As the weather warms up, our minds slowly grind out of hibernation mode and into Spring Cleaning mode. We start to shift our focus from indoor renovations and improvements to outdoor… and for many, that includes landscaping.

Landscape design may sound about as fun as a double root canal, but it can actually be a really fun process – if you understand the basics of what you’re trying to accomplish. Not sure what those are? Well, you’re in the right place 🙂

Gee, it’s like I set that up or something…

Alright alright. Diving in.

Element #1: Colour

Colour is probably the easiest of the five basics to understand. Some colours just naturally go better together than others, and our eye can tell the difference. It’s more than just art though – there’s a bit of science to it too. If you want to understand which colours go well together, take a look at this basic colour wheel.

Colours on opposite ends of the wheel are called “complementary colours.” It means they go well together. We’ve got blue paired with orange, red and green, and purple with yellow. If you want to add a pop of colour to your landscape but aren’t sure where to start, this colour wheel can help you get going.

A word of caution: don’t go nuts with colour. Use it sparingly, like cilantro on your fish tacos! Colour can be a great way to draw your eye to a focal point in your landscape design – but hang on, we’ll get there 🙂

First, let’s talk about scale.

Element #2: Scale & Propotion

Scale refers to how large or small something is. It’s closely related to proportion, though they’re not the same thing. Scale speaks in absolutes, whereas proportion compares the size of one thing to another.

When it comes to landscape design, here we’re talking more about proportion. How do the sizes of your various elements work together? If you have a row of plants, do you have a massive bush beside a tiny patch of grass? Or do the proportions work together?

A great example of scale and proportion working hard for you relates to planting multiple rows of plants. When you’re taking a group photo, you put the tallest folks at the back, shorter folks in the middle, and the shortest in the front. That way, you see a little of everybody, right?

Same goes for plants.

Element #3: Lines & Focal Points

Lines and focal points are important in landscape design because they tell your eye where to look. I know, your eyes are like “I don’t need to be told where to look dammit, I’ll do what I want!” But hear me out.

When we take in our surroundings, our eyes naturally look for something of interest: a pattern to follow, usually. Linear lines are awesome for taking your eye to a certain place, just the same as they are in photography. Like colour, our eyes are trained to look for them, and they’re great for guiding you to a focal point.

That focal point might be a fountain, a seating area, an interesting tree or anything else. Part of what makes it a focal point is that it’s different (in colour, scale, texture, etc. Starting to see how these elements are related?). But part of it is how you suggest to the eye that it’s a focal point. You could have lines of bushes leading right to it, or surround it with an especially bright splash of colour.

No matter which way you go, a focal point is an important part of landscape design, and colour and lines are two tools to help you emphasize it.

Element #4: Form

Form in landscaping refers to the shape a particular plant takes. Not all trees are created equal, obviously. Some have braches that reach for the sky; others droop downward. Some are short and stubby, others tall and narrow.

Varying the form of the plants in your landscape is a great way to add interest to your yard – using the exact same form across all of your plants is a guaranteed ticket to snooze-town.

Element #5: Texture

Last but not least, texture refers to the pattern a plant created when seen from a distance. Does the plant have large leaves or small? Are the edges straight, or jagged? How many leaves does each branch have?

All of these things play an important role in defining the texture of a plant. Like form, varying the texture of the plants in your yard is a great way to add more visual interest.

Wrapping it Up

It’s important to mention here that the impact the elements have on the visual interest of your yard is cumulative: having a bit of variation in all five elements is better than four, which is better than three, and so on. How much variation to add is more art than science, and will depend on your personal preferences. I’ve seen some great monotone yards that struck the perfect balance on the other four elements. I’ve also seen it fall completely flat.

I suggest you check out a site like The Spruce for some landscaping inspiration. Once you have a basic handle on these five elements of landscape design though, you’re well on your way to crafting the yard you always wanted. And it’ll be way more visually interesting than the guy down the street who just started planting without a second thought.

Happy landscaping!

Got any landscaping tips you’d like to add? Share them in the comments section!