How to hide a vegetable garden in landscaping
In countries on the territory of the post-Soviet space, the preference has always been given to practicality rather than decorativeness of the landscape. Of course, there were certain rules for planting plants, but they were not due to the beauty of the site, but aimed at their best growth. The inhabitants of many European countries, for example, France, approached the creation of a vegetable garden in a completely different way.
Did you know? Peppers have a scale of pungency, which is measured in Scoville, starting from 0. This is a common bell pepper, and the hottest — Indian Bhut Jolokia, estimated at 1,000,000 Scoville units.
Both the practical and the aesthetic side of the issue are important there. Today, everyone has the opportunity to make the garden a neat and attractive element of the garden plot. By the way, such a design will help to achieve not only the desired decorative component, but also greatly facilitate the process of caring for the beds.
If you want to hide the garden from prying eyes, you can do this in one of the following ways:
Make sure that the garden is not visible from the porch, gate or recreation areas thanks to trellises with vines. You can use grapes, honeysuckle, hops, lemongrass.
Create a hedge, such as irgi, currant, gooseberry, or chokeberry.
You can choose a plant composition from plants of different heights.
An alternative solution is to use decorative details on buildings, including hedges, flower arches, gates, etc.
etc.
It is appropriate to divert attention from the garden with an attractive element. This can be a flowering hydrangea shrub, a bright flower garden, a reservoir or an alpine slide.
And also you can always not hide, but bring the garden to the fore, making it a component of the overall design. In this case, it should be special in terms of the shape of the beds, their location or the use of certain crops.
Beautiful examples
Realistic examples of landscape design of a country house almost always include green spaces, which allow you to create a pleasant appearance and improve the microclimate on the territory. One of the best solutions can be considered the use of a composition with conifers of different sizes (tapeworms). They are brought together to emphasize the continuity of space, stone flowerpots and small stone paths can be used
It is important that the plants do not hide the house itself from sight and do not interfere with the disclosure of its visual aesthetic merits.
There is an option in which coniferous crops (both extended upward spreading shrubs and squat dense "pillows") are used to frame both the house itself and the paths and are placed around the perimeter of the lawn instead of a stone curb. In this case, it is advisable to shade the brick building with different tones of green, but it is not recommended to use more variegated and saturated color tones.
- Landscape designers often try to decorate the porch of a house using symmetrical compositions. In the picture, you can see how decorative flower beds look like from the plantings distributed along the height, which surround not only the porch, but also the path lined with multi-colored stone.
- The wrought-iron railing at the entrance is spectacularly combined with a thick carpet of moderate red squat colors. To make the plant decor look more beautiful and not seem faded, it is recommended to use lawns made of dense green grass.
- A country house with a vegetable garden can look very unusual. The bizarre beds, bordered by a pinkish stone, look very attractive against the backdrop of paths of poisonous green. It is also a good step to use wooden boxes dug into the ground, each of which should be filled with monochromatic plants.
- The front area of a country house, which occupies a large area, can be covered with a flat lawn and round flower arrangements, each of which has two tiers - the outer low and rather high in the center.
The possibilities for decorating plots around country houses are very large. But in order to achieve a good result, professionals recommend to devote all performers to the details of their plan.
See the next video for more on this.
The main styles of landscape design for a summer cottage
In accordance with the wishes of the person and the architecture of the house, the design style of the landscape plot is selected. Here you need to take into account the financial costs, for example, an oriental garden will cost much more than a simple country country style. More than 20 garden styles are known. Let's consider the most basic and popular ones.
Classical
Garden in a classic style with a house
Classic garden
Such a garden is suitable for people with a serious, thoughtful character who love clarity in everything. Lovers of perfectionism will also like this style.
Landscape
The landscape design of 12 acres is good to equip in the English landscape style: the more natural such a garden looks, the more the zones and buildings will organically fit into it. Despite the seeming simplicity, the asymmetry of such a site is actually strictly preliminarily verified according to the plan. Plants are selected taking into account their growth, because such a natural garden can very quickly turn into a wild place without proper care and attention.
