Where to Find Fine Garden Design Inspiration for Landscapes in the Green and Sparta, NJ, Areas
When it comes to a landscape upgrade, there is often a sense of overwhelm due to an abundance of choices. For simplicity’s sake, you may want to narrow your focus to one particular theme and a handful of ideas along that theme. If the focus will be on your fine garden, the following ideas for fine garden design can set you on the right path in the Green and Sparta, NJ, areas.
Related: 5 Tips for Getting Your Backyard Landscape Design Completed Before Summer
Inspiration from the Home
One way to begin the creation of a harmonious landscape design is to pull inspiration from the architectural style of your home. Formal homes tend to lend themselves to more formal landscape design, while rustic homes may feel more grounded in naturalistic landscapes.
Taking design cues from your home includes not just the style but the materials. Artfully placed decorative boulders within your fine garden could be the ideal complement for a home with a stone facade. A pergola set among the trees could beautifully echo the warmth of a wood-sided home. A bluestone patio and walkway can help tone down the reds of a brick facade. A flagstone walkway to your flower garden offers a beautiful warm textural contrast to a sleek modern home that features glass and steel.
Inspiration from the Natural Surroundings
A more rewarding outcome occurs when nature is the guide. Letting natural surroundings dictate the design approach to the landscape can lead to a free-flowing fine garden that looks as if it has always been in place. No one will be the wiser. If you prefer a more toned-down appearance for your garden, you could have the focus of the landscape design be more on nearby features rather than the garden, such as a gorgeous bluestone patio or a single native tree that appears as though your new natural stone patio has “grown” around it. Anything added to your landscape can appear to be a part of the natural scenery.
For instance, natural stone can be carefully cut and placed to reflect a freestyle look. The ideal is to look as though the stone was always there—not recently added. Buff colored sandstone, for example, which looks stunning in the sunny climate of the American southwest, could look out of place on your property if the local stone found on and around your property features the blues and grays of bluestone or granite.
Inspiration from Historical Materials
One of the best sources for material choices or features that look perfectly suited to the landscape can be found in our area’s historical homes. A hundred or so years ago, people used what was nearby. This same concept works, whether your home is modern or traditional. Native materials—from natural stone to plants—require minimal care, appear to fully belong, and help ground a home into its surroundings.
Inspiration from Your Available Space
Large properties are inherently easier to work with because there’s plenty of space for every element you may want to include. But even small properties can become absolute gems. If your landscape is small, don’t think that you have to fill it with tiny elements. Go big, go bold, with stately trees, oversized natural stone slabs, and a large fire pit. Large elements can feel cozy, like a warm embrace—especially if they are tonally and texturally suited to the surrounding environment.
You may want to do away with a traditional lawn and instead embrace the beauty of native plants. For example, several smaller free-form patio spaces separated by plants and decorative boulders could give you the feeling of a magical journey through the landscape… whereas a strip of lawn can feel constricted because its borders are so clearly defined.