{"id":11372,"date":"2020-04-03T16:32:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T06:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardens.theownerbuildernetwork.co\/?p=11372"},"modified":"2025-10-30T21:14:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:14:39","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-the-principles-of-garden-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/2020\/04\/03\/a-beginners-guide-to-the-principles-of-garden-design\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner\u2019s Guide to the Principles of Garden Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For many\npeople, one of the most difficult aspects of design is figuring out just how\nmany principles there are to consider in the first place. A quick browser\nsearch will tell you that even experts can\u2019t seem to agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact\nis that the principles of design are simple enough. The language, however, can\nbe as diverse as the opinions surrounding the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"For
For many people, one of the most difficult aspects of design is figuring out just how many principles there are to consider in the first place. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Principles\nof Design in Gardening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In gardening, you can narrow the principles of design to three main categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within these categories are myriad other design principles you might recognize instinctively – like a natural-born musician will understand scales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groupings below constitute the fundamentals of garden design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Order<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Order refers\nto the basic structure of the garden. Order can be obtained through symmetry.\nIn formal gardens, this is often achieved through repetition of plants or\ncolors, or through balancing bright features with complementary textures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general,\nexperienced designers say you should avoid a slapdash arrangement. You don’t\nhave to put a plan down on paper, but you should consider where you want to situate\nyour plants before digging holes in your backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Order refers to the basic structure of the garden. (Photo: Brewbooks\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harmony<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You achieve harmony when the parts of your garden somehow work together as a whole. You may have come across gardens that feel like they are mugging your senses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That happens when there are too many disparate features within a single design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harmony is built on limiting the color palette, the repetition of key plants throughout the garden, the repetition of colors and structures through the boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also create harmony by growing your flowers, herbs, grasses<\/a>, shrubs, and trees along a clear focal point, idea, or purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"You
You achieve harmony when the parts of your garden somehow work together as a whole.
(Photo: Brewbooks\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Rhythm <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Order and harmony will create a pretty vista, but your garden – like any other space – can still look static and uninteresting after a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stimulate interest, you need to keep the beholder\u2019s eye moving. The spaces between repeating elements can create e a sense of rhythm, similar to the way syllables in a poem can create meter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t want visitors viewing your garden darting their eyes every which way, of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to gradually guide them by directing their gaze. You can accomplish this with subtle changes in height or color, or interesting focal points or seating that invites them to tarry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The spaces between repeating elements can create e a sense of rhythm.
(Photo: Brewbooks\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your garden is always a work in progress.  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These elements work together and should be ideas for you to tinker and employ when you design your garden. They are tools you can use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you prefer, you can say they are rules you are meant to break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t let them hobble you with the fear of getting your garden\u2019s design wrong. Gardens are a work in progress. They change, grow, and evolve with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately,\nthe only real rule in gardening is that you enjoy yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many people, one of the most difficult aspects of design is figuring out just how many principles there are to consider in the first place. A quick browser search will tell you that even experts can\u2019t seem to agree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13557,"featured_media":11374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Master the core principles of garden design with our beginner-friendly guide. Transform your outdoor space from confusing to stunning today.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sma_last_campaign_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[187,51,50],"class_list":["post-11372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-and-tricks","tag-garden-design","tag-gardening","tag-gardens"],"modified_by":"Freddie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}