The style is called landscape precisely because of its resemblance to the natural corners of nature. In such a garden, different varieties of host will look good under the shade of trees, over which hydrangeas will rise - they also like shading from tree crowns. Bright variegated colors of flowers in such a garden must be strongly diluted with delicate greenery.
Country
The most common style is country or rustic comfort in your garden. After the hustle and bustle of the city, this option is considered relaxing for a tired person. The landscape design of the garden plot is selected for plots from 6 to 12 acres. Unpretentious bright flowers should create a sense of rural ease.
An example of a design with a cart
Country style
Such a cute and simple look is not so difficult to achieve. Corners with work equipment, wooden benches, and even decorated cars are appropriate here. The flower beds are decorated with chamomiles, carnations, tulips, zinnias, milkweed. A cotoneaster can serve as a kind of decoration - both tasty and beautiful.
Oriental
This is the perfect style to be able to express your rich imagination. In such a colorful garden of dreams, there should be a place for mosaic ornaments, neat wooden arbors, flowing water. The Japanese style also belongs to the east direction, which does not suit every building. It is a sophisticated Japanese garden with tiny gazebos, stone sculptures and neatly trimmed bonsai-inspired plants. For contemplation and reflection, a small bridge over the stream, winding gravel paths, stone lanterns, skillfully shading the outlines of plants, are suitable.
Japanese style garden with pond
Japanese style garden
Asiatic
Indian motifs, figurines of elephants, bright colors of flowers, gazebos-pagodas form the landscape design of a small area as beautiful as possible. It is very cool after working days to plunge into the atmosphere of celebration and fun, to escape from work with carefree conversation around the fountain. In the recreation area, colorful carpets and multi-colored sofa cushions look great.
Asian style
Exotic
As the name suggests, the choice of site decor will depend on the imagination of the designer or owner.In such a garden there is a place for African idols, jungle elements, mysterious figures and steles with hieroglyphs. The task of this style is to awaken imagination, to induce creativity. In such a place, you can easily meet a peacock walking near the tiger. But the tiger, it turns out, is skillfully drawn on a large boulder and from a distance it seems very real. The main condition for observing an exotic orientation: naturalness. No plastic whatsoever. Only wood in any form, stones, bamboo.
Exotic garden
Free
The easiest option for landscaping a garden. Any combination is possible: the neighborhood of symmetry and asymmetric lines, the installation of the fountain can be combined with elements of other styles, it is possible to mix different types of cultures. Each area of the site can be designed in any direction, maintaining an overall harmonious combination when mixing styles. It is quite simple to take care of a garden designed in a free direction, the main thing is not to forget the original image, conceived according to the plan. This kind of garden is given by freedom-loving people who do not recognize the framework.
Free style
There are a few more popular styles, such as the Mediterranean, with its Italian motifs and rocky terraces, the Moroccan style means a wealth of mosaics and ornamentation in mini-courtyards, wonderfully babbling fountains and flowerpots.
Fencing
Now more and more you can find high metal or stone fences, even in summer cottages. Maybe they serve as reliable protection, but it is definitely impossible to say that they decorate the house. Meanwhile, there are many ways to protect your site in such a way that it fits into the overall style and becomes part of the design.
Anyone who knows how to hold a hammer and a hacksaw can build a wooden fence. It is enough to show a little imagination, and your fence will become the highlight of your site. You can, for example, using bright colors, paint it in different colors.
If a picket fence is chosen, you can sharpen the upper parts and decorate. Such a funny fence made of "colored pencils" will look original. Concrete blocks can be decorated using textured plaster, resulting in a stone or masonry feel.
Nothing decorates a summer cottage like a hedge. When decorating it, trim the crown of shrubs and trees to get the desired shape. You can make a hedge from different trees and shrubs, depending on what height you need. If more than one and a half meters, thuja, juniper, spruce, cherry plum are suitable. For medium heights, use honeysuckle or lilac. If the function of the hedge is only to delimit zones, you can plant currants, barberry, boxwood.
The hedge decorated with climbing plants also looks very cute. It's easy to do, just plant any vines next to it.
