More Garden Design Themes and Styles Ideas

Fancy yourself as a bit of an

aristocrat?

Why not take inspiration from early Greek and roman architecture and create yourself a classic garden?

During the 18th century is was the fashion for well educated young gentlemen to explore Europe, where they learned about the classics, soaked up the culture and returned home with ideas and artifacts. These ideas and artifacts were used in many gardens in Britain including Chiswick House.

Some of the great classical gardens in Italy still exist today and are a good source of inspiration. They are very structured and formal, with evergreen hedges of box and yew providing that structure. Statues and references to classical architecture are featured prominently within the gardens including follies, bridges, and temples. Framed views and vistas that are still used today in many gardens would have originated from the classical era.

If you have been thinking that you would prefer a formal garden in design, then perhaps you might like to take it one stage further and add some classical inspiration to the design. Balustrades, columns and arches can all be reproduced and should be of high quality if you plan to use them in your garden.

Whilst looking at historical themes for gardens, you may decide that you would like a garden that keeps to the traditional of the period your house was built in. in this case you will need to research the period to be sure that you represent the history accurately. The Royal Horticultural Society Library would be a good source of information about historical periods in gardening. Don't forget to consider the planting and materials that were used during that time as well as the styles.

You do not need to design the whole garden with a particular theme in mind. You could if you prefer, design a modern garden which is personal to you, but take inspiration from themes and styles that you like.

In more recent times (after Second World War) there has been a slow emergence of more contemporary designs for gardens. This has been more evident in Europe and North America, however, us Brits are beginning to catch up now!

Contemporary, modern designs work best if the building that it is being linked to is also contemporary and modern. It then becomes easy to form a relationship between the garden and the building by using the same materials such as steel and glass.

People now take a lot of inspiration from their house interiors and with the availability of many more colours of exterior paints it is possible to create "that extra room" outside. Designers trying to create a contemporary design tend to shy away from traditional garden statues and ornaments and are opting instead for trendy glass and metal sculptures and modern artwork.

There's no reason why you

should be the same.

If you want a statue of "Adam" in your modern garden then go for it - perhaps you can paint him a different colour or something! During the "Ground Force" days, it was popular to use decking, and just about everyone who could afford to do it, did it! Thankfully though the trend died down when Alan Titchmarsh quit the show. Now you have the option of choosing a material for your patio that isn't made of wood, and you'll not be considered unfashionable. Of course decking is still popular, so if you like it, use it.

As our climate has changed so have our modern requirements for our gardens. We now have to consider water management and using drought tolerant plants because of the unpredictability of the British summers. The types of plants that we can successfully grow in our gardens is also changing and a result people can create little tropical jungles in their own gardens.

The latest trend to hit our gardens is to "grow your own" vegetables. This is a fairly new trend that has been gradually increasing during the last couple of years, however, I believe that with the present economical climate, the need to be able to grow your own vegetables is going to rapidly increase now. Unlike during war days, when people gave over their entire gardens to grow crops, this time around we are incorporating the vegetable crops into our normal planting and combining the two types of planting. If you visit any garden shows you will notice the number of display gardens that feature growing ornamental and edible plants together.

Another big trend at the moment is encouraging wildlife into your gardens. Choosing plants that encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife can be enjoyable for children and adult alike as they strive for a bit of "nature" in their hectic urban lives. Increased sales of bird feeders in recent years have seen an increase in birds visiting gardens. I tried this for the first time earlier this year and whilst I did get an increase in bird life, I also gained a squirrel that scurries along from nearby trees and helps himself (or maybe herself) to my peanuts.

Although some people may find having a squirrel a nuisance, I quite like my little visitor - he's (she's) good fun to watch!

Some people are opting to allow a section of their garden to grow "wild" including nettles and wildflowers to encourage wildlife. This can look good in the right setting but care will need to be given to it to ensure that it doesn't grow out of control and take over the rest of the garden.

Another easy way to attract wildlife is to add water to your garden. You don't need to have a huge pond with a waterfall, any water will have the desired effect. I added a half cask barrel and filled it with water. I put in a few plants and now every summer I have frogs hopping around. It's nice but they make me jump every time they move! If you're wanting to keep fish then you would need to install an adequate pool for them to ensure their health. Talk to your local supplier to gain advice from them before you make any decisions.

