URBAN AG
Fundamental principles of landscape design Simple may not be...simple!
by Dr. Richard Ludwig, Landscape Design Workshops
One of the more challenging principles of landscape design is simplicity. One reason for this is many of us are plant dweebs, often suffering from the chronic horticulture ailment PAS: Plant Acquisition Syndrome! We’re passionate about plants, especially the new and unusual ones. Imposing them on the site, finding a place for them in our work, is too often the paramount focus. That’s decorating, it’s just creating a plant zoo! In short, it’s a terrible strategy. It creates a chaotic, feckless mush. Clients don’t care about our botanical fancies. We need to be designers, not decorators! Our
goal should be to create a functional, beautiful space rather than filling up the existing area with our plant friends. Where to begin? One of my favorite sayings is, “Simplicity in design breeds elegance”! It should be one of our foremost tenants as we complete our spatial compositions.
1. Create simple spaces. Photo courtesy of Solterra Landscape
Designing an uncomplicated, uncluttered area of turf or mulch or groundcover is a wonderful way to begin. Key point: Start with the largest area you have.
Here in the South, we often deal with turf-centered landscapes and it makes up the majority of the acreage. However, too often, the planting beds are set up first and the shape of the lawn is created by what’s left over. Wrong! This often makes an awkward, complicated area of grass that's difficult to maintain and adds to the general confusion of the property.
50 | UAC MAGAZINE
Creating the turf area first is a great way to follow the KISS (Keep it Super Simple) principle. The simple turf area acts as a foil (a foil is something that is dramatically different from anything around it). In other words, the lawn serves as a stage for the rest of the landscape members to perform, not as a competing element.