Nowadays, fences are made of corrugated board more and more often. By themselves, they look boring. But you can also decorate them, for example, using airbrushing or using stencils. If you have artistic ability, you can draw pictures yourself. If you use special high-quality paints, the fence will serve you for a long time.
9. Design of an ornamental garden.
You can combine not only garden crops with each other. The trendy design of the ornamental garden successfully combines vegetables with flowers.
A traditional rural garden always delights with a riot of color and texture, in which both flower beds and beds are comfortably combined. While many vegetables, such as tomatoes and bell peppers, are decorative in their own right, adding a flower or two to other vegetables can provide the necessary vibrant tones.
If you love grilling in the garden, why not plant the necessary spices nearby.This vibrant blend of vegetables and ornamental grasses will liven up your patio or gazebo.
And the neighborhood of vegetables with flowers will make your beds especially attractive and will not harm your harvest at all. So you can create whole compositions of tasty, healthy and beautiful.
Garden design is a living process of interacting with the beauty of nature. Experiment! Something depends on your imagination and your desire, while the plants themselves will tell you something.
Fashionable "neglect"
Landscape design projects in a neglected style are used by designers more and more often. This is a very original and unconventional approach to the design of the territory. It is based on the intentional creation of a picture of an abandoned site overgrown with grass and in need of care.
It would seem a simple idea, but for its implementation it will take more than one day of work of a talented designer. This style does not imply pomp and pomp. Its main feature is naturalness.
Characteristic features of the neglected style:
- dense vegetation intertwined with each other;
- narrow paths that are artificially aged in places;
- different types and colors of plants;
- an abundance of climbing vegetation.
Oddly enough, it is not easy to recreate such a style. It is quite difficult to achieve a successful combination of the likelihood of desolation and overall attractiveness.
Styles of landscape design for a summer cottage of 4 ares
You can design a small area in different ways, but you need to decide on the style. We offer several ideas with photos and tips.
East style
The Japanese atmosphere is perfect for small areas. The features of this style include:
- rock garden;
- hedges;
- small bodies of water;
- evergreen plantings;
- dwarf trees.
When choosing fruit and ornamental trees, you should give preference to plum, apple and maple. Miniature flowers will also fit into this style, the main thing is not to plant plants with large spreading crowns.
With your own hands, you can make a small pond 1.5-2 meters wide. The bottom can be covered with sand, or better with small stones, so that the water is clear. It will even be possible to launch small fish into such a pond.
The site will appear larger if you create a variety of accents with bonsai, rocks, alpine slides and small statues. But the winding paths, which are also inherent in the oriental style, will help to embroider the space.
Rustic and Scandinavian style
These styles are very similar, as they do not require adherence to clear rules, which gives complete freedom to implement a variety of ideas. But strict lines are unacceptable here, everything should look natural, with an emphasis on the use of natural materials and the beauty of nature. You can plant different plants, the main thing is that everything is harmonious.
Also, the rustic and Scandinavian styles are characterized by small figurines of animals or fairy-tale characters, hedges, wild plants, pots of herbs on the stairs or terrace. Also garden wheelbarrows or carts with vegetables or flowers, pottery and wicker furniture.
Palace style
This style is suitable not only for castles with a large territory, and 4 acres will be enough to create an unprecedented luxury. Here you just need to consider what is inherent in this style:
- metal arches decorated with blooming roses;
- symmetrically located benches, there should not be more than three of them;
- uniform and evenly trimmed bushes and lawns;
- flower beds of regular geometric shapes;
- plantings in stone tubs.
A large number of decorations and color saturation are not suitable for this style.
Minimalism
This style is also suitable for small areas. When decorating, a minimum of details and one material are used here.The shapes and lines are all clear, the design itself is simple and straightforward.
Minimalism is characterized by a perfectly flat lawn, which makes the site organic and light. And also the planting of low shrubs, which will smooth out the structure of the design. These can be dwarf juniper varieties, common and green fescue, miscanthus or pinnacle.
