Creating great landscaping designs isn’t always a function of construction—it can be considered art. When you’re focusing on so many different elements to bring the eye through and around your landscaping, it’s easy to forget what you may need to do. What are the main elements of landscaping design?
The eight main elements of landscape design are line, or the hard guides throughout your landscaping; mass, or the size of your landscaping items; scale, or using the right size of items for your project space; form, or what shape your landscaping elements take; color, or the actual visual impact of the plants and items you choose; texture, or the physical look and feel of your landscaping pieces; variety, or using different types of plants to create an interesting project; and void, or the use of negative space in your landscaping.
With these items, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by what must be done when creating landscaping that draws the eye. But what is the purpose of these elements? How does each one affect the landscaping individually? Read on to find out more.
What is the purpose of the main elements of landscape design?
Without the elements of landscape design, you will have no focus and no true way to transform a space. Without understanding these elements, you cannot create a landscape that is functional, ecologically sound, and artistic. To create an aesthetic, these items are necessary—and understanding how to use them is vital. If you don’t understand art theory or how each angle and line can affect how the eye travels through the space, you could be losing out on creating some beautiful and striking landscaping projects.
Line
The first element to understand is the line. In any form of art, this will help bring the eye through a landscape rather than stopping it in its tracks. You will use it to create a flow in your landscaping, along with any sort of connectivity to other parts of your project.
There are different ways to draw your line through your landscaping—vertical lines, to bring the eye upward, and horizontal lines, to make the area seem larger. There are also ways to increase the emotional response of an artistic endeavor—straight lines are cleaner and more formal, while curved lines are gentle and fold into the natural environment.
There are many functions for creating hard lines in your landscaping. They can be used to control movement, like in a walkway or a flower bed. You can also use hard lines to highlight another feature, like a water feature or even additional plant life. Because you have so many options on how the line works, you can use them as figurative arrows toward the features you want to have the most attention.
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Mass
While mass is the measure of size, it’s also what each item occupies, no matter what you’re using. It could be a tree a planting bed, or even something as large as a house or patio, if you’re encompassing that into your landscape design.
What do you need to do with mass in a landscaping project? You must create balance. Sometimes, you have to pick out plants or planting beds to balance off a larger structure. At other times, you may need something small to balance the size of a tree or even a bench. Knowing how much space you have also affects the mass of the items you place in your project, so make sure you understand that as well.
Scale
A little different from the size of your objects, scale is important when working with several different landscaping projects. You may have different-sized projects—a small personal garden is going to have a different design than a large corporate garden. That’s where scale comes in.
When you’re considering scale, you must know the size of the space you’re working with, and then you can determine the actual size of the landscaping items you can use. In a smaller space, it would be unwise to use a massive oak tree as it would take up all the space. Choose plants and other items that not only complement the space but don’t overpower the space.
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Form
The form is the objects’ shapes within the landscaping. While you can use many different shapes in your landscaping projects, many are rectangular, like walkways, pathways, homes, or patios. Other shapes are complicated and irregular, like that of trees or plants.
Regardless of the shape, you must also use this to help balance off the mass. These two elements go hand in hand when creating your landscaping design. Also note the actual feeling of each form—like lines, hard, rectangular forms are much more formal than the curved or circular counterparts. When creating a balance, it’s also important to know the vibe and mood of the project itself. If you want a more informal landscaping project, consider more natural and irregularly shaped plants. If it is a formal garden with hard lines, consider plants with more upkeep and harder lines, like trimmed shrubs.
Color
Because you’re working with vibrant plants and even colorful construction materials, color is an important element of landscape design. It is one of the first things to catch the eye of a visitor. Also note how color affects the environment—while different colors attract the eye or even blend in with the natural environment, some colors attract wildlife like deer or bees.
Make sure you understand how each plant grows and blooms, as they are each on their time frame depending on the seasons. You can even plant your flowers in a way that each blooms at different parts of the year. Find what stands out, and even consider color theory—what kind of mood are you hoping to evoke in your landscaping? If you want a bold, bright garden, consider using red and orange flowers. A calming space should focus on using green vegetation and blues and purples.
Texture
No matter what you’re doing with your landscaping, you have to also consider the texture of the plants. This goes hand in hand with the color—even if visitors to this area aren’t touching the plants, the texture is still visible. Make sure you consider how each plant looks, like if it is rough or smooth, waxy or not, etc. Everything has its texture and should be considered in how they match up and complement each other in your landscaping.
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Variety
Variety is a great way to keep your landscaping interesting. By varying the type of plants and other items that you could use, you can make sure that there is something to see all year long. Variety can help you create continued interest, but make sure you keep within a simplistic, repetitive pattern so your landscaping does not seem chaotic. You can use this element with all other elements in this list—combine different colors and lines to create interest, but make sure you keep things simple. Too much can cause the eye to stay unfocused and wander.
Void
When you do not have something in a space, it creates a void. Much like white space is important in art and silence is important in music, these spaces are integral to your landscaping project. You do not need to fill every single space in your landscaping that can hurt the plants and make your work look cluttered. Voids can help bring the eye to exactly what you want the focal point to be and add balance to your landscaping.
While each of these items is a separate element to landscaping, knowing how to work with each one of them together is what creates amazing landscaping designs. Utilize plants with great color and texture in a certain open void, and bring the eye up to it using hard lines in your pathways. Create interest by using interesting plants and even unique pavers under their feet. Regardless of your landscaping projects, you will be focusing on these elements—find out how they speak to you, and you too can bring each one into your landscaping.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What should a landscape plan include?
When you’re creating your landscaping plan, you should always include any art that you create of the landscape—that includes any elements like flowers, trees, lawn furniture, fountains, sheds, etc. You should also include in your plan a timeline for completion and a proposed budget. Make sure you also keep room for yourself to breathe—estimate higher on your time and your budget so when it comes in lower—or if you need that extra time or funding—it doesn’t come as a surprise to your client.
What are the three major phases of landscaping?
First, you must determine the size and the layout of the space you’re working with. Take measurements and understand where the sun is brightest, where there is natural shade already, and other environmental aspects. Second, start by creating your plan. Write out and draw out exactly what you want to do with that space using the information you gathered. Lastly, complete the landscaping work to your plan’s specifications.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.