6 Basic Principles of Landscape Design

6 Basic Principles of Landscape Design

When you plan a landscape layout, consider all six basic principles for the best results. The first three principles of garden design (proportion, transition, and unity) apply to the overall feel of the landscape.

The second set of principles (rhythm, balance, and focalization) pertains to controlling a viewer’s eye movement. These principles are achieved with the use of five landscape design elements: color, form, texture, line, and scale (see below).

Proportion

Proportion is the sense that the size of the individual components (the landscape plants or structures) or groups of components in a landscape is consistent with the landscape as a whole.

Vibrant pink bougainvillea flowers in Florida Keys or Miami, green plants landscaping landscaped lining sidewalk street road house entrance gate door during summer — Credit: krblokhin / Getty Images

Transition

A garden design that is out of proportion looks marred by abrupt transitions or by a lack of transitions.

For instance, a 5-foot-high stone wall might elegantly set off a large home, but the same wall would make a small home look smaller, due to the height of the wall being too close to that of the house. There should be a transition of taller trees between the house and the wall, creating gradual change.

A stone walkway lined with trees creating a natural transition — Credit: Look Up Look Down Photography / Unsplash

Unity

A garden design with a sense of proportion also exhibits unity. The placement of landscape plants in a thoughtful manner regarding their form is one method for promoting a unified feel.

For instance, small trees flanking a driveway or an entrance should have the same form to create unity. The repetition of the same form also promotes unity. Unity, or “harmony,” is achieved when the viewer senses that all the landscape plants in a garden design complement each other and have been chosen with one overarching theme in mind.

Trees lining a gravel garden — Credit: The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

Rhythm

Rhythm is the patterned repetition of a motif. In a home landscape design, a motif could be a type of plant, for example. One type of plant could be placed in a row or hedge to channel the viewer’s gaze in one direction rather than another. Nothing controls eye movement more readily than a straight line.

Tulips planted at the same height in a front flower garden — Credit: The Spruce / Sarah Crowley

Balance

Balance refers to the consistency and visual weight of attractions in the yard. For example, balance can be achieved through the repetition of the same size, shape, and color plants that are evenly placed around a property or garden. A large tree on both sides of a house can balance the yard, for example.

Vibrant pink shrubs on either side of a house — Credit: Doug Vos / Unsplash

Focalization

Understanding balance is, in turn, important for an understanding of focalization. Focalization is the forcing of the viewer’s perspective to a specific focal point without it appearing jarring. While it can be achieved through various means, more intense focalization is created through the use of balanced, consistent arrangements of elements.

Bird bath as a focal point in a garden — Credit: peplow / Getty Images

Tip

Draw attention to a statue in your yard by reducing clutter around it and using color or line to achieve the goal. Surround the statue with a mass of brilliant red or yellow flowers, design a straight path of paving stones leading to the statuary, or arrange edging with bedding plants to focus the viewer’s gaze in the intended direction.