It is also worth paying attention to unpretentious plants that do not need constant pruning, watering and feeding. Large areas can be given for forest and field grasses, sedges and cereals, and roses and peonies can be planted in small areas
Cannes, ferns, primroses, maiden grapes are best suited for the garden. In the garden, you can plant not only shrubs, but also trees, for example, maple, cypress, conifers, thuja, columnar apple trees. Also, geometric zoning is characteristic of the minimalist style. And even luminaires need to have clear geometric shapes to emphasize the overall concept.
Even the smallest suburban area can be beautifully and stylishly equipped. At the same time, a small area does not require much investment, and it is much easier to care for it. Plus, every time you can experiment with the design, make your own adjustments and amendments
And you should not buy expensive decor, you should pay attention to natural materials in the form of stones, hemp and snags, because they will give originality to your site
Zoning
You can improve the area near the house by dividing it into zones. Moreover, the allocation of zones depends on the landscape and the functional purpose of your site.
It is important to immediately separate the courtyard and the village well, as well as other industrial buildings, and only then divide the site into zones and equip them
Improvement needs to begin with work on zoning areas that are located between large buildings or other obstacles. You can select a separate secluded area, for example, near the courtyard. Zoning should be carried out taking into account the illumination of the site. Partitions that are too high can interfere with some plants by creating shade.
A play area, an area with flower beds, an area with a fountain, a recreation area and an area for beds can be distinguished.
When zoning, it is important to observe the correct forms. Better to highlight rectangular or square functional areas
However, zoning by sectors looks more impressive.
Square zoning is chosen if the site has regular equilateral shapes. But the elongated sections need to be divided into rectangles. Moreover, the size of these zones does not have to be the same.
For zoning, fences and fences are used. These can be small discontinuous partitions. It is these zoning options that do not interfere with plants and do not affect their growth. This refers to small decorative fences that will become the highlight of your design.
An excellent solution for zoning is the arrangement of garden paths. For large summer cottages, it is better to use geometric paths - regular and straight. A simpler option is to use arbitrary tracks, which can be either narrow or wide and winding. In addition, they look more interesting and unusual.
Another way of zoning is the use of artificial structures. It can be alpine slides, artificial reservoirs, bridges. Mini-rivers and streams do an excellent job with this task. Large stones can also be used for zoning.
Zoning of a summer cottage can be carried out using color, seating all flowers and other plants, based on their color scheme. But this is rather complicated and monotonous.
Another interesting zoning option is in shape and size. So, in different zones there may be too tall or, on the contrary, dwarf plants.
Another great option is to use artificial hedges.To divide the site into zones, artificial nets are used, which are decorated with loaches. Such a hedge can be high or low, it all depends on the specific type of functional zone and on what plants will be located there.
Peculiarities
The landscape design of a summer cottage is a complex of works on the improvement of household estates. This area should fully reflect your taste preferences and interests, so you should approach the choice of the environment wisely.
Any type of landscape design, even if it is done by hand, should begin with a detailed plan. If you turn to professionals, they will be able to offer you many original ideas. However, you must remember that landscape design is a whole system of measures with the help of which your site should acquire a single style, where all buildings and vegetation are combined.
It is important to remember the following features so that the arrangement of the territory looks competent and rational:
- when creating a project, you should build on the climatic features of the area. Some exotic plants will not be able to survive in the weather conditions in your region, so choose the right varieties;
- the type of relief is important for choosing a project, since in each area different activities should be carried out, which consist in the location of buildings, the location of the garden and vegetable garden, and other functional areas;
- the location on the cardinal points affects the layout of the design. This factor should be taken into account when choosing a place for a garden, trees, vegetable garden and summer cottages;
- so that your site amazes other people and pleases the whole family, you should take care of the decor. For example, you can decorate your homestead with natural stone. Create a mosaic of it for garden paths and the area will noticeably change. Also, this material is actively used as a design for water structures;
- Proper lighting plays an important role in design. With the help of modern LEDs, you can get an unusual light effect for individual elements or for the whole cottage as a whole.
Beautiful landscape design of the cottage: current trends
1. Vertical flower beds and beds. A compact and effective solution that allows you to get much more even from a miniature country garden. Most often, such beds and flower beds are supplied with an automatic irrigation system, which makes caring for flower beds and growing vegetables and aromatic herbs even more comfortable and unobtrusive.
