Landscaping Styles (Landscaping III)

Nurture Your Garden Design Skills

Many different styles of garden have evolved in different cultures and countries. Often clients wish to have a particular style or themed garden or they wish to have elements of particular styles which appeal to them. As a garden designer it is vital to have a detailed knowledge of what different styles there are and what components are used to create them

Study landscaping for different types of gardens

Expand your business and skills by offering a wide range of options to your clients.  Be original and informed.

• Learn how to design different types of gardens
• Learn to develop the best garden for your clients -a great course for anyone working in landscaping or gardening

ACS student comment: “It gave me an insight into a subject that I have been interested in for a long time. Plus it helped me in my current job with a local landscape/nursery company. It was done in a way which was very easy to understand and this helped when you hit a subject which was hard to get to grips with.” (David Painter, Landscaping III)

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Creating the Mood
2. Historic Gardens
3. Formal Gardens
4. Oriental Gardens
5. Middle Eastern and Spanish Style
6. Mediterranean Gardens
7. Coastal Gardens
8. Modern Gardens
9. Eclectic Gardens
10. Other Styles

Aims

• Explain the use of colour, light, shade, temperature, water, foliage and other elements in establishing the mood of a garden.
• Describe gardens from different places and periods in history; and in doing so explain how to renovate and/or recreate gardens that reflect the style of different historic periods.
• Apply the principles, design features and elements that make up a formal garden.
• Discuss cultural and historical traditions that contributed to the development and style of the oriental garden.
• Discuss cultural and historical traditions that have contributed to the development and style of the Middle Eastern and Spanish garden.
• Discuss the historic, climatic and cultural influences which have contributed to the style of Mediterranean gardens.
• Discuss design styles of coastal gardens
• Explain the limitations and potential of coastal sites when preparing a landscape design.
• Discuss contemporary garden design styles and possible future trends in garden design.
• Identify the range of diversity possible in garden design.
• Identify characteristics of different garden styles including eclectic, dryland, permaculture, rainforest and tropical garden styles.
• Design different styles of gardens.

What You Will Do

• Visit different gardens to assess the mood of each garden. Take time to observe each garden and try to identify the different elements that contribute to the garden mood.
  • Observe how colour has been used in the three different gardens. Observe the colours of both plants and hard surfaces, and the way the colours have been combined.
  • Visit an historic garden in your area. Identify different features that make this an historic garden.
  • Visit a formal garden in your area. Identify features that make this a formal garden.
  • Visit an oriental garden either in person or by research.
  • Search for more information on gardens that reflect the styles.
  • Make notes of anything you find which is interesting and could be used in development of a Mediterranean style of garden in the locality in which you live.
  • Visit a coastal region near where you live and observe the type of plants that are growing near the seashore. Also observe the plants and design elements of nearby gardens. (If you are unable to visit a coastal region, use descriptions of coastal sites and gardens from books, magazines and the internet.)
  • Visit a modern courtyard garden (if there is no suitable garden in your area, use a garden described in a book, magazine or on the internet). Identify and describe the elements that make this a ‘modern’ garden. How has the designer overcome the restrictions of the site to create a feeling of spaciousness?
  • Search through telephone books, magazines and the internet to find suppliers of materials suitable for eclectic gardens such as pots, sundials, pebbles, statues, wrought iron, tiles, gazebos, seats, wind chimes, etc. Visit as many suppliers as possible and inspect these materials. Find out about their cost, availability and longevity.
  • Depending upon where you live, visit a dryland, permaculture, tropical, or rainforest garden in your area (if there is no suitable garden in your area, use a garden described in a book, magazine or on the internet). Identify and describe the elements that determine the style of this garden.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND HOW

Active vs. Passive

A garden with a barbecue area, a sandpit, a swing, a pool and a child’s play house would be seen as being ‘active’. It is clear that the garden is more utilitarian. Conversely, a garden with a bench beneath some shade trees, a pond, a sculpture, a herbaceous border and some specimen trees would create an ambience of tranquillity. It is more likely that the owners would spend time resting in the garden and admiring it. It would be considered ‘passive’.

Simple vs. Complex

A complex garden will clearly have lots of intricate areas created through using many different plant species. It may have a number of paths that lead to different areas of the garden. These areas may pertain to a number of different themes. There could be a number of different focal points. It could be planted so that different plants look their best at different times of the year, so as to maintain year round interest. Such a garden may have a number of effects on ambience. It may be quite stimulating for the onlooker encouraging them to look further and more deeply into the garden. It may activate their imagination and inspire them toward their own gardening aspirations. If the garden is extremely complex, however, it may also serve to overwhelm some individuals who would prefer something a little less complex so as to be able to relax.

On the other hand, a simple garden may have few plants, perhaps a large lawn area or paved area and little in the way of features. Such a garden would be more likely to evoke a feeling of relaxation and perhaps permit the onlooker to focus on their own thoughts. If the garden is too simple, however, it may make the onlooker feel disinterested or bored in the garden and it will therefore fail to attract people into it.

Light vs. Shade

The amount of light in the garden has quite a profound effect on mood. A garden that has much light could be associated with feelings of openness, joy, elation and optimism. A garden that has much shade would create feelings of enclosure, frustration, and gloom.

Movement vs. Static

Movement in the garden can be created in a number of ways. It can come about through the natural movement of trees and shrubs in the wind, through mobiles or through water fountains. It gives an air of vitality and of life. The associated sounds reiterate this sense of living; the rustle of the leaves in the trees, the splash of the water. On the contrary, a garden that has little movement may seem rather dull and lifeless.

What This Course Could Do For You

This course is ideal for people wishing to expand on their garden design knowledge by developing a firm understanding of how to create different garden styles and themes.

It could serve as a platform for further study or be taken in conjunction with other modules to enhance your learning experience. The course is of most value to people working in or wishing to work in:

• Landscape construction
• Garden design
• Garden maintenance
• Garden restoration or conservation
• Parks & gardens

It could also add to the skillset of people wanting to start a garden design business, or be of value to people wishing to renovate a home garden.