subject: How To - Landscape Garden Design Suggestions [print this page] There are a large number of elements involved when designing and creating a garden, but the two primary variables should really be functionality and aesthetics. A garden ought to be made to be employed at all occasions of the year which include winter. By creating spaces that revolve about the home and its utilizes, and utilizing the sun's winter and summer time patterns to your benefit, this can be accomplished.
A fully functional winter garden should really make greatest use of the winter sun. This can be done by basically placing the garden in total sun, or additional meticulously and creatively with the use of deciduous trees such as Japanese Maples or Magnolias. Deciduous trees will assist to define a space and build an intimate garden by framing the area, even though permitting optimum sun to permeate. Paving a winter garden space also adds a reflective element to the garden, adding significantly needed solar warmth to the space. By developing a additional enclosed space with the use of fencing or a green wall along the back of a garden, one can effectively eliminating any wind and 'catching' the sun, this generates a micro climate where the sun is 'trapped' in the space.
Despite well-known opinion there are in fact a plethora of plants, shrubs and trees that will flower throughout winter. Some examples of flowering trees include Magnolias, ornamental cherries and apples. The most extraordinary winter flowering shrubs are of course the Camellias. Comprise of shrubs such as Daphne, Helleborus, Osmanthus (which incidentally are all scented) and the multitude of flowering bulbs and there you have a vibrant colourful winter garden.
Winter colour, and indeed year round colour, can also be achieve with the use of coloured foliage plants. For a even more tropical style garden Cordylines, Ctenanthe, Gingers and Bromeliads can be used to get a colourful effect.
All these factors must be thought of when accessing your garden design along with webpage analysis, structural desires and functionality of the landscape. Look at what you want from your garden and how you want to use to, this will aid with the design method and receiving the most out of your landscaped garden.