Photo: Instagram @zellandia_landhsaft
Photo: Instagram @zellandia_landhsaft
2. The effect of an untouched corner of nature. The deliberate negligence of landscape design is a direct echo of the general trend towards maximum naturalness and a tribute to the all-encompassing popularity of eco-style.
3. Blooming all year round. One of the favorite techniques of professional landscape designers is to pick flowers and shrubs in such a way that as soon as one faded, others bloom immediately.
4. Minimalism. Graphic, minimalistic design is among the enduring trends.
Photo: Instagram @designhaver
Photo: Instagram @designhaver
5. Glazed gazebo - winter garden. A trendy and functional solution for a country residence is the arrangement of a gazebo or a veranda, which can be completely open in the warm season, and in the cold it turns into a glazed winter garden (often with heating).
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
6. Plants in tubs. Another option for all-season gardening, which allows you to acquire even the most whimsical tropical plants in the country.
Landscape Designers: Joe Williams and Jan van Opstal
Landscape Designers: Joe Williams and Jan van Opstal
7. Trees and shrubs that do not require careful maintenance.The modern rhythm of life does not always allow to allocate time for caring for the territory of a country residence. In such a situation, the most unpretentious trees and shrubs will help out (focus on those that are most typical for your strip).
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
8. Fruit orchards. Despite certain difficulties and the need for regular maintenance, the orchard remains a popular format for arranging the territory at a country house (regardless of the number of acres).
9. Playgrounds. For families with children, the current trend is the arrangement of a functional playground at the country house with many activities for kids.
10. Mini-vegetable gardens and mini-farms. A decade ago, a small vegetable garden and a mini-farm at a country residence would have been atavisms, but today, in the context of a general desire for organic products and controlled quality, they are at the top of current trends.
11. Landscaping "for life". Design ideas based on the simple joys of life are also in vogue - design “for life”. This can be a hammock, pool, outdoor barbecue area, or a yoga and meditation gazebo. The main thing is that it meets your wishes and needs.
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
Photo: Landscape Bureau "Mokh"
Photo: Instagram @designhaver
Photo: Instagram @designhaver
Authors of the project: Evgeniya Sverchkova and Andrey Dovben
Authors of the project: Evgeniya Sverchkova and Andrey Dovben
Authors of the project: Tatiana Kudrina and Irina Tarasova. Photo: Mikhail Shcheglov
Authors of the project: Tatiana Kudrina and Irina Tarasova. Photo: Mikhail Shcheglov
Layout
The entire suburban area should be divided into several zones. This can be a flower garden, a recreation area and a place for planting vegetables, as well as other fruits. The free zone usually has a lawn. The recreation area is closer to the house, but the beds are already farther away so that they are not striking.
When creating a landscape design plan, you must rely on the area of the site. Even for 5 acres or for a larger plot of 15 acres, you can choose an elegant design and refine it
And it doesn't matter where the garden is located: in the village or in the city. The layout of the garden landscape design and its arrangement with your own hands helps to correctly distribute the plants, while using the most unusual and exclusive ideas
Even in the smallest area, you can create a unique and mesmerizing landscape. To do this, it is better to first study the photo gallery, where pre-planned solutions are presented. You can also draw up a project with your own hands, taking into account personal preferences. In addition, you can contact a special service that will draw up a design project for the garden.
In large areas, you can resort to the most interesting layout options. So, you can provide on the site a gazebo, a bathhouse, a small pond or fountain, benches, swings, walkways, paths, a play area for a child and other options. Choosing design options, you need to decide on the type of vegetation and select the appropriate architectural elements for them. They will allow you to decorate not only flower beds, but also an artificially created reservoir.
When planning, it is important to provide for high-quality lighting and all the necessary communications. The following objects should be marked on the plan:
- areas of greenery;
- architectural elements;
- artificial reservoirs;
- sculptures;
- tracks;
- lighting sources.
This list can be expanded due to your needs. As a result, with proper planning, you should have a beautiful design that will make being in the garden comfortable. The garden should be spacious and beautiful, every element of landscape design should be pleasing to the eye.
