Design Elements In Linda Engstrom's Garden Aesthetics

Plants and nature have been a constant theme in art, but they can also be used to create art. Landscape designers use the same design principles that other artists and graphic designers use, combined with plants and other elements, to create certain atmospheres and feelings that people will enjoy being around. Linda Engstrom, APLD states on her website Garden Aesthetics that “the design elements are…employed to determine the way space will be perceived.” While there is a list of design principles, the ones discussed in this paper that landscape design uses are scale, rhythm, and balance. First, scale is the relationship of the sizes of plants and other elements within a landscape. It can also be said that “scale is concerned with the relationship between the size of an object to the size of the other objects within the same composition” (Linda Engstrom). The size of plants and the area they occupy must be considered as well as how different sized people (adults as well as children) will view the landscape. The size of the plants need to relate well to other plants and elements within the area, and also fit well into the size of the landscape. For example, a very tall tree should not be placed in a small …show more content…
Better Homes and Gardens states on their website that “it may be achieved by the use of line” such as using brick walkways or arches to guide the viewer through the scene of the landscape. Shape, color, space, or some other element can also be repeated at regular intervals or in a similar manner, giving the entire design a sense of unity. It can also be said that “repeating finely textured plants in a garden helps to unify the design and impart a powerful sense of simplicity. This creates movement and draws the viewer into the landscape and to the focal point” (Linda Engstrom). Rhythm can unify a design as a whole, and also develop other design principles or elements in the