If you want to refine, position and shape different spaces in your garden design, there are3 Principles you NEED to follow.In this video and article, we'll explore each of the principles and use a real life example to explore how these principles could help you develop your own garden design.
The 3 main landscape design principles you need to follow to create your perfect garden design are:
- Develop Criteria – what you want a space to look like, how you want to use it and when
- Use your surroundings to position a space within your design
- Use the requirements of the activity or space to shape and size it to suit your needs
You can watch the video below or on my YouTube channel, and/or read along to the post below.
3 Principles To Follow To Create A Great Garden Design – VIDEO
What Are The 3 Landscape Design Principles?
So, what are the principles you can follow to help create your own garden design?
Landscape Design Principle #1 – Develop Criteria
The first is what I calldeveloping criteria.
Criteria are a short list of dot points that you put together to describehow you want a space to look,how you want to use it, andwhen you want to use it.
I generally only develop criteria for themain areasI want in a design – forspecific activitiesthat I want to enjoy, or mainvisual featuresI want to include in my yard.
Criteria help youdefine a space, which is very useful when designing because itensures what you design "works"– it will (hopefully)look how you want it to look, beappropriately sized and shaped, andin therightspot in your yardso you can use it to it's fullest potential.
I go into more detail in some of my beginner and blueprint guides.
Landscape Design Principle #2 – Use Your Surroundings To Position Spaces In Your Yard
The second principle we want to follow, which builds off the criteria you develop, is touse your surroundings (your context) to helppositionspaces in your yard.
This is a simple way to move things around, and make sure you don't place a high profile space somewhere that doesn't do it any favours – like putting an entertaining space where you want to enjoy some sunshine, in a dark, windy area.
Landscape Design Principle #3 – Use The Requirements Of The Space To Define It's Size & Shape
The third principle, once you have some criteria for an area, and have a few positions you want to explore it in, is tousethe specific requirements of that space – what you need to make it work for you – todefine its size and shape.
In other words, making sure you make a space big enough, but not too big, so you caneasily do what you want to do there.
A quick example might be a you want avegetable garden.Let's have it raised as well.
If you just draw some lines on a page and call it a day, you may end up with a growing area that's actually a lotsmallerthan you anticipated.
Or worse, a lotbigger.
If you have some criteria forhow you want to use the space– in particular how much time and effort you can put intomaintaininga vegetable garden, and how much food you think you need to, and can,grow– you're in a better position tosize the beds to something you're able to manage.
So, these are the three principles I want to explore with you today.And to help us walk through them, I'm going to bring in an example of a good project I found on Pinterest.
Analysing An Example Of Great Backyard Design – Gable House
The project is called Gable House byEdmonds & Lee Architects, and the landscaping was done byThe Garden Route Company.
Now, I'm not certain if they did the landscape design AND construction, or just construction itself, but I'll just use the term ‘designers' to broadly cover both parties.
Now to try and illustrate my three principles, I'm going to focus on one area in the design in particular – this deck at the rear of the yard.
I'm going to refer to is as in ‘informal' entertaining space – not really for sit down dining, more for drinks and light snacks.
We're going to walk through the three principles I covered, and see, if by following them, we end up with a similar result –a similarly positioned space– that the designers ended up with.
Now, a quick caveat.
The process we're following may not be what the designersactuallyfollowed.Areas in garden designs tend to appear in one of two ways.
They'rerequested by the clients– and thereforeexplored and included in a design from the beginning– or they‘fill' a blank areain a design – something addedmidway through the process.
I'm not sure which one happened here.
It's possible the clients wanted two spaces to entertain people, but it's also possible the designers added it of their own accord, recognising this position in the yard would be a good spot for that kind of activity.
So the principles and process we're going to explore may be completely ‘wrong'.Even so, I like walking you through this project because it allows me to illustrate these three principlesanyway.
So for our purposes, we're going to pretend this ‘informal entertaining space' is something the clientswanted to include in the yard.Perhaps not in those words, but they requested a space they canrelax, with some friends, and enjoy some drinks and light food.
