Since landscaping ceased to be solely the prerogative of professionals in our manor and garden plots surprisingly transformed. But what is remarkable. This transformation does not always go as we would have liked. Here like and vegetable plantations have disappeared, and besides the usual flower beds were new-fangled rock gardens and rockeries. Ponds and ponds, waterfalls and streams, paths of all kinds, lawns and clipped hedges, but still something wrong.

He does not pull our design refinements to the results of the works of the last time gardeners. So what's the deal? And it all is that we are not familiar styles of landscape design, exactly what any garden makes perfect and harmonious. Stylistic decision and specific rules of each style - that's what you need to know to strike at difficult (as it turns out) the case of landscape design.

Stylistic solutions

For all known styles of landscape design there is a standard classification (it sounds, however, such as in a scientific way). However, you can try to split these styles into certain groups. For example, depending on the overall impression of "natural" or "artificial" any garden design can be attributed to the group of regular and landscape styles closer to the village and park-style. The ethnic coloring garden design can be designed in a Western or Eastern traditions, to reflect cutting-edge fashion trends or evoke nostalgia for bygone times.

Therefore, the stylistic solution for your garden it should reflect your vision of the world and your attitude. Any chosen style will emphasize your perception of the space and your idea of ​​a natural, but man-made beauty. However, that all happened really stylish, you need to know the so-called "signs" and the laws of each style in landscape design.

By the way, a mixture of styles here, too, is quite acceptable and could easily become your stylistic decisions. The main thing that the whole architecture of the garden was subordinated to the idea of ​​a united and organized creative techniques.

And interestingly, whatever stylistic decision for your garden, you have not stopped, it will always gravitate to either the definition and mathematical adjustedness regular style or to the meditative mood of the landscape terrain. Because these two areas are landscape design and trailblazing. Let's see what are the most famous and popular styles of landscape design in landscape art.

Regular style

It is also called the French, classic, formal. This style is well-known to you, and how the European style palace parks and gardens (the famous Versailles gardens). Its main distinguishing feature - symmetry. All elements of the garden should be symmetric with respect to the principal or the specified axis, and have strict geometric shapes.

Landscape regular garden is no different special vividness. It's all located in the same plane or on the terraces with retaining walls. This split-level garden terraces connected by staircases, which become an important decorative element of the garden. Sheared hedges, geometrically arranged paths, green lawn with smooth borders - as an integral feature of a regular garden. With all these features, and plants for him to pick up some, namely those that respond well to shearing.

Use this style to your garden design is appropriate not always. Still, this style is suitable for large areas and parks. If you have just such a residence designed for entertaining, business meetings and events, and want to show off their wealth, choose a classic style. In this case, make an impression of you exactly succeed. But keep in mind that on its own is unlikely you will manage, you will definitely need an assistant for this stylistic solutions.

Landscape style

This solution is suitable for those who mathematical concepts of symmetry and geometry in garden design rejects. Because this style is called natural. What is characteristic of him? As close to the natural landscape: the alternation of hills and slopes, and smooth curved lines, tiered landing, picturesque ponds. The garden, designed in landscape style should resemble cultivated and well maintained area "wild" nature.

Therefore, to pick up the landscape garden plants growing, usually in the area. Tracks do like forest and meadow paths and uneven shore waters framed by natural materials (stone, sand) and wetland vegetation. Usually it is a stylistic decision for country houses and summer cottages. This style has to rest and creativity, much closer to nature and even "dissolve into it," prompting a philosophical mood.

This style originated in England and is therefore also known by its second name "English". That old English manor - a striking example of landscape style. And it looked like a nineteenth-century Russian gardens, designed in landscape style can be seen in the painting by Vasily Polenov "Grandma's yard."

