The Elements
and Principles of Design

I employ these principles constantly as I put together designs. They work magic.

Basic design rules such as these are a source of ideas that help me create a unified picture in my own gardens. They help me ensure I get the garden effects I am striving for in my garden designs.

These design elements and principles are universal to all good design. Powerful, dramatic, and well loved art, photography, sculpture and architecture all employ this thinking in one way or another. Only when an artist truly understands these elements do they dare to break the rules.

Click on the pictures to learn more about these basics of design!

Color Schemes	Color Values
Design Basics	Basics of Rhythm and Motion
Rules of Composition	Spatial Organization
Visual Texture	Visual Balance
Design a Garden Focal Point

Using principles of design in your garden creates a valuable opportunity to create a unified, dramatic, and eye-catching look!

Have you ever seen a garden that was haphazard feeling? I sure have. Just about every garden on the street suffers from this malady. In these mediocre gardens, the creator missed the boat because they did not understand these very basic design principles.

The elements and principles of garden design allow you as a garden designer to take the broader view and look at all elements of the garden design at once instead of dropping in an idea here and an idea there.

These elements and principles of design are just a set of tools. When you start a project at home, you don’t use every tool you have in the garage to complete it, do you? These principles are much the same. Use what applies. Discard for the moment those things that don’t. Just put them in your toolbox for later, and enjoy the process.

Take a good long look at the elements and principles of design that are presented on this page and in the linked information and see how easy it is to create your dream garden. It will fall together on its’ own!

I’ve collected video, photographs and basic design concepts that will help you to envision your new, remarkable garden.

If you have been overwhelmed by all the many little decisions that you have to make when you start a garden design, then this information will help you with that.

It can be very intimidating to face a blank slate and wonder how you are going to figure out what to put where. It can even be almost impossible to figure out what you want sometimes!

Some of you are still feeling faint after all this! If you think of yourself as horticulturally impaired or feel like you want some great ideas and techniques for basic gardening, hop on over to visit the site of my friend Mike! He has a wonderful site that has some great gardening advice for those of you who are just beginning your gardening journey!

Then be sure and hurry back to learn more about jazzing it all up!

NOW, are you ready to create a professional looking garden?

Ensuring through the careful selection of plants, hardscape options, garden art, and garden furnishings that every decision supports the larger, integrated goals of the designer results in good design. This overall goal of harmony must guide all decisions made.

Design principles should work together to help establish a strong sense of presence in the garden. These elements and principles of design can be played off of one another in a way that creates a playful mood in the garden, or alternatively, reinforces the formality of a design.

These principles can also be used to great effect in the garden to create a sense of distance, to reinforce visual garden design balance, to create an illusion of space or to cause a focal point to visually advance toward the viewer.

They are powerful!

Time to impress your neighbors! Git R' Done!

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