So our job is to try and find not just room for it in the design, but tofind a position that allows the users to enjoy the space to it's fullest.
If you are your own client, which you probably are, maybe this is something you want to include in your design – in which case, the following steps should prove really helpful.
How To Develop Criteria For A Space – Informal Entertaining Example
Right, let's take a look at the first principle we discussed – developing criteria – and how to develop some for this particular space/activity.
Aesthetic Criteria – How You Want The Space ToLook
How do we want it tolook?This first point is mainly aboutphysical elements–materials, colours, shapes, thecombinationsof these things and thecontrastsbetween them.
You can find examples of these everywhere – images online, apps, videos, magazines and books and even the real world.In some cases, you might not need to specify anything about how your space looks at all – you can instead draw from other areas in your design (or house) and use the same material, colours, shapes etc.
So for us, what do we write down, as a criteria point, for how we want this informal entertaining space to look?
We could suggest the clients want:
- Timber – maybe even a specific type, width and colour
Or we could suggest we'll:
- Refer to other parts of the our design to inform material choice for this space – and colour, shape and the rest of it
So that can be our first criteria point for this space.
As I said you don't need to specify anything about the physical look of a space if you don't want to, or don't have examples you like just yet.
But if you do, it's helpful to articulate what you like as much as possible.
Try to focus on broader things likecolourandshape, as it's easier to find multiple options that fit those criteria, than it is to find a specific colour of timber or stone.
Use Criteria –HowYou Want To Use The Space
We've considered how it looks, the next thing to think about is how the clients want to use the space.We're going to reverse engineer this a little, because there's a few ways this could go, but let's suggest the clients wanted:
- A space capable of seating about 6 people
- Somewhere they could relax, have some drinks, chat and maybe some nibbles
- Somewhere to enjoy some sun and read a book
Actually outlining the above –the actions they'll take within the space and how many people they want to be able to seat– are important, as you'll see when we finally shape the space.
Time Criteria –WhenYou Want To Use The Space
Before we get to shaping however, we also want to think aboutwhenthe clients are most likely to use the space.This doesn't just mean when they're available, but what time ofdayand whatseasonthey are most likely to enjoy it.
It doesn't mean they can't or won't use it at other points, but having a target time when you want to enjoy the space at it's best will help us position it properly.
So our clients might suggest something as simple as:
- Using the area mainly in summer
- Most likely entertaining in the afternoon and evening
These are straightforward, and often intuitively understood by many people.Butexplicitly outliningthem as part of our criteria for this informal entertaining space ensures we think about it as we design.
And for these last two in particular, it ensures wedon'tplace our entertaining space in an area that is less enjoyable at these particular times of the day and year.
Our Final Criteria List For Our "Informal Entertaining Space"
We've now outlined our criteria (or our clients) for this space:
- Have atimber surface(colour etc.TBD) – or we'll draw on other parts of the design and house to determine how it looks
- A space capable ofseating about 6 people
- Somewhere they couldrelax, have some drinks, chat and maybe some nibbles
- Somewhere toenjoy some sunand read a book
- Using the area mainly inSummer
- Most likely entertaining in theafternoon and evening
How To Use Your Surroundings To Position A Space In A Garden Design
Now we can start to look at the second principle –using our surroundings to position the space.
There are two parts to this.
One isaligning to either existing things like the house, trees or other buildings, OR aligning to another element in your design.
The first is often called ‘the regulatory line' and basically means you follow an imaginary line from say the house out into the landscape and align to it, or off it, or whatever, in your design.
Or, as I said, you can align one part of your design to another as the design is developed and worked on.
The second part about positioning something is torefer to the environmental and site conditions– where you have sun, shade, high points, low points, slopes, particular ground materials like rock – basically the natural elements of your site.Some of these are static like the ground, others are dynamic like sun, shade, wind and rain.
So we're going to pretend this example design began as a simple flat backyard.When we look at yard itself, there are plenty of positions we could place an informal entertaining space.All of it depends on the size of the space – which we'll look at next.
For now, we want toeliminate some of our possible options.And the best way to do that is to look at our criteria, seewhenand a little ofhowwe want to use the space, and thenremove positions that don't tick those boxes.
