Getting the Balance in your Garden Right - more garden design principles

Okay...so we now have perfect unity and harmony in our well proportioned and simple design!

The other principle that we need to pay attention to is

Balance

A Balanced design will create a garden that is comfortable and visually pleasing. It will unite all of the features and elements within the space and create harmony. You see how all the different principles relate to one another?

To get the balance right, you need to think of how you'd feel in that space - you wouldn't feel very comfortable in a room that had all it's furniture pushed to one side - would you?

The easiest method for achieving balance in your garden would be to design a formal, symmetrical and evenly spread garden. Symmetrical gardens are naturally balanced and so you would not need to concern yourself too much with this particular principle. If you want an informal garden however, this will require a bit more consideration on your part to ensure that you get the balance right.

When dividing up your site (refer back to your functional layout plan here) you should make sure that each area relates to each other area. They do not need to be the exact size and shape - that would be boring- but they need to form some kind of relationship, not just two dimensionally but also three dimensionally. Consider which areas will become your masses (the solid aspects of your design; such as planting, buildings, etc) and which areas will be your voids ( the open areas of your design; such as lawns, patios, pathways, etc).

Use the furniture in the room as an example- all of the masses (furniture) are squished to one side of the room. The masses and voids in this space are not very balanced at all!

Now look at what each area is responsible for. You will have some areas that are to be for sitting and relaxing whilst other areas are for playing or walking. Try to balance out the different uses. The aim is to prevent the garden from becoming too static or active in any one particular section of the garden. If you are including a veg patch don't forget to add a seat to this area. That way you can balance work with sitting and enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Most gardens benefit from having secluded areas which are not immediately visible when entering the garden for the first time. You will need to consider the balance between these secluded areas and the open spaces. The function of each of these areas will dictate that balance to a certain degree - helping you to reach a decision.

Look at the balance you require between light and dark spaces. Too many shady areas will create a gloomy garden, whilst a bright sunny garden will be harsh, and tiresome. A totally sunny garden will also be harder to plant as they will need to be able to tolerate dry, hot conditions all of the time.

Sometimes you won't be able to control the amount of light that your garden receives. If your neighbour has a huge tree that casts a massive shadow over your garden, you'll just have to work with it, I'm afraid. Using light coloured paving materials and flowers can help to reflect any light that does reach that area and make it appear brighter. If, on the other hand,, your garden has no natural shade you will need to address this and add something that will add shade. Whether that would be a tree or a purpose built structure depends on what would fit with your design.

You will need to balance your choice of colours too. Introducing too many colours will make your design feel chaotic, whereas, not enough colour could make the design feel dull and uninteresting.

Take a look at this picture. How does it

make you feel? Is it too much colour or a well balanced design? (This was a design (not mine!) exhibited at Gardener's World Live show and people's views were mixed on the day )

Consider carefully where structures might add to enhance your design, and bring balance to it. Features or structures can help balance a three dimensional element in your garden and ensure that there is something of interest at all levels. When choosing which structures or features you want to use, make sure that they are the correct size and weight for your design - not too flimsy or overpoweringly large.

Remember - everyone's

views and ideas are different.

Just because you are convinced that your design is balanced, someone else may disagree altogether. Don't worry about it! So long as you feel that you have kept to the principles of garden design then you'll be happy with the finished design - and, after all - it is YOUR garden!

How to create a really good functional plan!

Let's look at how your

functional layout plan is

shaping up then, shall we?

You should have a well thought out layout with each area (or bubble) representing the solution to a particular function. If you have areas in the layout at the moment that aren't serving a function that you wrote down on your list of requirements, then scrub it out now! It doesn't need to be there and is just decoration for the garden rather than actual design. Don't worry, you can probably still include it, just not at this stage. What we're trying to do here is give you a template for your final design and make sure you include all of the absolute necessary features you want. Make sure that the areas are large enough to allow for whatever function you are expecting it to carry out - don't just make the patio area large enough for table and chairs, people will need to be able to walk around too.


Okay, so you're happy with the number of areas you have created and the sizes of each area. We also need to look at how they relate to each other. How do people move through the site? And how many of them will be moving through it at the same time? On the diagram below (apologies for using the same one as yesterday!) it shows arrows that mark the circulation routes that people should use.
Look at your site analysis and decide which are your primary routes in the garden. These are essential routes such as entry and exit of the garden, access to sheds, storage, etc. You can then identify the secondary routes. These are routes that aren't necessary but are used for recreation or relaxing, such as, meandering through the garden.

It is common knowledge that people will usually take the shortest route to get somewhere essential. These are known as "desire lines". It is important to consider where these would likely be in your design and try to accommodate, or prevent them where possible. Do you want the edge of your lawn worn out where people have "cut the corner"? If you're determined that you want to send people in a certain direction to reach their goal, then you will need to include something in your design that stops then from being able to follow their "desire line". In a large garden it is probably advisable to have a direct route to services such as sheds, washing lines, etc, however these don't have to be dull. You can use your creative flare and add a bit of design to these too, balancing the design with practicality as you go.

You may also want to add some focal points to your design, or have to take in to account existing ones. Focal points don't have to be a giant naked sculpture of a man/woman! They can be anything from artwork, to a specimen of a tree or shrub. Anything that will draw the eye and add interest. There may be a view outside of the garden boundary that you want to draw people to. When you are selecting the positions for these focal points consider the site lines from the house. You don't want to look out of the kitchen window and look straight at a shed - or do you? Imagine sitting on your new patio. What are you looking at? You don't need to know what the focal point is at this stage, but knowing where they are going to go is necessary to complete the functional layout plan stage.

Avoid specifics at this stage. You won't need to list the plants that you want to use but you may like to highlight specimen trees. Use simple generic headings for your planted areas - hedging, climbing, ground cover, shade-loving, etc.

Once you have completed your functional layout plan, create a few more and compare them. You may prefer the look of one more than the other, or decide to add some design features from one plan to another. Keep turning the plan to see it from different angles and prevent it from getting stale.

Congratulations!

Now that you have a functional layout plan of your garden that fills all of your objectives and potentially looks good, you are ready to start elaborating your design ideas for each area you have created. Consider materials and level changes and other important details.

Depending on how confident you are, you may want to sketch 3D drawings of your design ideas. These will help you get a better idea of what the finished design could look like. Don't worry if you're not good at drawing - we'll look at techniques later on.

You could, if you prefer, make detailed notes about each area on your functional layout plan and maybe attempt some freehand sketches to act as a basis for the next stage.

Something that does get used a lot by designers is the creation of a 'concept' or 'mood' board. This is essentially a collage of pictures and materials collected from magazines, photos and anywhere else appropriate that represent the "feel" of your design. Look through inspirational sources and collect images that reflect the way you want your garden to look and feel. It will help you to remain focused on your design and could even stimulate new ideas.

Give it a go and see what you think!