Landscaping is the art and science of arranging natural and man-made features in a yard to create a functional, aesthetic, horticulturally sustainable landscape. This is achieved through the ‘design process.’
There are many benefits to landscaping a home or business. It increases the value of your property, provides a relaxing environment, and makes outdoor activities more enjoyable. Contact Landscaping Baltimore for professional help.
Color is an important tool for enhancing the aesthetics of your landscape. It can be used to draw attention to particular elements, create focal points, expand the sense of space and perspective, establish harmony, and embrace seasonal transitions. When used wisely, the power of color can transform your yard into a work of art.
Vibrant colors like yellows and reds can energize your landscape, creating visual interest. They can also be attention-grabbing and stand out from the rest of the plants and flowers in the area. In contrast, more muted hues like pastel shades, pinks, and whites can offer relaxation and blend well with the surrounding environment. It’s important to understand that different colors have unique effects on people, so you may want to consider what mood you’d like to create in your yard before selecting a color scheme.
Choosing the right colors to complement one another is essential to creating a harmonious landscape. To find the best combinations, look across the color wheel for complementary colors. These are found on opposite sides of the wheel and enhance each other by adding intensity to their respective hues. Popular examples include yellow and purple or red and green.
You can also use colors that are found next to each other on the color wheel, called analogous colors. These blend together naturally and can create a unified look. For example, yellow and green, blue and purple, or red and orange are all analogous colors that can be used together to create a beautiful landscape.
In addition to considering the relationships between colors, you should think about the surrounding colors of your property. For example, if you live in an area with mostly gray trees, you may want to select a few colorful flowering plants as accents to add some visual interest. A good rule of thumb is to limit the number of different hues you use in your landscape to avoid a chaotic and messy appearance.
You can also experiment with using a monochromatic color scheme, which involves selecting tints and shades of a single color to create a cohesive palette. For example, you could use a mix of light and dark hues of purple to create a stunning garden.
Form
Form is the most recognizable three-dimensional element of a landscape design. The shapes of flowerbeds, ponds and hardscape features like garden paths and retaining walls all work together to create a cohesive and visually interesting composition. Form can be created by the shape of a plant, how it is trimmed or by how it is arranged with other plants or hardscape features. It can also be a combination of these elements.
While color tends to be the most commonly emphasized landscape element, form is what ultimately makes it all come together. It is important to incorporate different forms throughout the yard in order to make your landscape truly unique.
The use of different forms in your garden can help to soften a hardscaped surface or outdoor structure such as a fence or patio, or even sharp lines that might be found in the architecture of your home. Rounded shapes in flowers, shrubs and even trees can contrast the straight, rigid lines of a patio or retaining wall, giving them visual weight.
A variety of form can also be created by incorporating attention-grabbing focal points into your landscape. Whether it be a beautiful fountain or a strategically placed sculpture, eye-catching focal points draw the viewer’s attention and create a sense of drama and contrast within your landscape.
Color is a key element in landscape design, but it is important to keep in mind that it will change with the seasons. It is important to choose a color scheme that will look good through all four seasons, and to consider how the colors of your landscape will change with the sun. For example, the bright, intense sunlight of summer will cause some colors to become more saturated and vibrant, while the filtered light of winter can make other colors appear more muted and subdued.
The scale of your landscape is also an important consideration when it comes to creating a balance. The size of your home and the size of any hardscape or softscape additions need to be considered in order to ensure that they are all working together in harmony and producing a balanced landscape once they are completed.
Texture
Using texture to add contrast and interest to your landscape is one of the most important parts of landscaping. Texture is a perception of roughness or smoothness of individual outlines of foliage, hardscape, and other design elements, and can be created in many ways.
Plants offer a foliar expression of texture, with coarse, medium, and fine textures that change depending on the size and shape of leaves. For example, thickly asymmetrical hydrangeas, rhododendrons and magnolias have a coarse texture, while delicate hostas and geraniums have a fine texture. The color, shape and branching pattern of a plant also contribute to its perceived texture.
Texture is enhanced with the use of lighting and shadow, which play a key role in creating depth and dimension in a garden. The varying textures of plants and hardscape can be highlighted by strategically placing lights at different angles to highlight their unique characteristics and create shadows that draw the eye to the areas of the landscape where they are most desired.
Lines are another critical component of a great landscape. They can be physical, such as a walkway or pathway, or they can also be perceived, such as an arc or curve in a planting bed or water feature. Whether they are perceived or physical, lines are essential to the success of a landscape design and provide the natural pathways that lead the eye to the focal point of a planting bed, water feature or other element in the garden.
A well-designed landscape not only enhances the visual appeal of a home, but can also increase its value. Regardless of the reason you are considering a new landscape, incorporating a few of these basic principles will ensure a successful and lasting result. To learn more about our landscape architecture and services, contact us today!
Lighting
Landscape lighting is a significant investment, but it’s one that will increase your property value. It enhances your home’s appearance and usability after dark, allowing you to enjoy it longer and also deter crime and trespassing.
It highlights the beauty of your home’s architecture and landscape features, illuminating the shadows cast by trees or other structures and creating contrast with lighter areas of the yard. It can make a bold statement, especially with the use of large feature lights such as white or brightly colored orbs. It adds a sense of drama to your landscape, making it stand out and look its best at night. It also extends the living space of your home, allowing you to use the yard for dining and socializing after dark.
Lights can be placed on walkways, paths and driveways to illuminate these surfaces at night, preventing guests from tripping or falling over obstacles. They can also be placed around ponds and water features to reduce the risk of someone stepping in, as well as illuminate steps or sloped areas to prevent injuries.
In addition, landscape lighting can be placed on a timer, giving you the option to turn them on and off at your leisure, or to schedule different lighting effects throughout the day. For example, you can set your landscape lighting to glow softly in the evening for a romantic effect or to flash brightly when kids are playing.
Another benefit of landscape lighting is that it can help reduce energy costs. Cities often experience what is called a “heat island,” with the temperature being higher than surrounding rural areas due to concrete, cars and human activity. Trees are nature’s air conditioner, and when positioned correctly, they can reduce the temperatures around them by up to 6 degrees. This helps lower your energy bill and contributes to a greener city. A professionally installed and designed landscape lighting system will boost your property’s value and add to your quality of life. It will be a desirable asset when you sell your home, as it will appeal to both homeowners and investors.