formal garden styles Topiary How to set up a formal garden...

Transcription

1 formal garden styles How to set up a formal garden... Topiary

2 formal gardens A formal garden is classically elegant and never goes out of fashion. This timeless style of garden is all about geometry, symmetry, shape and structure. With an understanding of formal design and a few simple tips it s easy to bring a touch of grandeur to your garden and home. GEOMETRY & SYMMETRY Formal gardens are often geometrically arranged, with structured garden beds and parterres of neatly clipped evergreen hedging. Play around with square and rectangular shapes that can be echoed in garden beds, pavers, stepping stones, water features and pots or be more adventurous with diamond and circle shapes. Use symmetry to give the garden an air of formality. Try creating a strong central access down the middle of the garden using a path or channel of water. Create an avenue of trees or shrubs, position a pair of matching urns on either side of the path or mirror the same garden design to create symmetry.

3 HEDGES Neatly clipped hedges are at the heart of a formal garden and create clean, classic lines that give the garden a sense of order. Low growing hedges can be used to define paths and flowerbeds or to create a patterned garden around the rose, herb or vegetable plot. Box (Buxus species) is the traditional low hedging plant, but other compact plants like Dwarf Escallonias, the Box Leaf Honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) and low growing Native Westringias can work well too. So can herbs like Rosemary and Lavender. You can also use tall evergreen hedging plants like Yew (Taxus baccata), Photinias, Lilly Pillies or Pittosporum to define and enclose areas and make a tranquil garden room or create a formal avenue or screen with Italian Cypress or Junipers. TOPIARY You can also introduce shape and structure with topiary. It is the ancient art of clipping trees or shrubs into decorative shapes like balls, cones, spirals or other whimsical creations. Bushy, slow growing plants like Box make wonderful topiary subjects because they are easy to maintain and manage, but you ll need to be patient. Faster growing shrubs like Bay Trees and Ficus also work well and form shapes quicker, but you ll need to prune more regularly. FOCAL POINTS Create focal points in the garden with classical elements like ornamental statues, stylish urns and fountain or use plants with strong architectural forms like Cordylines, topiary or standards to draw the eye. Position them at the end of a path or long central axis.

4 WATER Water brings life and movement to the garden, but in formal designs it can also be an artistic feature. Create a focal point and introduce the tranquil sound of water with a formal tiered fountain or make an eye-catching feature with a single spout of water. Use water as a means of creating symmetry, with long channels or rills that divide the garden down a central axis or decorate the space with square, rectangular or circular ponds that mirror the geometry in the garden. Path For hard surfaces consider traditional stone, paving or gravel to link the garden to the house and provide a beautiful way to move through the space. Neatly manicured lawns can also give the garden a sense of formality. PLANTS Evergreen structure is the backbone of a formal garden. Traditional Formal Gardens In traditional formal gardens you can create evergreen structure with plants like Box (Buxus species), Lavender, Rosemary, Yew and Santolina or give the garden a formal Mediterranean look with Italian Cypress, clipped Citrus and Olive trees. Modern Formal Gardens In modern formal gardens, plants with architectural foliage like spiky Yuccas or Cordylines can provide striking focal points. Formal Infill Planting Once the formal structure is in place consider the infill planting. Use Roses for a classic look and beautiful fragrance or traditional bedding plants like Begonias for seasonal displays. Mostly green planting with just a splash of white can create a lovely tranquil scene. Informal Infill Planting Or you might like to soften the look and feel of formal hedges with informal infill planting. Fill box edging with pretty cottage garden perennials, add a modern twist to the design with ornamental grasses or create a traditional potager with herbs and vegetables. Formal gardens are neat and uncluttered, so try to work with a limited plant palette and consider mass planting for simplicity. Lavender

5 DECORATIVE POTS AND CONTAINERS Decorative pots can play an integral role in the formal garden, with or without plants. Create impact with dramatic containers or urns filled with a single plant like a clipped standard or position a series of matching potted plants at regular intervals down a path. You can even create focal points with stylish urns or decorative pots all on their own. Hydrangea PARTERRE GARDEN A parterre is a formal garden with geometrically designed garden beds defined by low, neatly clipped hedging (sometimes stones) and gravel paths. Parterre gardens date back as far as the 15th century in France, but it was during the 17th century that they became most elaborate as demonstrated by the famous Parterre garden at the Palace of Versailles. Box (Buxus species) is the traditional plant of choice for parterre gardens, but you could also use herbs like lavender or rosemary.

6 CREATE A SIMPLE FORMAL GARDEN STEP 1 Decide on the pattern you want and sketch it to scale on paper first. If you are new at this you might like to choose a simple pattern, like a series of identical squares or a basic cross pattern. 2 Prepare the area for planting. Remove any grass and weeds and dig Earthcore Groganic Soil Improver and compost through the soil to improve structure and drainage. 3 Mark out a hedging plan, so that the design is perfectly symmetrical and plant it up. 4 Fill the gaps between the hedging plants with traditional herbs or annuals, create a splash of colour with scented roses or fill the spaces with gravel and allow the pattern to speak for itself. Formal Garden Complete the design with a decorative statue, fountain or urn. Your locally owned garden centre for quality plants and expert advice For more inspirational ideas go to plantsplus.com.au visit our website at plantsplus.com.au subscribe to our monthly newsletter follow and like us on PlantsPlusAustralia Copyright Home Timber & Hardware Group, 2015 îs.29007