Variations on a regular style

1. Italian style. This is just a convenient option of using regular style in the design of a small garden or a park. Such hedges garden twine or a green wall that gently sheared, giving it the correct geometric shape. The same shape and are part of the garden, which he divided straight or diagonal paths.
2. Dutch style when his pronounced regularity carries and features of the landscape style. Center of the garden - a perfect lawn, framed by beautiful flowers and flowering shrubs, and growing along the fence accurate sheared hedge. The elements of the landscape style here is the rural attributes (mill, well, cart), and sculpture garden.
3. Modern - style landscape design is simple and regular shape, but without strict symmetry. Harmony with nature is achieved through contrast: concrete planters, paving tiles, plastic furniture and surrounded by lush vegetation and colorful flowers.
4. Moorish style is geometrically correct, imitating oriental ornaments. It's kind of sad-arabesque, which grew out of a green oasis in the desert, and claims to be the heir to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It becomes the center of a pond or fountain, from which the four corners of the world diverge channels, dividing the garden into four equal rectangles. Its distinctive feature - an abundance of water and lush green (like an oasis).

Variations on the theme of landscape style

1. Rural (rural, country) style. In addition to preserving the natural landscape of this style involves striking evidence of the presence of village life: fences, kitchen garden with a scarecrow . wooden decking instead of tracks, tubs instead of pots. In this garden perfectly fit any fruit trees and shrubs, and the beds of strawberries is ideally located next to the flower beds.
2. Colonial style that originated in the New World. Its distinctive features - cobblestone fieldstone or sand paths, plants in tubs, plenty of garden sculptures (animal figures), hammocks and wicker chairs, flowering vines twined veranda and pergola. A basic mood of this style - slow and lazy lifetime.
3. Forest style is perfectly suited for the design of land located in a natural forest. Most often, little effort to transform the landscape of the designer is not required. Blend well into the forest landscape human habitation and all that comes with it - that's what becomes his main task.
4. Japanese garden can be of several types: rock garden, water garden, a garden, trees, garden seasons or garden moss. It is an integral part - bridges, paths, benches, lamps made from natural materials or coarse metal (iron). The Japanese garden is valued old: rust patina on metal, moss on trees, lichens on the rocks. There are no special splendor and diversity - all quite restrained and concise. Chinese garden looks very similar to the Japanese, but is based solely on the laws of Feng Shui. A constructive basis Chinese garden should be visible and decorative in summer and winter.

Choose your style

The main stages of the selection style in landscape design - is the study of topography of your site and its natural vegetation, as well as the definition of the purpose for which you are creating your garden. Style choice also depends on the architecture of your home, the size of the area, proximity to natural reservoir, the presence or absence of any communication or structures.

If you own a large suburban area in the forest area, it would be wise to choose the style of the forest. If your house is built on a large and open area, there may be appropriate regular (French) style. Lovers of fine form, but the owners of a small Italian-style garden approach. Cottagers - Dutch, but the owners of the manor in the countryside - rustic or colonial.

Also take into account their ability to care for the garden. If you have enough time, you can have a regular garden model in any of its variants. If you have time, not so much, it is best to choose any landscape style. Or you can create a special, personal style or theme. It's not fashionable to less than a mixture of styles.

Theme style of landscape design as accurately recreates a specific geographical location or stylize it in accordance with your fantasies. One of the clearest examples of a thematic style - the Japanese garden. But what's stopping you, pick up some plants and transform your garden, for example, in the Mediterranean landscape? Or create a fabulous rose garden, which hit Gerda when Kay went in search? Or stylize it under the ownership of the medieval lords? What are you most comfortable with? Choose. And if it is difficult to stay on something specific, the current trends of landscape design can help you to solve this problem.

Modern trends in landscape design

Mixing styles. That's what today is fashionable and popular. In general, this is justified from a practical point of view, and from the art. Materials for the garden design today simply abundant creative impulses of modern landowners simply overwhelmed, that they found a way out in such a simple decision as "a stylistic mix." But to your garden after all, it was really stylish, using this method in accordance with the rules.

1. Use different styles in different zones of the site. For example, for the "front" area complete your garden in a regular style and design make the recreation area landscape.
2. Maintain each separate area of ​​the garden in a certain style and avoid mixing styles within these zones.
3. Do not try to grasp the immensity, and do not try to use to design your garden "garden all at once."

Remember that in this case the landscape design allows for different styles, but in moderation, opposing, but geographically separated. And no matter what you choose, the mathematical precision of the regular style or philosophical mood landscape. The main thing that it was really nice and really stylish. Because the style - it is harmony. Is not this what we are striving, trying to himself as a landscape designer?