces?
Tall hedges and trees are used to define this "room". The ground cover (in this case the grass) is used as the carpet in the space.
Smaller hedges provide more structure.
We also use low walls to define spaces.
This space around the pool is defined by the stone and grass patio material.
Changing the ground cover can create definition to different rooms. A stone stairway provides a transition from the gravel courtyard to the lawn.
Another example of how ground cover creates differentiation.
Rule #2 Define the Path
Create walkways that move you from room to room.
I love using gravel paths edged with low boxwood hedging.
You can also use different materials for pathways, creating more formal and informal
spaces.
Lavender can also be used as a less formal hedging material.
Rule #3 Locate Focal Points
A fountain draws your interest to discover what is at the end of this gravel path.
Old iron gates and a fountain become an wonderful focal point at the back of a garden.
Rule #5 Choose a color palette
For most of my gardens, I choose muted color schemes with a limited color palette.
This is my own garden the way it looks during Spring. The colors palette is limited to purple, white, and different shades of green.
I maintained that basic color scheme throughout the garden...
This is the Angel's Trumpet on the side of my home. Yes, it was supposed to be white, but breaking the color scheme in some places adds a little surprise!
Rule #6 Decorate
Find garden elements (planters, gates, architectural elements) that create the "look" you are trying to achieve.
These vintage planters and antique iron gate create a "cottage-y" feel to my garden.
These concrete "mushrooms" add a bit of whimsey.
For this home, more classic elements were used (like this statue) to create a formal feeling.
These tall columns with the mercury glass orbs on top combined with the stone lions and oil jars create a formality to this part of the garden. The "mushroom" keep things from getting too serious.
How your design your planting beds also creates the feeling for a room.
Using a mixture of different groundcovers and shrubs creates a less formal more
country feeling garden.
Using the same plants in a row creates a more formal feeling.
A formal garden with roses behind a boxwood hedge.
I have found that I have a list of favorite plant material that I like to use....
Lavender of all varieties (this happens to be English Lavender with another of my favorites pink roses)
I like to include formal boxwood hedges in my gardens, but I often do less
formal planting inside the beds. The Marguerite daisies behind and the
white pansies (two of my other favorites) in front soften the formality of this hedge.
This morning, I took this picture of the garden I designed for my next door neighbor.
We created formal rose gardens in front of her home. I mixed the roses with lavender
to provide some color this time of year when the roses are hibernating.
Boxwood topiaries are a must, like this little cone in my own garden.
Foxgloves in the Spring. They need no explanation!
I must also point out my little fairy castle and mushrooms in the background. I love adding unique treasures to add whimsey in my gardens.
My little cabbages in the winter help fill in the empty spaces until Spring.
Another favorite are the Blue Hibiscus, which add a soft purple to my garden this time of year.
White Florabunda roses are wonderful. They have tons of white blooms almost all year long.
The white roses with the silvery Lamb's Ear ground cover is a lovely combination.
Heliochrysum "limelight" is a great limey green ground cover that works really well in semi-shade. The color is fantastic.
My all time favorite are Hydrangeas. Mine are still hibernating, so I am including this picture of Ness' beauty from her inspirational post. Check it out here. I usually plant White Japonica Camelia's behind my Hydrangeas to provide color during the winter when my lovely Hydrangeas look like sticks.
I thought I would include some of my favorite trees as well. These newly planted
Melaleuca trees have a wonderful white bark on their trunks. They are a great tree to plant when you need a tall but not too wide tree.
These Birch trees flank the entrance to my home. They have a very romantic feel to them.
Angel's Trumpet is a very romantic tree. This one in my client's yard is the white that I wanted in my own yard! Oh well. One note about this tree, their beauty comes with a catch. They are poisonous and shouldn't be used where animals or young children will be playing with them.
Tall Cyprus are very architectural trees and work like columns in Mediterranean gardens.
Small citrus trees work well in beds....
or in pots.
Have a wonderful weekend!
All gardens by Giannetti Architecture and Interiors.
xo
Brooke
