Landscaping involves making changes to the outdoor environment of a property. It includes the planting and care of plants, removing weeds, and creating other decorative features such as water features.

A well-designed landscape can add value to a home and provide many health benefits. Studies have shown that gardening and spending time in nature lowers stress levels. Contact Oasis Landscaping of Harrisburg now!

Color plays a significant role in the landscape, evoking emotion, creating focal points and establishing harmony. Understanding how to use color effectively can transform a landscape into a work of art.

When choosing a color scheme, consider its hue, value and intensity. Hue is how pure or dark a color is, while value is how light or dark it appears. Intensity is how strong or vibrant a color is. For example, a yellow daisy is lighter and less intense than a purple Penstemon or a dark blue Delphinium.

Colors in the garden can be used to create a variety of illusions. For example, lighter colors can make an area appear larger by tricking the eye into seeing more distance between plants and other features such as a fence or walkway. In contrast, deeper or more saturated colors can help draw the eye to a specific feature such as an ornamental tree or water feature.

Landscapers can also utilize color to create a sense of balance in the garden by using a range of colors or by pairing similar flowers. For example, a riot of brightly colored flowers can stand out against a backdrop of green, highlighting the feature and attracting attention.

It is important to remember that color is a temporary element, so it should be used to emphasize more enduring elements such as form and line. In addition, it is helpful to stay within the color family (warm or cool) when selecting flower colors to avoid an overly chaotic look. A simple way to determine which colors are compatible is to use the color wheel. Complementary colors, found on opposite sides of the wheel, enhance and intensify each other. For example, yellow and purple pair well together, as do red and green. Analogous colors, those that are adjacent to each other on the wheel, also pair well.

Form

Form in landscape design is the way in which your garden’s plants and structures are shaped. Whether you’re looking to create a more natural aesthetic or an imposing, formal landscape, the shapes of your landscaping elements are crucial to the overall look and feel of your yard. For example, rounded plants or curved walkways help create a welcoming feel while straight lines convey a more formal aesthetic.

Lines are another critical element of form. Whether they’re straight, curved, horizontal or vertical, these lines set the framework for your landscape and direct the human eye throughout the space. Curved lines are especially effective on large sites with rolling terrain because they can accentuate and accommodate changes in grade while offering the viewer a more natural feeling. Multiple planes of form create a sense of volume and add weight to the space.

The way your plants grow and the shape of your hardscape features are the most visible forms in your landscape. Using a variety of plant forms and sizes can help maintain a balanced landscape and prevent monotony. However, if you use too many forms of the same shape, the effect may be visually overwhelming.

Form and scale are essential elements of landscape composition because they determine the size of your landscape components relative to each other and to the surrounding landscape and house. Proper scale is crucial because it produces a well-balanced appearance once your landscape project is completed. This means that the height of a tree and shrub should be proportionate to its width, while the depth of a planting bed should match its width. This ensures that the entire composition is properly proportioned and balanced.

Lines

Line is a powerful design element that shapes forms, directs movement, and establishes visual dominance. It can exist as material boundaries, form contours, or extended linear features such as paths, sod lines, or fences. The varying properties of line elicit different emotional and physical responses, and can influence how people interact with the landscape.

Straight lines communicate a formal character and are often associated with symmetry. They are structural and forceful, leading the eye to a focal point without much deviation. Curved lines offer a more natural, informal character and are generally associated with nature and asymmetrical balance. They move the eye at a slower pace and may add mystery by concealing elements beyond the immediate view.

Well-defined sight lines orient the eye within the landscape and help frame a desired vista or limit an unappealing one. For example, a garden wall or trellis can frame a view of the skyline beyond, while a pathway can lead you to a pond, waterfall or other scenic feature.

Plants are the most common element to employ when creating a landscape using line. Clustered plants and repetition of patterns can soften the impact of straight lines and create a more casual feel. In addition, the way the lines of a path or walkway curve, and how they intersect with other paths or structures in the landscape can be used to create a sense of rhythm or flow that draws the eye through a garden.

Other linear features to consider are water rills, pathways, and masonry walls. These are easy to incorporate as a design element, and take advantage of the fact that they are often seen from straight lines. They can also be positioned along sight lines to draw the eye to a focal point, such as a fountain or a garden shed.

Focal Points

Focal points are the elements that grab the attention of your guests and invite them into your landscape. They can be a beautiful sculpture, an eye-catching tree, a vibrant garden or a unique water feature. Creating focal points in your landscape can enhance the beauty and functionality of your home and outdoor spaces.

A focal point can be a naturally occurring feature or something you create from a variety of materials, including plants, rocks and hardscaping features. The key is ensuring that the focal point stands out in the overall design without being too overpowering for the space. This is often accomplished by framing the focal point with other plants, or by making use of different colors, shapes and textures.

Depending on the size of your yard, you may have natural focal points that occur in the existing landscape. These can be as simple as a specimen tree or a large grouping of flowers and shrubs, but skilled landscapers know how to make these elements stand out. By incorporating other plants with the same characteristics or highlighting them with an accent like a stone bench, you can help to make these elements stand out and become a part of the overall landscape.

You can also use living focal points that change with the seasons, such as a striking acerba tree with vibrant foliage or a rill of flowing water. These focal points provide a dynamic element that draws the viewer in and adds interest to the landscape throughout the year.

Focal points are also important to consider for those areas of your landscape that you want to light up at night. Lighting can highlight a fountain, unique sculpture or other architectural features and draw the eye to these elements after dark.

Lighting

As the sun sets and the world cloaks itself in darkness, a carefully planned lighting scheme can transform your landscape into an inviting extension of your home. But it’s not just about adding beauty—properly placed landscape lighting also provides function and safety. Well-lit entryways, walkways and steps make it easier for family members and guests to move around at night. And properly illuminated tripping hazards, slopes and other potential dangers deter accidents.

The most common form of landscape lighting is uplighting. It’s a simple but effective technique that highlights taller features of your garden, illuminating their silhouette against the sky. You can use it to draw attention to trees, trellises, statues, or any other tall element in your garden.

Another popular form of landscape lighting is silhouetting. It involves positioning lights to wash or graze walls, fences, retaining walls and other permanent structures with light, creating a dramatic effect. This can add dimension and depth to structures like stonework, brick and stucco, and it’s also a great way to highlight the texture of these surfaces.

Many people worry that landscape lighting might harm nearby plants or trees, but this is not necessarily true. Most types of landscape lighting emit minimal amounts of infrared and ultraviolet light, which are the wavelengths that can disrupt photosynthesis and cause harm to plants. In fact, there are even special lights that don’t emit infrared or ultraviolet wavelengths at all, making them safe for use in gardens and landscaping applications.