A simple example is this area at the bottom.It's closer to the house, which is good, but, from some site analysis we've done (again, something I talk more about in my links below) we know it sits on the northern side of the house.And the house is quite tall.
This means placing this space here will put in in a lot of shade – even in summer.Given we want the space to experience some sunlight, these positions won't do.
Our solution, as part of our initial design exploration, is to move this area towards the back of the yard.It's not rocket science, but hey, design can be pretty simple if you just think about it.
As we move back, we are getting closer to the conditions wewant– we are likely to get more sunlight, in summer, and probably in the evening (depending on the buildings either side of us).
One really clever (yet expensive) thing the designers did wasraise this platform to be higher than the normal ground level.This exposes this space to even more sunlight, and adds some dynamism to the whole backyard.
An even neater little trick Ithinkthey did was place this rear deck – informal entertaining area – at about the same level as the newly renovated house's kitchen floor.So when you're inside the kitchen looking out, you're at the same level and can easily see people relaxing out there.
That's a great example of the regulating line I was talking about earlier- but in this case it's more of a 3D approach instead of purely in plan view.Love it.
So we're in roughly theright area now– if we want an informal entertaining space that enjoys afternoon sunshine, during summer, we need to place it towards the back of the yard.If we could raise it, even better, but that might be dependant on cost.
But this whole sequence of considering when the space will be used and eliminating options is one really clear way you canuse your surrounding climate and conditions to determine where things could be positioned in your design.
How To Shape A Space In Your Garden Design
OK, now we're coming up to the final principle – shaping a space byconsidering the specific requirements it needs to make it work for you.
Our ‘requirements' in this case are mainly ourcriteria– in this instancehow we want to use it,andfor how many people.One way to think about criteria when it comes to shaping and sizing a space is to use those criteria to determine theminimum viable areawe need to make it work.
So let's look at our criteria and see if we can come up with a minimum viable size for what our clients want to use the space for.
One is they want toseat around 6 people.The other is the nature of what they're doing – sitting back, relaxing, chatting and sharing stories.
This doesn't seem that big a deal, but if all we thought about was the number of people, I could put in a bench and say I've met the brief.It seats six, they can talk – all done.
But that's not the nature of how they want to use this space.
Think about when you sit in a chair.The area you take up ismorethan the chair seat itself – you have your legs out in front of you and room at the side for your rooms.
Take it further and think about the fact you often move a chair in and out to get into it, or allow people to pass behind.
We are less likely to do that in our informal entertaining space, but just like a normal lounge room, you need to allowspacearound any seats for people to get by.So some room behind the chairs, and in front by peoples legs if need be.
Add in something like a coffee table to support drinks, food, books and maybe feet, and you're suddenly covering a reasonable amount of area.
If you're unsure how to determine how much we'd need,look at existing furniture and spaces around you– like the chairs in a lounge room, or the area of a lounge room itself.
This gives you a ready madetemplateto work from to measure out how much space we need to seat 6 people, and allow them to relax in relative comfort.
And that, really, is the best way to determine theminimum space we need for our informal entertaining area.
You can orient things in different ways and move them around – in fact, I'd encourage you as you explore different design ideas – to do that.
Move these components within a space – the chairs, tables and anything else you think it needs to make it "work" – around indifferent configurations.
See what works best not just for the space itself, buthow it interacts with the spaces around it.And if you explore having different spaces around it – not just the garden beds we see here – you'll find you need to orient the components within this spacedifferentlyto make things work.
In the example we have here, all the components aremobile, so the orientation and position of those chairs and table matter less.They're flexible, they can be moved around.But, the important thing isthey have the space todoso.
Considering Spaces Around This One In Your Garden Design
There is one thing I want to draw your attention to around what the designers did on this occasion.I mentioned above that you need to ensure you have room around your chairs and things so people can move through the space while others are sitting down – you don't want them clambering over each other.
But I also said you need to considerhow this space interacts with others around it.And this design provides a great example of that.
You can see we have three garden beds along the left, back and right sides.
