It sounds easy, but it is not. Realize good projects of garden design is not easy as it may seem and not only, the impact of the green is essential.
A while ago I wrote a post in which I told you about the importance of the outdoors (and not just of interior decoration, as many think) because the boundary, the green space around a building is the first thing you notice. It must be nice, it must give a feeling of well-being to those who watch it, it must respect its surroundings and integrate with them perfectly.
There are basic rules to follow without which you cannot achieve the intent.
The first rule is simplicity and you know that being simple is the hardest thing in the world.
The second rule concerns the choice of the colours of the plants that compose a garden. It is always good to remember that the results combining plants with the same colour gradations are more refined or instead combining complementary colours, as to say the opposed ones on the colour circle, you get great contrasts.
In sunny areas it is better to use bold and strong colours, and the sunlight will make them even brighter.
In the shady gardens with dark green backgrounds is good instead to use the white and its nuances, creating contrast effects that are extremely elegant.
Speaking of colours, we must also be aware of the feelings they arouse: yellow for example is a comforting colour, red lights up, blue is reliable and safe, calm and quiet, green is a colour directly related to the nature and life, which is why at its sight we feel sensations of calmness, relaxation and hope.
Not only colours. The third rule is that we must also take account of forms and shapes, for example plants with rounded leaves has to be combined with squared vases and vice versa sharpest leaves better to be matched with rounded shaped vessels.
Another rule of contrast applies to the combination with plants and surrounding forms, if our vessel is round and low, the best is to combine it to something completely different, such as a slender container, geometric and high. Do not forget proportions: to be aesthetically appealing, a plant must exceed in size from one and a half to two in dimensions the vessel. And attention to the size of the location: if we position our arrangements on a large staircase, mini plants in mini pots won’t have certainly the right appeal.
All this contributes to the so-called visual balance of a garden that affects the well-being of those who are observing our green area.
As I wrote at the beginning, it seems simple, but it is not really.
There are rules or guidelines to follow, but experience plays undoubtedly an important role.
Marco Sandrini, Landscape Designer at Sandrini Green Architecture
Côte d’Azur. Private villa in Cap d’Ail
Emirate of Abu Dhabi. A garden in a desert