Colors & Mood – Whites

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The colors in our environment greatly affect the vibe and mood of the setting. I use color extensively in landscape design to evoke a sometimes very specific mood or feeling. The chosen color palette would be very different if we were, say, developing an energetic environment (pool area perhaps) versus a ‘chill’ area for relaxing (back porch or tranquil garden area). At times the effect is subtle and subdued. Other times the color selection can be quite dramatic. It is my job to determine exactly what my client is trying to achieve with the area in question and then to...

25 January

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E Pluribus Unum

Posted by FHarder

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E pluribus unum, “Out of many, one”. This of course is our national motto, but it also applies to landscape design. A recent client of mine has a gorgeous home on Lake Sinclair. They called me because something was just ‘off’ with the landscape. It wasn’t bad, but certainly not exciting. The home site is rather large with lots of lake frontage, with several nice points of interest and a 300-degree view of the water. The property features a wonderful point on the water, offering a vista view to die for, as well as open lawn areas and a few...

27 December

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Fear of Commitment

Posted by FHarder

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A client with whom I am working this week prompted this week’s blog post. Their beautiful new home is a brick Georgian-Colonial style, 2-story residence in north Macon. This style of home does very well with several design styles, from the color and ‘floppiness’ of an English Garden to the clean and symmetrical lines of a formal landscape. The problem is, no commitment has been made to any particular style. There are some aspects that are definitely loose and colorful, while other areas are more formal. Consequently, there just isn’t any impact with the current landscape. Sometimes you just need...

07 December

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Continuity in the Landscape

Posted by FHarder

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Of the many elements of a well-designed landscape, continuity is one of the ‘big ones’. But for such an important element, continuity can also be rather difficult to define. It is kind of one of those things that you know it when you see it, and you definitely miss it if it’s not there. But creating it is necessary in creating that feeling of welcome, of warmth and familiarity that exists in great landscapes. Continuity is one of those things that is very often missing in a landscape in need of a re-design. It’s that feeling of nothing being connected, of...

29 November

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Landscape Illusions

Posted by FHarder

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Often in landscape design we use certain tricks and illusions to achieve specific goals. This week I want to share a couple of them with you. Let’s say that you have a rather small back yard and would like for it to appear larger. One design trick is to place larger-leaved bolder plant material to the front of the viewing area. Finer-leaved material would go to the second depth layer and even finer material to the very back. This creates an illusion of depth. Think of a drawing that depicts a person reaching out towards you with their hand. Of course...