The Art of Feature in Landscape Design Plants

Feature plants are the cornerstone of any captivating garden or landscape, transforming ordinary spaces into extraordinary sanctuaries. In this blog article, we delve into the concept of feature plants, exploring their aesthetic characteristics, form and function, texture and contrast, size and scale, colour theory, and spatial organisation.

Whether you’re a seasoned landscape designer or new to gardening, understanding these elements will help you create beautiful and engaging outdoor spaces.

Aesthetic Characteristics: The Heart of Landscape Beauty

In landscape design, aesthetic characteristics play a pivotal role in the selection and arrangement of feature plants. These characteristics—texture, form, size, and colour—are carefully considered to create visually captivating and harmonious landscapes.

Texture

This refers to the surface quality of a plant, which can range from coarse to fine. Coarse textures, with their bold leaves and pronounced structure, often draw the eye and are used to create focal points.

Fine textures, on the other hand, provide a delicate and cohesive background that can unify a garden’s composition. By juxtaposing different textures, designers can introduce contrast and interest to the landscape.

Form

The form of a plant is its three-dimensional shape, which could be upright, spreading, or weeping. This aspect determines how a plant occupies space and its overall impact within the garden.

For instance, upright forms like columnar trees add height and prominence, serving as striking vertical elements. Spreading forms, such as groundcovers, efficiently fill horizontal spaces, creating a lush, unified look.

Size

The scale of feature plants is crucial for balance and proportion within the landscape. Large plants can act as dominant features, providing structure and anchoring the design. Conversely, smaller plants are perfect for filling spaces, softening edges, and creating layers. The interplay of various sizes adds depth and dimension to the overall design.

Colour

Colour is perhaps the most immediate characteristic noticed in a landscape. Brightly coloured plants, whether through foliage, flowers, or fruits, can serve as focal points, drawing attention and enlivening the space.

A well-conceived colour scheme brings coherence to the design, ensuring that different elements complement rather than clash. Subdued colours are employed to create a sense of calm and unity, while vibrant hues introduce energy and excitement.

Together, these aesthetic characteristics contribute to a landscape’s allure, making it not only visually appealing but also engaging and dynamic. By selecting plants that exhibit a combination of these traits, designers can craft gardens that captivate and inspire.

For example, a garden might feature a vibrant red maple with a unique weeping form as its centrepiece, surrounded by a sea of fine-textured, green ferns to create a harmonious contrast that captivates the viewer’s eye.

Form and Function: Crafting a Balanced Space

In landscape design, understanding the concepts of form and function is essential for creating a well-balanced and aesthetically pleasing garden. The form of a plant refers to its three-dimensional shape, which can range from upright and columnar to spreading or weeping. Each form has its own visual impact and functional role within a landscape.

Upright and Columnar Forms

These plants have a vertical orientation, which naturally draws the eye upwards. They are particularly useful for adding height and structure to a garden, often serving as focal points or accent features. Columnar trees, such as Italian cypress or Lombardy poplar, are excellent examples that create a sense of grandeur and formality. Their tall, narrow shape makes them ideal for framing views or lining pathways, creating a stately avenue effect.

Spreading Forms

Spreading plants, such as groundcovers and low shrubs, are designed to cover large areas of ground efficiently. Their horizontal growth pattern helps to unify different parts of the garden by creating a seamless carpet of greenery.

These plants are perfect for stabilising soil on slopes, filling in gaps between taller plants, and providing a lush, continuous look. Examples include creeping thyme or juniper, which spread widely and help to suppress weeds while adding texture to the landscape.

Weeping Forms

Plants with a weeping form, such as weeping willows or weeping cherries, have a graceful, cascading growth habit. This form can add a romantic and serene quality to the landscape, often becoming a focal point due to its distinctive silhouette. Weeping plants are particularly effective near water features, where their reflection can enhance the tranquil atmosphere.

The function of each plant form contributes to the overall design strategy. Upright forms are often used to create vertical interest and define boundaries, while spreading forms offer ground coverage and cohesion.

