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Principles and Elements of Landscape

Design
Objectives

List the four steps in the design process.

List the twelve principles of design in landscaping.

Practice writing skills used in landscape design.

Design a scaled landscape area using the principles of

design.
The Design Process

Site Analysis

General Use of Space

Principles of Design

Putting Ideas on Paper

 Site Analysis
Site analysis (Step 1) begins with a
base plan or base map and an
inventory of what already exists on
the property
Figure 1
A Sketch of the house, existing
structural features of the property,
and plants are included and are done
in plan view,( looking down on the
property).
Measure the dimensions of the house
and draw and label existing features
and plants on the base map.
Draw to scale, such as 1 = 8 (1 inch
on the ruler represents 8 feet on the
plan). Or, draw on graph paper where
each square on the paper represents
1 foot.
 General Use of Space

Second Step in landscape design is to

organize the outdoor living area to meet
needs and desires
There are three major areas in the
landscape: the public area, the private area,
and the service area.
 Public Area
The public area is usually in front of the house that is visible to
the public.
The house is the central focus of this part of the landscape. The
public area design should be kept simple and uncluttered.
Allow space for guests to park. If the lot is small they may have
to park in the street. Otherwise, you could design a double
driveway, a circular one, or one with parking areas near the
house.
Through the use of plantings and walks, it could direct guests to
the public entrance to the home. If you want them to notice
and use the front door, focus their attention on it. A few bright
flowers and specimen or unusual plants may do this.
Design the walk wide enough for two people to walk
comfortably side by side.
 Private Area
The private area is traditionally located near the family portions of
the home, usually the back yard.
Its main purpose is privacy for your family. This may be obtained by
an attractive border or screen plantings and walls or fences made
from wood, stone, or metal.
It should also serve as a place to entertain guests and a place for
rest, relaxation, and recreation.
To do this include a patio, terrace, pool, lawn, shade trees,
greenhouse, play area for small children or sports areas for older
children.
The private area is also the place for your favorite flowers, flowering
shrubs, and roses.
Service Area
The service area does not have to be attractive or
large; its size and use depends on the family needs.

It should be located nearest the kitchen or garage.

The service area is the place for the garbage cans, air
conditioning condenser, a utility building, firewood pile,
compost bin, or a vegetable garden.

Usually, this area is screened from the view of the

other areas.
Principles of Design

Unity
Form
Simplicity
Texture
Variety
Line
Balance
Focal Point
Sequence Color
Scale and Proportion Selecting & Arranging
Plants
 Unity
Describes the idea of tying the landscape together into an orderly
design.
Some repetition is good, but it should not be carried to the point of
monotony.
Unity in the landscape can be achieved through a theme of colors,
forms, or textures without using exactly the same plants.
For example, a red color may be used as a theme, but you could use
plants with reddish foliage as well as other plants with similar colored
flowers or foliage. The plants would be in different areas of the landscape,
but the color theme unites the overall landscape.
Other themes, such as kinds of plants, curves or straight lines, and
construction materials, can be used to create unity in the design.
Simplicity

It is an important principle of design, but it is a hard

one to achieve.

Too many design themes can be confusing, and unity

of design lost, so the design should be kept simple.

Too many different colors, textures, and forms result in

visual confusion, and any sense of design can be
ruined.

One way to achieve simplicity is by using a limited

range of plant species.
Variety

Oversimplification is boring; some variety must be

sprinkled in for interest and to focus attention on the
desirable aspects of your property.

Dont use the same kind of plant everywhere.

A long hedge of the same kind of plant can be very

monotonous.
For example: break plants up into groupings, maintaining
some of the same plants in the groupings but adding
other plants for variety.
 Balance

In landscape design the idea is to balance the visual weight of

objects in the landscape. Balance can be symmetricalone
side of an area looks just like another and gives a sense of
stability, creating a formal balance.

Balance can be asymmetrical creating an informal balance.

Asymmetrical balance can be achieved with a mass planting of
shrubs or a tree on one side of the house visually balancing a
chimney on the other side.
Asymmetrical balance is dynamic and tends to suggest movement.
Balance
 Sequence

Sequence is used to direct the eye smoothly to a desired

focal point like the front door or a specimen shrub. Sudden
changes in appearance break the visual flow around the
landscape.

Includes a gradual change in the form, color, texture, or size

of the landscape.
Proportion or Scale

Proportion or scale refers to the way in which

objects, like plants, people, or structures, relate to
each other in size.

Proportion can be used to evoke emotion.

Large scale causes a humbling of the observer.

Example: A large tree or massive screen can seem
imposing.

