ENH1188/EP449: Landscape Design: Arranging Plants In The ...

Creating Pattern Through Repetition

Linking various areas of the garden through repetition is the basic design principle of rhythm. Repeating colors, forms, or textures of plants throughout the different beds creates a rhythm that is recognized as a pattern in the landscape. See Landscape Design: Aesthetic Characteristics of Plants (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep433) for more information on color, form, and texture. Rhythm through repetition also contributes to unity, which is another design principal related to the organization of plants. See Basic Principles of Landscape Design (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg086) for more information about using repetition in the landscape. There are several strategies to create pattern in the garden through placement of plants, including:

• Repeat one distinct form or texture, or two to three colors in selected beds that contrast with simpler forms and textures in the beds.
• Place the plants with the distinct form or texture (focal plants) in locations that will lead the eye around the garden. The most common pattern is a triangle shape between three plant beds.
• Stagger the plants on either side of a pathway in a zigzag pattern to lead the eye forward and draw the viewer into the garden.

Repetition with Form

Form is the most enduring and often most recognizable characteristic of plant material. We identify plant types, such as trees, grasses, or cacti, simply by the silhouette or form. Strong forms have more visual weight, which is the perception of visual importance or the ability to capture attention. Strong forms are usually more upright and often irregular, which contrasts with more horizontal and rounded forms. Some rules for using form include:

• Use one or two strong forms sparingly; repeat in plant beds that are predominantly simple forms with less visual weight.
• Use one dramatic plant as a focal point and emphasize the form by surrounding it with simple forms, but balance it by careful placement of two or three less dramatic focal points.
• Avoid clustering too many strong forms together in a bed; the composition becomes unbalanced with too much emphasis in one place.
• Establish a pattern by repeating one or two of the strong forms in a triangle or other strategic locations throughout the space. Study the views and look for locations along an axis or other areas where the eye naturally goes based on the orientation of the viewer.
• Use texture and color to create strong visual weight in a composition with simple forms.

Repetition with Texture

Texture is created by a combination of the size and shape of the leaves, twigs, and stems with the overall form. Plants have coarse, medium, or fine texture that can change with the viewing distance from the plants, the light quality, and the contrast with surrounding plants. Coarse texture tends to have the strongest visual weight, followed by fine texture in large-scale plants. Too much coarse texture with many different forms can create a chaotic look, and too much fine texture can be monotonous. The key is to create balance in the composition by using one texture, usually coarse, as a focal point and other textures, typically fine and medium, to fill the spaces. However, an interesting and dramatic landscape can be created with all coarse textures if balanced with color and a few different forms. Rules for repetition with texture include:

• Use texture to change the perceived size of a space. Place coarse texture in the background, the tallest layer, to make a space feel smaller, or bring the coarse texture closer to the foreground layer to make a space feel larger.
• Use texture in the background layer to emphasize other plants or garden ornaments. Fine texture in the background makes coarse texture stand out more, and coarse texture in the background makes fine texture look more delicate.
• Note that color can affect the perception of texture. Bold colors tend to look coarser, and muted colors appear to have a medium or fine texture.
• Use one texture throughout the layers to achieve unity. Balance is provided by using a variety of forms or colors.

Repetition with Color

Color is the most temporary characteristic of plant material, yet it is also the one that carries the most visual weight when it is present in the garden. Planning with color is difficult because seasonal changes, light intensity, texture, and color properties and relationships (color theory) must all be considered. A good strategy is to design the entire plan, including the focal points, with form and texture as the first consideration and then use color for additional emphasis if needed. The composition should be balanced and visually pleasing with or without color. Some helpful guidelines for using color include:

• When choosing plants for color and deciding upon location, use a color scheme as a guide. Analogous colors are similar and tend to have a unifying effect. Complementary colors have high contrast, so the amount of color is usually just as important as the location. See Color in the Landscape: Finding Inspiration for a Color Theme (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep425) for more information about color schemes.
• When locating plants for color, avoid scattering different colors in small clumps or spots throughout the garden. Color should flow through the layers from top to bottom and front to back to avoid lines or clumps of color. Repetition in color comes from the use of a particular color or set of colors more so than the location of the color.
• When using color for a focal point, exercise caution with the color choice if the plant already has high visual value. Color can increase the visual weight of a plant, which can lead to an unbalanced composition.
• When selecting plants for color, consider all parts of the plant, flowers, fruit, bark, and stems as possible sources of color to ensure varying amounts of color throughout the garden year-round. Also keep bloom periods in mind and try to balance the location and amount of color throughout the year.