Weeping forms bring elegance and movement to the garden. By understanding and utilising these forms effectively, landscape designers can craft spaces that are not only visually appealing but also functional and cohesive.

Texture and Contrast: Engaging the Senses

In landscape design, texture and contrast are fundamental elements that significantly influence the visual appeal and overall dynamism of a garden. Texture refers to the perceived surface quality of a plant, which can be classified as coarse, medium, or fine.

This quality is determined by various plant characteristics, such as leaf size, branching pattern, and overall plant structure.

Coarse Texture

Plants with coarse textures often have large, bold leaves, pronounced veins, or thick branches. These features create strong visual interest and naturally draw the eye, making them ideal for focal points within the landscape.

Coarse-textured plants, such as hostas or elephant ears, tend to break up the continuity of a design, providing dramatic, eye-catching elements that stand out against finer textures.

Medium Texture

Most plants fall into this category, providing a bridge between the extremes of coarse and fine textures. Medium-textured plants, like azaleas or hydrangeas, offer a balance that helps to link the composition together, ensuring that the transition between different areas of the garden is smooth and harmonious.

Fine Texture

Fine-textured plants typically feature small, delicate leaves or thin stems, such as ferns or grasses. These plants create a soft, cohesive backdrop that can unify a composition by filling spaces with their intricate details.

Fine textures often recede into the background, allowing coarser elements to take centre stage while providing a subtle layer of visual depth and complexity.

Mixing Textures

By combining different textures within a landscape, designers can introduce contrast and interest. The juxtaposition of coarse and fine textures creates a dynamic interplay that captures attention and maintains visual engagement.

For instance, placing a coarse-textured plant next to a fine-textured one can highlight the unique qualities of each, making the overall design more vibrant and appealing.

The strategic use of texture and contrast not only enhances the aesthetic qualities of a garden but also contributes to its structural and spatial organisation.

By thoughtfully selecting and arranging plants with varying textures, landscape designers can craft gardens that are both visually stimulating and cohesively balanced, offering an engaging experience for the viewer.

Size and Scale: Proportion in Landscape Design

In landscape design, the concepts of size and scale are crucial for achieving a harmonious and visually pleasing garden. The size of feature plants must be carefully considered in relation to the overall space and the other elements within the landscape to ensure a balanced composition.

Large Plants

These are typically used as dominant features within a garden. Their impressive height and spread can provide structure and serve as focal points or anchor elements.

Large plants, such as mature trees or substantial shrubs like rhododendrons, can create a sense of enclosure and privacy, as well as define the boundaries of a space. However, their size can also overpower a garden if not appropriately balanced with other elements, making it essential to consider their placement and proportion within the landscape.

Small Plants

These play a vital role in filling gaps and creating layers within the garden. Smaller plants, including groundcovers, perennials, and small shrubs, provide detail and texture at the ground level, contributing to a rich and varied landscape.

They are ideal for softening the edges of pathways, framing larger plants, and adding a fine-textured backdrop that enhances the depth and complexity of the design. By using small plants strategically, designers can introduce layers that create visual interest and guide the viewer’s eye through the garden.

Proportion and Balance

Achieving the right balance between large and small plants is essential for maintaining proportion. This involves ensuring that the size of the plants complements the surrounding architectural features, such as buildings or garden structures, and respects the overall scale of the landscape.

For instance, a small courtyard garden may benefit from a few well-placed small trees or medium-sized shrubs, while an expansive estate garden might incorporate a mix of towering trees and layered plantings for a grander effect.

By thoughtfully considering size and scale, landscape designers can create gardens that feel cohesive and inviting. The interplay between large and small plants helps to establish a sense of rhythm and flow, allowing the landscape to be both functional and aesthetically appealing.

Whether creating intimate outdoor retreats or expansive gardens, the principles of size and scale ensure that each element works in harmony with the others, creating a unified and balanced design.

