The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping

Home
>
Landscaping & Gardening
>
The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping

The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping

A principle of all art is unity. This means that each piece of art has one meaning. Creating landscaping or a flower garden should also incorporate this principle of unity. Your landscaping or flower garden is truly a work of art as much as any painting or sculpture.

Each work of art, large or small, should have one and only one meaning. Every part of the work of art, or in our case flower garden or landscaping, should contribute to this central or unifying meaning. Stated in physical terms, all parts of the landscaping should make one body of work with each part being subordinate to the whole. Every part which does not support in this effort must be removed, no matter how beautiful or interesting it may be in itself or so the principle of unity declares.

Unity taken to the extreme is monotony. When only one color, only one tone, or only one figure is used, the result may be monotonous. A garden planted with nothing but hollyhocks or a park with only red cedars would certainly be monotonous however beautiful the hollyhocks or cedars. Even so some believe it is better to have monotony than to lose unity. Indeed, in particular cases, monotony may be considered the height of artistic achievement.

The elimination of diverse colors, and forms, would tend towards unity. At least it would tend towards simplicity, which can be desirable in itself. Nearly all landscaping or gardening, in the hands of amateurs, shows too many forms, too many colors, and too many different kinds of plants. There are so many different kinds of plants and colors, you want to try them all. Fact is, the instances in which unity goes too far towards monotony are so rare, that these instances can be doubly interesting as curiosities.

Unity is frequently found through the development of functionality. If every part of the landscaping or flower garden has a definite and obvious practical pupose, then that dominating purpose can unify all the parts and pieces. Thus you can achieve unity.

In actual practice, the most powerful way to create unity lies in having a clear-cut motive and sticking to it. Essentially we mean, find a theme or subject for your landscaping or flower garden. Stick to it however tempting it is to not do so. In this way you can incorporate the principle of unity.

In The News:

Green thumbs up: Savor the scents and flavors of herbs
Wicked Local
When we purchased our current home more than 35 years ago, our very first landscaping project was the excavation of a vegetable garden even before we officially passed papers. Vegetable plots were common in many backyards at that time but as the years ...

Garden Calendar: May 25, 2012
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Speakers' topics include native plants, wildlife management, hydrangeas, landscaping, organic gardening, more. $10. Call (901) 752-1207. memphisareamastergardeners.org June 2: Potager Dish Garden Workshop: 10:30 am-12:30 pm at the Dixon Gallery and ...

Majestic Farms Greenhouse & Landscaping in Hatley practices sustainable living
Wausau Daily Herald
At Majestic Farms Greenhouse & Landscaping, 6301 Townline Road, Hatley, the focus isn't just on green plants -- it's on green practices, too. Brenda and Jack Koshollek own the business, which seeks to educate the public about gardening and being ...

Garden Project swaps English tea for garden fair
Record-Searchlight
By Laura Christman Below: The Garden Project did the landscaping for The Shasta Lake entry sign near Interstate 5. photos by Laura Christman / Record Searchlight Gennie Seely (right), and Georgia Haddon of the Shasta Lake Garden Project go after weeds ...

European garden odyssey
Vancouver Sun
Here are the highlights of my European garden odyssey, starting with my time at Floriade: This amazing horticultural extravaganza turned out to be a glorious gardening exposition, full of sensational displays, creative landscaping ideas and all sorts ...

Terraced gardens bring color to Berlin hillside
Worcester Telegram
Gardens like these take a lot of upkeep and love to keep them going. Realizing they were now the caretakers, Hoffman and Leary got moving. But they were novices, gardeners who poked around in the dirt, but never tackled a major landscape installation ...

Boynton woman's garden wins national landscaping award
Sun-Sentinel
A Boynton Beach woman recently was honored with a national landscaping award, and she's not even a member of the garden club. Sophie Janssen, a resident of Boynton Hills, was honored in April after catching the eye of new Boynton Garden Club president ...

Pull Weeds, Not Muscles, When Gardening This Summer
Sacramento Bee
Planting cascades of flowers and adding other landscaping features to your yard involves tools and equipment that, if used without precaution, could result in serious injuries. "Whether you're an expert gardener or first-timer, carefully planning your ...

and more »

Gardening: The return of the royal palm bug
Naples Daily News
The climate there is similar to Vermont where I was born and the landscape plants made me feel as if I was there. They have rhododendrons, lilac and other flowering plants in full bloom. The crops included apples, pears and of course the grape vines of ...

Our Garden: Gardening in containers
San Jose Mercury News
By Joan Morris If your yard is full of rocks or your backyard is nothing more than a concrete patio, you may think gardening is out of the question. It's not. Many vegetables and most other plants can be grown successfully in containers.

and more »

Google News