Now I usually think of garden beds as "features" – visual elements that are intended to be, well, features, rather than a space you physically occupy to "use".Although you need access to maintain them, you're not really going ‘into'them like you would our informal entertaining space here.
This is important because, as you can see, this means we can push components back – the chairs and tables – closer to these garden beds.
No one needs to go around the back or the chairs, really, to get to other parts behind the space.So the designersreduced the size of the deckslightlywhich probably allowed the garden beds to get bigger.
I'm speculating a little here, but I hope you get the point I'm making.When we look at sizing a space, we considerwhat we need to make it work.
But good designers think about theother areasaround it, and how this space will interact with those – and they'll notice when they cantake advantage of things, like space – which is in short supply in this small yard.
The flipside occurs on theother side, where there is plenty of room.Perhaps for easy access, or to add more chairs, or simply to fill the space up to the steps.It's likely to be a mixture of the three, and could have evolved over a few different iterations of the design.
So I think, looking at this informal entertaining space, this design is probably theminimum space I'd feel comfortable withfor the criteria we originally set.
For our version of this design, we could expand it a little if we like – perhaps widen it a bit, or have a narrow raised bed at the back.
But ultimately, for this design in this small yard, that extra space for this deck isunlikelyto add much value to the space itself.If you had alargerspace – and perhaps your yard would have more room to spread out – then you could explore how big you wanted to go.
Maybe make it much larger, until you align withanother regulatory linein the design, house or site.
Or you think about howcheaporexpensivethe space is likely to be.If it's cheap, feel free to cover alarger area– get more bang for your buck.If it's expensive, keep it to aminimum sizeand let other, cheaper areas (like a garden bed) fill in the space.
Engineering vs Art In Garden Design
I've talked a little bit elsewhere about the idea ofengineering vs artin design.
When I think about introducing more ‘art' into a design, I tend to think about this balance.Betweenensuring the space does what you need– the minimum size you need to make it work – andthe maximum size you're willing to expand itto.
All that possible space in between is something of aspectrum, and you can explore different ways to fill it – that's where your own artistic approach can take over.
Summarising The 3 Landscape Principles That Position & Shape Your Garden Design
So, I think I've rambled on enough here.I hope you found this little exploration useful.Let's quickly touch on the three principles we went through, and how you can apply them to your own designs.
Develop Criteria
- What you want a space tolooklike,howyou want to use it andwhen
- You don't need to knowallof these right at the start – you can chop and change your criteriaas you go– finding more examples, taking points from other parts in your design, or adjusting how you want to use a space and when
Use Your Surroundings To Position A Space In Your Design
- Generally more aboutwhenyou want to use the space
- Most helpful for themajor areas in your design
- You will haveclashes, where certain spots are good for multiple activities or spaces
- If that's the case, you'll need to try andcombine the areas to cover multiple things, orprioritisewhich one goes where
- Really think about thebest conditions for this particular space– it's not always about sunshine and shade – you might need to consider things likewind, rain, neighbours looking into your space– all kinds of things
Use The Requirements Of The Activity Or Space To Shape And Size It
- Generally about how youactuallyuse a space
- Thephysical movementswithin it
- What you need tomake it work(seats, tables etc.)
- You can useexisting things around youto get an idea of how large, small, wide, narrow, tall or short something often is, andstart with those dimensions
- Once you have an idea of these dimensions or requirements, every time you design the space, you have abenchmarkfor whether or not it will "work" for you – theminimum viable areafor a space
- As you get more comfortable, think about the areas around this space and how theyinteractwith it
- Do you need to maintain accessall the timeto an area nearby?
- Can you save some space anduse it better elsewhere?
- Lastly, you don't need to stick to the minimum size – that just lets us know you've designed something that should work for you (it meets all your criteria) – you can expand the space to be larger, until you meet other parts of the design
- This is where the "art" can come in – where you don't need to justifywhysomething is a particular shape or layout.As long as the spacefunctions how it should– according to your criteria – you can go a little crazy with the outer edges if you like
And that is it for todays post.I hope you found it interesting and a useful way to position and shape spaces in your design explorations.