Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)
Design principles
Garden design is an art as well as a science. Some gardeners claim it is the highest form of art because plants change with the seasons and the years, so the designer is working in four dimensions! Also, every area of Australia has unique climate, soil, geography, and plant and animal life, offering both possibilities and challenges in garden design.
Yet, beneath the surface of this art are a set of principles. Getting to grips with these principles helps unravel the intricacies of garden design to assist you create your dream garden. These garden design principles apply to all gardens, including native gardens
This section delves into these principles, exploring concepts such as scale and proportion, symmetry and harmony, masses and voids, line, shape, and form, and focal points.
Design principles stories
Fifty shades of shade
At least fifty shades of shade grace my garden! Shade is easy in my garden – but how much shade and what time of day, month, year! My acre block…
View storyGrow a native garden in shade
Have you ever wondered how to grow a native garden in shade? Here is a spectacular showcase of shady gardens, along with tips to consider in your design. The annual…
View storyLight and shadow in garden design
Light and shadow in garden design go hand in hand. Together they are present in every garden, but often taken for granted. They may not immediately reveal themselves as garden…
View storyGarden design – The past informs the present and the future!
Lawrie Smith, AM, spoke at an Australian Plants Society conference in Kiama in September 2022 on Garden design – The past informs the present and the future! About the video…
View storyLooking from the inside
I am fortunate to have a lot of large windows drawing my attention to what is going on outside. They give me views from the sky to the garden around…
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