Landscape Design is a beautiful balance between form and function, between light and dark, between texture and shape. There are many people that feel as if flowers are the meat of a garden but I disagree. A beautiful design has much much more to it. A garden needs to take structure, shape and flow into consideration and the bones of the garden are where you need to start.
Here are some beautiful examples of a garden without flowers. The Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia is an inspiration. Well, all of Butchart is an inspiration and you’ll be seeing a bunch of it coming up, as I just spent a wonderful day there.
Water features, sculptural and architectural features are used in this garden and though our climate does not allow for the use of all the plants here, it is certainly possible to use the Landscape Design components of a Japanese Garden in Southern California.
I am doing a Landscape Design that is a lawn removal project for a client that loves Japanese gardens we are employing the use of gravel features, boulders, mounding tailored plants (some of them even California natives), and most of our plants don’t have any much bloom to speak of. I’m relying on some flowering trees to fill in that aspect of the garden. I am looking forward to getting that rolling, and will hopefully be able to share that with you in a few months.
In the meantime think about using these Landscape Design principles found in Japanese gardens in your garden. Use threes, think of form, enjoy shades of green, texture, and contrast. Flowers (or berries) can be the cherry on top!
Here are some photos to ponder, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
If you are interested in creating a beautiful garden, but are not sure what to do give me a call. I can be reached at 661-917-3521 or visit my website and contact me there.