When considering themes and styles for your garden look everywhere for inspiration. Yes, study the countryside and other gardens, but also look elsewhere. Reading interior design magazines or going to places that have nothing to do with gardens could lead you to your big idea.

How to create Formal and Informal Garden designs

How are the rough design layouts coming along? Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to have finished them already. This is (yet another) important stage so take as long a time as you need to do them justice. This is my favourite part of the design process because you can just "go for it" and see what happens.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a heads up on some of the different themes and styles that you can focus your garden design on. As there are quite a few to mention, I'll go through them over the next couple of days so that you can have time to consider them all properly. The list is by no means exhaustive and you may already have your own theme that you want to explore. That's good - keep going with it!

For everyone else, here are a few to whet your appetites and get those creative juices flowing even more!

Formal Gardens

Formal gardens are generally created using a combination of geometric shapes and straight lines. They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Formal gardens have a sense of order and appear to be straightforward and logical. (note the word "appear"!) This is particularly evident if the design is symmetrical. Formal gardens have a controlling effect on its visitors, directing them to follow certain paths. French formal gardens such as Versailles rely on strong ground pattern and structural hedging to provide their distinctive shape. These formal gardens are arranged around an axis, or a series of axes and they incorporate framed views or focal points.

Asymmetrical formal gardens are generally more interesting, intriguing and unpredictable. Getting the balance right in an asymmetrical garden is the key to their success, using areas of "mass" and "void", and the size and shape of the different areas to counterbalance each other.

Typically formal gardens use evergreen plants such as topiary and clipped hedges as the primary planting. The structure and architecture of the plants contributing to the overall formality of the design.

Informal Gardens

In the 18th century Britain rebelled against the rigidity of formal garden design and began to create more informal gardens, reflecting the surrounding landscapes and opening up the boundaries using curvaceous lines and soft contours. Back then they created open spaces within their boundaries and encouraged livestock to graze. Now I'm not suggesting you borrow the local farmers sheep here, but you get the gist of an informal garden - keep it simple and free-flowing.

The informal garden has a natural, wilder feel and there are no limitations in its design. It has a more relaxed feel than a formally designed garden and encourages visitors to roam freely around it. Informal gardens can link very nicely to surrounding countryside or they provide a sanctuary in town environments.

Informal gardens work best when loose materials are used such as gravel that easily form free- flowing shapes and curves. Harder landscaping materials such as paving can be used in an informal setting but will need to be positioned in an informal manner.

Planting in an informal garden should also be relaxed, and they should be encouraged to flow over paths to "soften" the design. They can also be planted in drifts rather than tight blocks allowing them to merge together. It's all about creating soft lines in an informal garden, so throw out your rulers for this design! Avoid using rigid, architectural plants such as the topiary and clipped hedges from the formal designs. Instead opt for less rigid plants, and allow shrubs to have the space to grow to their natural shapes and sizes. Bamboos and grasses are perfect for an informal garden as they create movement and generally have soft forms.

Informal gardens tend to require a higher amount of maintenance than a formal one, so you will need to consider how much time you can devote to looking after your creation. It may be that you have your heart set on an informal design but cannot devote much time to it. In this case you will need to be very careful with your selection of plants so as to create an informal look but with minimum maintenance requirements.

If you want to include water to your design then make it "fit" with your chosen design. Creating a rigid, square water feature raised with bricks would be inappropriate for an informal design. the design would need to reflect nature as much as possible, copying the size and shapes of streams, ponds, lakes and rivers in exact proportions.

Take a look at how nature creates its gardens. Head off into the countryside the next sunny day you have available and study the contours of the land, how the streams curve and how the plants grow. This will give you a greater understanding of how nature works and help you create a great informal design.

You can, of course, combine the two themes together if your garden has enough room to accommodate them both. You may decide that close to the house requires a formal setting whilst as you move to the further boundaries you can allow for a more informal, relaxed design. The choice is, as always, totally yours.