The Less Is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing Your Small Yard by Susan Morrison

Author:Susan Morrison [Morrison, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: 2018-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

Tall, vertical art pieces that contrast with surrounding foliage make excellent garden focal points.

Garden statuary is a time-honored choice for a focal point in a traditional garden.

Placed at the back of the garden, “Bird Lady” helps guide the eye through the space.

Smaller pieces of art that are best admired at close range make attractive focal points near patios or other spaces where people congregate.

Unify a space

On field trips in my student days, we often asked the instructors to point out various real-life examples of design principles. Whenever one of our teachers was asked to identify the unifying element in a garden, “the lawn” was his inevitable response. I wasn’t quite sure that was a satisfying answer at the time, and now that I see so many homeowners choosing to minimize or remove lawns altogether, I’ve begun noticing and creating other ways to make a garden feel cohesive. Focal point placement works as an excellent strategy for connecting two or more spaces visually. Placing an object that is attractive when viewed from multiple sides (such as a circular water feature, small tree, or oversized urn) between multiple activity areas simultaneously creates both a subtle connection and a division. Activity areas are defined while remaining integrated. This works with multiple layouts, but is particularly effective with L-shaped patios, as placing an object with mass in the right angle created by the patio’s inside corner helps relieve the flatness of the surrounding hardscape.

Focal points can also be created from more than one object. This is particularly true if you are dividing a large expanse of continuous hardscape. In this instance, a lone object might appear too isolated, but a grouping of ornaments — such as containers of different heights with a similar finish or material — could work beautifully. Be sure to keep the grouping fairly cohesive and simple; for example, three containers of similar material, but no more.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.