Landscape lines are at the very epicenter of a good design. How your eye moves around and through the landscape is critical to a well-done, properly executed project. The way a landscape suddenly opens to a new ‘room’ or how it closes and bids re-entry offers to guest both moments of serenity and intrigue, maybe even mystery, respectfully. Whereas an Alice in Wonderland moved so methodically and almost carefully from scene to scene, show should your guests move – always looking for the next room of wonders. Anticipation creates within us a desire to move forward, no matter the setting, and proper design should foster just such a response.
The design and execution of landscape lines is more than just curves written on paper, it’s a concert where both lines and plants blend beautifully to create a melody that is very difficult to reproduce. Very specific space, very controlled lines…all working in harmony with nature and her surroundings. Mother Nature likes to provide en masse, ferns one over the other creating a northern California, giant Sequoia lush carpet or perhaps a Mexican lantana serenade where one can’t tell where bloom starts and another plant ends. Proper design follows what nature would produce so as to not alert a reaction within but soothe the non-detection without.
We should draw with big black markers. On big white boards. Each line easily traced by a full-size SUV, navigating broad curves with broad sweeps of plants, layered in a fashion that compliments both the roof line and still invites even the stingiest of guests…The ebb and flow of our landscape must create an almost hypnotic feel as we move within the boundaries established by our designer and create what my Kelly calls ‘Ahhh.’ Utilizing both softscapes (plants) and hardscapes (structures), a seasoned designer moves and invites someone into the far reaches of flora, a sea of color, but asks them to stay for a while.
