By Michael Burkett

Landscape Architecture is commonly defined as "the harmonic relationship between man and his environment." Landscape architects use the same design principles that artists and interior designers utilize when creating a pleasing setting for the inside of a home or commercial building.
The basic design principles are color, form, texture, accent, scale, rhythm and balance. Primarily, landscape designers use living plant material to create the proper setting for home and commercial landscapes as well as parks, roadways, cemeteries, etc. They can also use non-living materials such as stone, wood and water to complete the objectives for an aesthetically pleasing and functional landscape.
Color is the most striking and visually stimulating of all the plant design principles. Attention can be drawn to certain areas with color, and color can have a psychological effect on most people. For example, bright colors stimulate or excite, while cool colors tend to promote restfulness and relaxation. There are two types of color in a design composition. Basic color is a "gentle wash" to harmonize the view of the landscape. The second type of color is accent color, which is used to emphasize and draw attention to certain features.
Form describes the shape and structure of landscape plants or plant masses. Every plant has a distinct form. General forms are rounded or globular, conical, oval, pyramidal, weeping, spreading or irregular.
Horizontal and spreading forms add width to tall structures. Weeping forms tend to create soft lines and tie the building to the ground. Round and globular plants are good for creating large plant masses for borders and enclosures. Plants that are similar in form tend to create harmonious planting compositions, while the use of a contrasting form can create interest within the same composition.
Texture is the surface quality of any plant material that can be seen or felt. It is an element that is often overlooked by designers. Texture can be used to create interest and variety.
Texture is primarily used in comparison between plants in a landscape design. For example, a honey locust tree may have a fine texture when compared to a read oak, but when compared to a smooth wall or path, it may appear very coarse. In plant design, texture is the arrangement and size of leaves, twigs, bark, and is described as coarse or fine, rough or smooth, heavy or light, or thick or thin. Each texture may change through the seasons. The exfoliating bark of a crape myrtle tree in winter creates a totally different texture than in summer when fully leafed out. Texture also has psychological effects upon the viewer. A coarse to fine texture sequence in plant composition can expand the arrangement causing it to appear farther away, while the opposite arrangement, from fine to coarse, can make the composition contract.
Accent can best be described as a break in the sequence of pattern of a plant design. To be effective, an accent must be strong because the human eye tends to wander. However, care must be taken to limit the frequency of accents since this may cause confusion to the viewer.
Accent plantings should be framed and can be created by unusual texture, form or color in plants. Accent may also be achieved by varying plant forms, or with a piece of sculpture or fountain.
Scale or proportion is extremely important in designing plant composition. Scale is defined as the relationship of a plant to another plant and to the entire composition, including buildings, parking lots, etc. All aspects of a plant composition must be in scale with its users, usually people. Scale must first be considered when looking at the total space for the plant composition. A courtyard will have an entirely different scale than a large corporate headquarters complex.
Rhythm or sequence is characterized by continuity from one plant element to another. Proper use of color and texture will allow viewers to interact with the composition in an orderly fashion. It also adds harmony to any planting design. Fine textures should never flow directly into coarse textures. There should be a medium transition area. The same goes for color. There should be a blending of colors from light to dark.
Balance is an equalizer of planting or any other composition. The viewer should feel that the overall design has the proper visual harmony. Balance comprehensively encapsulates all the design elements previously discussed and pulls the whole composition together.
Designing landscapes is similar to an artist creating a painting or a piece of sculpture. Artists utilize all the design principles in their work and their artistic skill is judged on how they manipulate these principles. Plant designers must also know the functional and living requirements of each plant in order for their "art" to grow and mature to its full potential.

Michael Burkett
Town & Country Landscape Company