Colour Theory: Painting with Nature

In landscape design, colour theory is a vital aspect that influences the overall atmosphere and aesthetic appeal of a garden. Colour is a powerful tool that can evoke emotions, guide the viewer’s eye, and create visual connections between different elements within a landscape.

Vibrant Colours

Feature plants with vibrant hues, such as bold reds, oranges, and yellows, are often used to draw attention and create focal points within a garden. These colours are energetic and can enliven a space, making them ideal for areas where a sense of excitement or drama is desired.

Vibrant colours can be used strategically to highlight specific plants or areas, ensuring they stand out amidst more neutral surroundings.

Subdued Colours

In contrast, subdued colours like soft greens, blues, and pastels contribute to a sense of harmony and tranquillity. These colours are calming and can help balance the intensity of more vibrant hues.

They are often used to create a cohesive and soothing backdrop that allows bolder plants to shine without overwhelming the viewer. Subdued colours can also unify a garden’s overall design, ensuring a seamless transition between different areas.

Colour Theme

Establishing a colour theme is essential for guiding plant selection and ensuring a cohesive look throughout the landscape. A colour theme might involve using analogous colours, which are adjacent on the colour wheel and create a harmonious flow, or complementary colours, which are opposite on the wheel and provide striking contrast.

By adhering to a well-thought-out colour theme, designers can ensure that all elements within the garden work together aesthetically, enhancing the overall visual impact.

When applying colour theory, it’s important to consider the seasonal changes in plant colours and how they interact with the natural light throughout the day. Morning and evening light can alter the appearance of colours, making them appear either more vibrant or subdued.

By understanding and applying these principles, landscape designers can create gardens that are not only visually cohesive but also evoke desired emotions and experiences, making colour an invaluable tool in landscape design.

Spatial Organisation: Defining and Enhancing Spaces

Spatial organisation shapes the way a garden or outdoor area is structured and experienced. It involves the strategic placement of feature plants to define and enhance the various spaces within a landscape, ensuring that each area serves its intended purpose and contributes to the overall aesthetic and functionality.

Defining Spaces

Feature plants are often used to delineate different areas within a landscape, creating distinct zones for various activities or functions. For example, a cluster of tall trees can establish the perimeter of a seating area, providing a sense of enclosure and intimacy.

Similarly, a row of hedges or shrubs can form natural barriers, guiding movement through the garden and subtly directing the flow of traffic.

Creating Shaded Areas

Shade is a valuable asset in any landscape, offering respite from the sun and creating cool, comfortable spaces for relaxation. Feature plants such as large trees with broad canopies are excellent for providing shade, making them ideal for positioning above seating areas or walkways.

By carefully selecting and placing these plants, designers can ensure that shaded areas are both functional and aesthetically pleasing, enhancing the enjoyment of outdoor spaces.

Blocking Unwanted Views

In urban or densely populated areas, privacy can be a concern. Feature plants can act as natural screens to block unsightly views or create a secluded atmosphere.

Tall, dense foliage, such as bamboo or fast-growing evergreens, can effectively obscure neighbouring buildings or busy roads, contributing to a sense of peace and seclusion within the garden.

Overall Spatial Organisation and Flow

Achieving a harmonious flow throughout the garden is essential for creating a cohesive and engaging landscape. The strategic placement of feature plants can help to establish a natural rhythm, guiding visitors through different areas and encouraging exploration.

By considering how each plant interacts with its surroundings, designers can create a layout that feels intuitive and balanced, ensuring that the landscape is both functional and inviting.

Daniel’s Wrap

By integrating these elements thoughtfully, landscape architects can craft spaces that are visually appealing and functionally effective. Feature plants are not just about adding greenery; they are about creating a harmonious and engaging experience that resonates with nature’s beauty.

Incorporating feature plants into your landscape design can transform your outdoor spaces into beautiful, serene environments. By understanding and applying these principles, you can create gardens that are both aesthetically pleasing and functionally practical. Happy gardening!