Going With A Formal Garden Design
There can be nothing more fulfilling than designing your own garden. Everybody has different tastes and ideas of what they like and dislike, and for some people the order and structure of a formal garden design is their idea of a beautiful garden. It is the precise attention to detail and orderliness of a formal garden that attracts some people.
Clean Sharp & Clearly Defined Lines
Clean sharp lines are the defining point of formal garden design. Neatly trimmed hedges are a must in formal garden design as they are easily trimmed into shape. The next aspect to consider is what type of plants and flowers to use. Flower that spread very quickly and look like wildflowers are not suitable as you will be continually trimming them back to keep them looking ordered. So opt for plants that are have single straight stems and do not spread. A formal garden design usually incorporates a particular colour theme as well, rather than a rainbow coloured display of flowers.
Creating The Formal Pattern
Once you have created the desired shape and pattern of your formal garden there are a few ways to enhance this even more, just be careful not to go over the top and add too many features otherwise your beautiful formal garden will end up looking cluttered. The simplest way to enhace the pattern and shape of your garden is to incorporate a path or ornament in a similar shape, and don'f forget to colour co-ordinate this with your flowers. Adding bark or chippings to flower borders will make the flowers appear to stand out more, and will also help suppress the growth of weeds.
Other Aspects Of Formal Garden Design
The image of a formal garden immediatley brings to mind topiary. This is where sculptures are created from hedges or even bushes in freestanding containers. The sculptures vary according to personal taste but should be in keeping with the theme already in your garden. Some people opt for very unusual shapes such as animals, but generally topiary is neat, clean lined and symmetrical. Topiary can be purchased from garden centers but is very expensive. If you wish to try your hand at this yourself remember it takes time and patience to perfect the technique, so opt for the simplest of designs first.
Topiary has been popular for centuries, but has made a huge comeback in recent years. A garden is no longer seen as outdoor space with a patch of lawn and few flowers. People now think of their gardens as extensions of their homes, and spend just as much time, effort and money on their garden designs as they do on interior design.
More articles about garden design >
