Landscaping raises property value and makes outdoor spaces functional, enjoyable and more sustainable. The basics of landscaping include proportion, order and unity.

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A landscape’s color is a key factor in creating visual interest, moving the eye around a garden, and providing a welcoming entrance to a home or business. It’s also a powerful mood setter. Warm tones like reds and oranges create vibrancy and energy, while cool colors such as blues, purples, and pale pastels can create a tranquil, soothing effect. Planting a variety of color tones will provide year-round interest in your landscape, whether it’s bright blooms of summer or textural foliage and berries of winter.

Landscaping is the art of arranging plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, mulch, rocks, water features and outdoor furniture to enhance the beauty and value of a property. Landscaping can be formal with neatly trimmed hedges and symmetrical plantings or natural with curving pathways and wildflower meadows. The style of landscaping can reflect the personality and taste of its owner and incorporate a wide range of elements including hardscapes, water features and edible gardens.

Many people use color to add interest and contrast in their landscaping, but it is important to consider how the colors will relate to your house and other features of the property. Matching your exterior paint to your plantings will create a seamless, harmonious look that will enhance the beauty of both the landscaping and the house.

Choosing the right colors for your landscaping isn’t as difficult as coordinating your clothes – it simply takes some thought and knowledge of basic color theory. To start, look to the color wheel to find complementary colors. Complementary colors are located opposite each other on the wheel and make for a visually pleasing combination – such as yellow and green or purple and red. For a more subtle effect, choose analogous colors, which are found next to each other on the color wheel. For example, select flowers or shrubs in shades of blue and purple with a base color such as yellow or green.

A monochromatic scheme is another option, which uses different tints and shades of one color to create a harmonious look that is easy to maintain. For example, a monochromatic landscape would feature lavender flowers matched with white sweet alyssum and burguny ‘Redbor’ kale.

Form

Form refers to the shape of your landscape and hardscape elements like walkways. Different plant forms such as upright, groundcover, round and freeform provide a variety of visual interest. They can also control movement throughout a garden and create definition of space. In landscaping, form is one of the most important factors to consider when planning a garden.

Creating the right balance of form and scale is key to landscape design. The size of your home and the size of your trees and shrubs should compliment each other. This will ensure that everything looks proportional and cohesive. For example, a five foot wall wouldn’t look appropriate next to a mansion.

A landscape’s form evokes an emotional response in the viewer and creates a unique feeling for the garden. For instance, rectilinear lines have a formal feel and are associated with symmetrical designs while curved lines have a more natural and relaxed character. Lines help define a space and direct the eye’s movement, which is important in controlling movement through your landscape.

The form of your plants and hardscapes should complement the style of your house and tie the whole landscape together. For example, a curvilinear approach works best on sites that have sweeping curves and can make the most of your property’s potential.

Different shapes of flowers and shrubs add variety to the overall design of your landscape. For example, a sheared boxwood may contribute to the formal feel of your garden while a loose Rhododendron will give a more informal and natural feel.

Circles, arcs and ovals can also add dimension to your landscape by accenting focal points and creating connections between different spaces. They are especially effective in large open areas where a straight line would seem too linear.

Landscape forms are the skeletal structure that gives your garden its identity. They can be a defining characteristic or they can be subtle features that are integrated into the whole design. Rectilinear forms evoke a sense of order and structure, circles are soft, triangles are strong, while irregular shapes are casual and free.

Texture

Though color is often the most prominent design element in landscapes, texture is an important way to add variety and depth to a garden. Whether from plants, trees, or hardscape elements like pathways and decks, textures can provide a sense of movement and depth to the landscape. From the rough bark of a river birch tree to the soft velvety leaves of lamb’s ears, the right combination of plant textures can create contrast and excitement in your landscape.

According to Cornell University, plant textures can be categorized as fine, medium, and coarse, with the majority of plantings being classified as medium-textured plants. This quality can be influenced by the size of the foliage, flowers, stems, bark and overall branching pattern. Fine textures, like those found in ferns and ornamental grasses, have small leaves and thin stems, which gives them a delicate appearance. Coarse textures have a strong visual impact and can be used to draw the eye and create drama, but too many coarse textures may overwhelm the landscape.

In addition to influencing the look of a plant, its texture can also impact how it responds in each season. In the winter, textures like the peeling bark of a river birch tree or the feathery remnants of hydrangea blooms can add beauty even when most other plants are dormant. In spring and summer, the fine foliage of a sedge or sedum provides variety to the landscape, while the rounded shapes of boxwood shrubs and the spiky leaves of yucca can add contrast and interest.

While color is usually the focus of landscape design, texture can add a lot to the aesthetic and mood of a garden. By providing a variety of different textures and contrasting them, landscaping can create depth and movement, transforming a flat, uninspiring space into a three-dimensional living canvas.

By combining a balance of coarse, medium and fine textures and pairing them with the right colors and forms, your landscaping will be sure to capture the eye and imagination. By taking time to observe the natural and designed landscape around you, you can develop an intuitive sense of how these elements play out. Using this knowledge, you can build the perfect texture into your landscape.

Lighting

Landscape lighting is a critical component of any landscape design, adding both beauty and functionality. It highlights your home’s architectural features, accentuates the textures and colors of your landscaping, and creates a warm and inviting ambiance. In addition, it increases the usability of your outdoor spaces by allowing you to enjoy them after dark. However, it’s important to work with a professional to ensure that your lighting is carefully placed to maximize the value of your property.

A well-lit landscape is not only a visual delight, but it also adds to your home’s curb appeal and value. It showcases the best aspects of your property, whether it’s the elegant curves of a stone pathway or the towering grandeur of a mature tree. In addition, it reveals details that might otherwise go unnoticed, such as the sculptural shape of a garden feature or the unique texture of a plant.

When it comes to lighting, there are many different techniques that a skilled designer can use to enhance the beauty of your home and garden. For example, uplighting is a great way to draw attention to a particular feature, such as a statue or tree, by placing the light at its base and pointing it upward. Another popular technique is silhouetting, which consists of positioning the light behind an object to create a dramatic silhouette effect.

In addition to enhancing the aesthetics of your outdoor space, landscape lighting can also increase safety and security. By clearly illuminating pathways and stairs, it reduces the risk of accidents and injuries. It also deters unwanted visitors and helps to minimize vandalism.