Gardens add beauty and charm to our lifestyle. The tranquil peace and serenity works like a balm over the stress and rush that make up the modern world. Garden designs are on the priority list for both homemakers and home builders more than ever before.Garden designs have become more unique along with being more utilitarian. The gardens were initially a green plot of the household where the family used to grow edible products. The entire concept was either for commercial or entertainment. The palatial gardens had pompous designs with grand structures and accessories.
The ancient gardens of Babylon; around 600 B.C could be coined among the first famous examples of garden designs which possibly even applied the Archimedes screw for proper drainage. Garden design includes the use of fountains, statues of exotic animals and rare flora.
Influenced by the styles of various periods, the English gardens have had the most dynamic styles and evolution over the ages. After Charles II’s return from exile in France in 1660, the High Baroque style of garden design crept in. It involved planting ranks of trees in straight lines on the avenues. It had a tendency to be enfolded by walls.
This form of garden design was best adopted in Melbourne Hall Gardens, England. It was designed by London and Wise. The typical old Augustan garden design was given a concrete shape by William Kent, a professional designer. Water, wood, glass and the archetypal statues were used for deriving the perfection. The West Wycombe Park, Castle Howard, Chiswick House as well as Riveleaux Terrace and Temples are a few examples where the Roman influenced Augustan style is evident.
The gardens were an integral part of the Mughal architecture. These gardens had luxurious fountains, water cascades, stunning structures and arrangements for relaxing. The Mughal gardens also had an extensive collection of plants and flowers. Moreover, the seasonal variations were complemented the garden design.
During the 18th century, the unbendable, frozen style of earlier garden design gave way to the pleasant designs. These were result of the careful selection of garden materials. The designers preferred using rocks, tarnished timber and earthy blocks ruled the gardens, along with appealing fittings.
The gardens, however, are planned counterparts of their natural entity. There has been a widely popular phase of garden designing which included forest-like gardens by Stephen Switzer. It had massive estates full of trees, caves, lakes and hills to give it a semblance of a stylized forest. The entire concept centered on more of serenity and economy by using the genuine works of nature. The concept’s success lay in the practical idea of having a comfortable garden with the pattern of the ‘cut-through the avenue’ concept.
The Post Modern style of garden design had designers experimenting with primary geometric patterns. Today almost every next garden is technically planned. The expertise of garden designers is recognized and in demand. Before executing the design, the garden designer draws a blue-print of the future garden with the natural and stylized elements available. Garden design is an intrinsic part of the present trend of setting up well-decorated gardens. Garden designers set-up the initial garden design plan, based on the natural flavor of the land, purpose, location as well as budget.
