Some gardens look like pictures from a slick magazine. Others look discombobulated, in other words, chaotic. Is that wrong? Should we all strive to have serene plots of land that are completely balanced and follow all the rules of good design? Of course not.
A garden is our one place that we can do what we want— what makes us feel
good. No body sees your backyard unless you invite them into your
private world, that is, if you don't count the meter readers that comes traipsing
through every month.
Whether you're designing a landscape that spans the acres of your estate, or just figuring out where to put an herb garden, there is one basic principle that can be followed to make your garden a success.
A theme will hold everything together, even if it's chaos. All good design has a theme, even if the design seems to have no theme at all, that becomes the theme.
You can focus on specific structures in the garden whether they're actual physical structures (decks, gazebos, bench, etc.) or just a path or a hedge. The elements used in that structure should be repeated in various ways throughout the garden.
Using a specific plant in one place can be repeated again, in a different form somewhere else. Colors should be repeated as well. Repetitive strong colors can act like a theme as well.
So whether you're looking for harmony in your feng shui garden or you just enjoy the chaos of an all natural free-flowing land planting, have it your way, and you'll find an inner peace from accomplishing something that gives back to the earth and to yourself.
