Over the last eighteen years, I have designed gardens for homeowners, and during that time I have seen the good, the poor, and the downright ugly. Often, it’s the same kind of little design mistakes that give a yard a haphazard, unplanned, or boring appearance. It does take some skill to pull off a magnificent garden, from the original site selection to the plant selection and placement within the landscape. The same design principles hold true whether you’re designing a formal garden in the Northeast, a pollinator garden in the Midwest, or a drought-tolerant display in the Southwest. Before you even begin your project, follow these tips to help you avoid making the most frequent errors when designing a garden.
- Equivalent Plant Counts
equal though most creatures in nature have two of everything (two eyes, two legs, two wings, etc.), it’s preferable to avoid pairing up or using an equal number of plants. Using odd numbers makes your environment seem more natural and dynamic, and keeps the eyes moving throughout the field of view, especially when paired with even numbers to attract emphasis to a specific spot such as a pathway or entry. Plant groups of plants in odd numbers (3–11) and steer clear of planting them in too straight lines to prevent awkward-looking symmetry. Even numerals may be utilized at that point, if desired, but anything above 11 seems to be too much for the eyes to handle. - Contrasting Colors
We usually put colorful plants in our gardens. However, the whole impression becomes overpowering and washed out when those colors start to clash with surrounding buildings and other plants. It usually occurs when someone has a strong affinity for vivid hues, such as in the case of a brilliant yellow home with vibrant yellow flowers all around. Select flowers that contrast with their surroundings, such as blue, purple, and red flowers in front of lighter-colored homes and yellow, white, and orange flowers in front of dark houses, to balance off color clashes.
- Incongruous Garden Design
One of the biggest errors people make when designing a garden is to overlook a house’s or other building’s architectural style. For instance, the crisp lines of a contemporary garden design may clash and seem ostentatious with the restored Victorian home’s strong character and classical architecture. Large, flamboyant flowers would also dominate the sleek lines and angular shape of the majority of modern and contemporary-style residences. To avoid redoing the whole yard again, steer clear of this grave error at all costs.
- Mattresses that are empty
One of my biggest pet peeves in landscape design is when plants are placed in largely empty planting beds with mulch around them in an odd manner. This style is common in densely populated residential and commercial environments, where the emphasis is on “low maintenance.” They are completely the contrary, however, since weeds will constantly attempt to fill up the spaces. Besides, these mulch gardens aren’t very attractive. Not only would a more realistic, fully planted design look nicer, but it would also need less regular weeding.
- Not Adhering to the Plan
Gardeners may accumulate an assortment of odd plants that don’t work well together over time. Landscapes like this, which have been planted, replanted, and then planted again until the mishmash of plants simply looks untidy, are among the many that I’m often requested to remodel. It’s critical to make a strategy and follow it in order to prevent this garden design error. This arrangement must be the same in every part of the field of vision, which means that it must line up from every viewpoint.
Making a garden is a great way to spend time outside, take in the scenery, and express your creative side. But, if you steer clear of these typical mistakes in garden design, you’ll get the finest outcomes.