Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tips on Garden Design

By Jason Flinstone

An assessment of the garden in history, however brief, cannot ignore the pervasive influence of oriental garden design. Gardening was a craft in China in ancient times and it crossed the sea to Japan in the seventh century All to develop into a distinctive style of its own, which continues basically unchanged to this clay.

It is equally important that the style of the garden is in keeping with the inside if the house and garden are to be seen as a whole. Not only does the house lead out to the garden and thus form a unit in the physical sense but the garden can usually be seen from the windows of the house and should harmonize with the interior as much as possible.

In this context it is often easier to define style in a negative way: concrete slabs, for instance, lack the subtlety and texture needed for paving a cottage garden, and asbestos pots would he out of character in the garden of a traditional brick house.

A good garden plan not only demonstrate the enormous range of needs and activities which can be catered for within such a limited space, they also show how a design based on individual needs will transform the same basic plot into a unique, well planned garden.

Traditionalists will want a gentle, harmonious layout, with perhaps stone, soft curves and a glint of water. Many other types of house, such as the summer hous retreat, the seaside villa and the town house all have particular characteristics which call for a particular style of garden.

As children leave home the garden area should become quieter and parents should have more time to spend in it. They may concentrate more on the plants themselves, possibly with special interests developing such as roses or a greenhouse. However, what can be looked after with ease at fifty becomes something of a chore at seventy.

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