Garden Styles

There are two main styles of garden design: regular and landscape. The main signs of a regular style: Tracks are parallel or perpendicular to each other, sometimes along the diagonal of a quadrangle or in a regular circle, or rays from the composition center. Trees are planted in such a way as to form clear and at the same time symmetrical compositions, their crowns are neatly formed, shrubs are cut to fit some geometric figure or planted in trimmed hedges, flower beds, reservoirs and lawns have the correct geometric shape, symmetry reigns in everything about the center of the house, entrance gates, etc. Boring? Too formal and outdated? Not at all, although this may seem so at first glance. The atmosphere of such a garden is always sublime and solemn, and even a small garden in a regular style makes a strong impression. A regular garden requires very careful maintenance,since the natural growth of plants has to be constantly restrained, but there are much fewer unpleasant surprises for the owner. The "impudent" linden tree will not obscure the view of the beloved lake, and the spruce tree will not "crawl" with its paws on the shortest path to the gazebo.

People who are accustomed to living in a big city and feel uncomfortable in the bosom of nature are much more comfortable seeing the correct lines around them and the order that is obvious even at first glance. At the same time, all possible benefits are a pleasant green color for the eyes, air ionized by plants, the scent of flowers, the murmur of fountains, birdsong, fluttering butterflies, as well as such a rare state for a city dweller as solitude (and tall, clipped walls that completely protect from the outside world are typical reception of the regular style) - presented in full. Nature in a regular garden is completely subordinated to the genius of man, "who cognized the highest harmony with algebra." More precisely - geometry, because the regular style can also be called "the art of garden architecture".

The French kings, the very numerous Louis, spent most of their lives in the polished luxury of the famous regular Versailles, which to this day is one of the standards of landscape art. That is why the regular garden is often called French.

The regular garden will be the perfect continuation of the luxurious mansion. Predictability and laconic lines are perfectly combined with luxury in decor. So if you are a solid and respectable person, and there is an ideal order on your desktop or in your apartment, any violation of which puts you out of balance, then a regular style of landscaping is what you need.

Completely different principles in the landscape style of garden design. The paths run in smooth lines in the most unpredictable directions, there are practically no straight lines. Ponds and flower beds have natural outlines, trees and shrubs grow as they please. This style is characterized by the desire to only slightly "refine" living nature. The main thing is the impression of naturalness and "naturalness". Symmetry gives way to harmony and balance in all garden design elements.

The main problem of the landscape style is the measure. The ratio of indoor and outdoor space, decorativeness and functionality, color accents and monochrome. Overdo it a little - and the feeling of harmony is lost in the lovingly created garden.

The ancestors of the landscape style, oddly enough, are pedantic Englishmen, therefore, if the paths in the park do not follow the shortest path - in a straight line, but invite you to take a walk and spend a little more time communicating with nature, then most likely you are in front of a typical English garden.

One of the main advantages of the landscape style is the visual expansion of the garden thanks to the intricate pattern of paths along which you can walk for a long time without getting tired of the monotony of the surrounding landscape. A landscaped garden is much less time consuming to create and maintain. And all the disadvantages - uneven terrain, an asymmetrical site, a not too impressive manor house - can be turned into advantages if you approach the creation of a project individually.

What should you choose? It's simple. In the XXI century, as a rule, all stylistic devices are not used in their pure form. Eclecticism and a combination of the seemingly incongruous is not always a bad thing. Nothing prevents to make the entrance area of ​​the estate regular, in order to create the impression of splendor, and to plan the rear part of the site in a landscape style, so that there is an opportunity to "rest the soul" from the big city. Straight lines of paths can lead to the main objects - a bathhouse, a garage, a guest house, but at the same time, nothing prevents you from arranging also winding walking paths in order to admire the secluded corners of the garden. The front flower garden under the living room windows is often designed in strict symmetrical forms, and in the depths of the garden there is a mixborder of wild flowers and fragrant herbs. It is only desirable that both styles do not mix,but they were used to design different functional areas of the site ("front area", "economic" area, "recreation area", etc.).