Garden styles: Formal and Informal

When you plan your garden landscape there are a myriad of gardening styles and some of them are sure to grab your fancy. On the other hand you might not have any idea of what gardening style would suit your landscaping ideas. Whatever the case, allow me to mention a few of the garden styles that can be implemented in the right landscaping; maybe you’ll get inspired.

The informal garden

Informal gardens tend to be large to medium sized gardens. Usually implemented on uneven landscape and even sloped to accommodate the uneven landscape. One can immediately think of the tropical or cottage type of garden as examples of informal gardens. What also comes to mind are the Japanese garden, the Mediterranean garden, container gardening, Italian, succulent, indigenous gardens, the herb garden, the vegetable garden and vegetable container gardening, patio shade, and woodland gardens, to mention a few.

Since this site is a landscape and gardening for beginners site and as such aimed at the novice and do it yourself gardener we will tend to lean more towards the informal style of gardening. The informal garden lends itself open to many possibilities and yields a more natural look and feel to a landscape or garden. You can have more than one theme in your garden and it would feel natural. In time to come we will make it our mission to publish more detailed information on different types of garden styles. For the moment however, we will mention a few.

Trench gardening

The trench garden presents the gardener with an easy method for organic gardening with health benefits for both the soil and the gardener. The creation of a trench garden will soon have you growing your own nutritious vegetables. Trench gardening can also be described as vegetable garden design in that it also facilitates design elements.

Container gardening

Gardening in containers is almost as old the practice of horticulture itself. In nurseries plants are grown in containers and pots to be sold and even later be planted in pots in gardens. Apart from the nursery practice some plants are happier in pots and can stay there for their entire lifetime. When space is a problem it cannot be used as an excuse to not grow your own vegetables as the vegetable garden can be successful implemented in container gardening.

Shade gardens

Shade gardens are essentially for the enjoyment of the outdoors in hot, sunny climates. There is nothing better than enjoying a cold drink or a picnic lunch in the cool green shade on a long hot summer afternoon. In this garden trees reign supreme. A possible area where you can sit and relax also indicates the need for garden furniture, landscape lighting and even garden statues for focal interest.

The Japanese garden and the Zen garden

The basic principles of the Japanese garden and the Zen garden are simplicity, symbolism, tranquility and minimalism. Here inspiration is taken from the simplicity of nature itself. This type of garden with its principle of minimalist simplicity fits perfectly with the restricted townhouse gardening concept. It is also a water wise garden.

Meadow gardens

The meadow garden requires full sun, un-enriched soil and loads of patience. This type of gardening will only yield results in approximately four years as this is the amount of time it will take before a meadow forms a stable community. Seasonal interest would be the main feature in this garden.

The Cutting garden

The cutting garden is exactly what the name implies it to be. Which would you prefer – an armful of freshly picked, wonderfully scented flowers or plain and simple ordinary greenhouse grown specimens. Your garden flowers will certainly be a wonderful benefit.

Other gardens

There are also kiddies play gardens, woodland gardens, the herb garden, the rose garden, Italianate gardens, meditation gardens, flower gardens, the vegetable garden and the kitchen garden.

The formal garden

Hold on, who says we have to limit ourselves to informal gardens when we can just as successfully cultivate a formal garden?

In the formal garden plants are used in much the same way that an architect would use tiles, bricks and concrete and even wood. These gardens are usually small to medium in size, on level terrain or even terraced. It can be either classic or modern and even symmetrical and geometric shapes would not be uncommon for formal gardens. Some people might find that the symmetry and patterns of a formal garden might sooth them in an otherwise disorganized household. Geometry reigns supreme in the formal garden. Herb garden design can also be a classic, formal gardening take. When thinking of the formal garden I am immediately transported to yesteryear, or should I rather say yester century as it was the past masters of the seventeenth centuries that took the concept of formal gardening to its peak, especially the Italians, the Dutch and the French. Just think about Versailles garden, Villa Lante, Paleis Het Loo and Villa d’Este. Maybe even the English and what does come to mind here is the gardens created by “Capability” Brown and Williams Kent. Whatever you may decide, do not forget about the garden shed. All gardeners know how important a garden shed is to cultivating a garden and the garden shed do not have to be a dinghy little eye sore. Garden sheds can also be used as focal points if one is clever enough, or one could even use the landscape design to camouflage the garden shed if necessary. In fact some garden sheds that are available nowadays can be regarded as garden ornaments.