Small scale gives a sense of dominance or perhaps a

desire to care for the smaller objects;
Example: dwarf plants, such as miniature roses.
 Form
Form refers to the
silhouette or outline of the
plant

A plant can be selected for

the way its form can be
used in the landscape to
complement the house or
achieve the principles of
design.
Example: Rounded trees or
shrubs can be used with
oval, spreading, or weeping
plants in a pleasing border.
Texture
Refers to a plants feel, but generally in the landscape
visual texture is the main consideration.

Large leaves cast distinctive shadows in the plant

canopy, offering a coarse appearance.

Finer-textured foliage offers a more uniform shade

pattern.

Texture can be used to affect the sense of scale.

A fine-textured plant used near the viewer with a coarse-
textured plant farther away gives a subtle sense of
decreased distance. It makes your property or structure
seem smaller.
Line

In curvilinear design, lines should be dramatic, done

with a sense of flamboyancy and be very expressive in
their shape.

Curvilinear lines that have weak, scallopy edges will

not be visually interesting or pleasing to the eye.

Curvilinear, meandering lines suggest a naturalistic

look that invites the user to casually stroll through and
experience the landscape.
 Focal Point

It is the use of emphasis.

Eye movement is directed towards a center of interest

that takes a position of prominence in the landscape.
This could be a single tree, a beautifully designed water
feature, a piece of sculpture, or a collection of ericaceous
plants that automatically draw the eye to this point of
interest.
Color
Color has a strong effect and should be used with
discretion.
Dont plan the landscape only with use of flowering
plants in mind.
Use 80 to 90 percent of the plants for foliage effect.
Some variety in foliage color is needed, but green
provides the continuity as well as the backdrop for
carefully used color.
Color should be used to focus attention on an area of
the landscape and to complement the house.
Colors should complement each other and use similar
hues together.
Mass colors, dont alternate colors. Alternating breaks
up visual sequence and is distracting.
 Selecting Plants
Plants are living things and have basic environmental and
maintenance requirements.
Give careful attention to the growing conditions and unique
needs of certain plants before using them in the landscape
design.
Can reduce pesticide use, reduce maintenance efforts, like
pruning; and encourage longer-living, better-looking plants. In
other words you can save a lot of effort and money.
Factors to consider:
Cold hardiness or heat tolerance.
Light requirement.
Moisture requirement.
Soil drainage needs.
Soil pH requirement.
Pest susceptibility.
Rate of growth and mature size.
 Arranging Plants

Keep your landscape simple.

Use a small number of plants with different
characteristics; and repeat these. Use even
fewer unusual plants. Use simple lines for
edges of borders, walks, and drives. And, use
simple arrangements for groupings of plants.
Simplicity is the key to both lower maintenance
and effective landscapes. Simplicity, combined
with creativity, is the key to a landscape.
Plants are arranged in seven basic ways:
 Arranging Plants
Plants are arranged in seven basic ways:
Specimen Plant
The center of attention. It deserves a prominent place in the landscape.
Accent
Like a specimen but more subtle as a featured plant in a grouping of other plants.
Corner Plantings
Groups of plants used to tie down the corners of the house. Corner plantings
blend the vertical line of the wall with the horizontal plane of the ground
Foundation Plants
Help anchor the house to the ground and should direct the eye of the viewer to
the entrance.
Taller plants are placed on, or beyond, the corners with height of plants
descending toward the entrance
Entrance Plantings
Plants used to identify an entryway like the driveway, a garden gate, or an entry
to the house.
Borders
Groupings of plants used to divide and define spaces in the yard.
Screens
Groupings of plants used to hide or cover unwanted views or objects.
Evergreen plants are an important part of screens, but they should not be the
only plants used. Add deciduous plants for variety in color and texture.
The screen needs to be at least 6 feet high to be effective.
 Putting Ideas on Paper

Standard symbols are used to depict the kinds of

plants and structures to be used in the landscape.
For example, a broadleaf deciduous tree, like a dogwood, may be
depicted with a rounded canopy line or as leafless branches.
Broadleaf evergreen shrubs, like azaleas, might be illustrated as
circles with rounded edges.
Pines and other needle evergreens are often pictured with sharp
edges.
 Putting Ideas on Paper
The use of fancy symbols in your landscape plan is not
essential; simply using circles drawn to scale with a circle
template is all right as long as you are consistent.
It is helpful to be familiar with the symbols that are typically
used so you can recognize the general kinds of plants used
as you look at the plan of a professional landscape design.
Circles used to represent the plants should be drawn to scale
so the plants are illustrated at their mature size.
Plants need to be identified on the plan.
For example: After all, you may put your plan away until you
can afford to install another portion of your landscape. You may
forget what plants were selected; without the key, you are lost.
On the key, be sure to include the number and size of plants that
need to be purchased. Also include the scientific names of plants
to avoid confusion when you purchase them.
Exit Ticket

List the four steps in the design process.

List the twelve principles of design in landscaping.

Select two principles of design in landscaping and

briefly describe each principle and give examples.