Hardscape features like patios and firepits offer the wonders of comfort, luxury, and entertainment. However, putting thought into one’s natural landscape in Sag Harbor, NY, still goes a long way toward achieving a well-balanced property filled with personality. Read on for guidance in organizing your flower beds to achieve a desired look and feel in your landscape design:
Pick Your Color Palette
Planting a large landscape can seem daunting, especially with such a large array of plant species and possible arrangements at one’s disposal. Simplify the process by deciding on a color scheme upfront. Select a few shades that complement one another, and try to balance the color palette by including both cool and warm colors. Not only will it be easier to choose flowers in complementary colors, but each colorful element within the landscape will make an impact and pair well with its neighbor.
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You can make your natural landscape more exciting and eventful by altering your color scheme every season. By paying attention to when each plant species flowers, you can achieve pink and purple blooms in the spring and red flowers in the summer, for example. Your summer color scheme transitions into the golden oranges of fall and, by having plenty of evergreen shrubs and trees planted, you can achieve a rich green winter landscape.
Take a Step at a Time
In order to simplify planting your natural landscape even further, the task can be approached in the same way that someone would go about assembling a simple flower arrangement. Find a combination of colors or flowers that you like for a particular corner of the landscape. As you envision moving throughout the rest of the landscape, you could have this combination repeated. Repetition is key to achieving a cohesive design that looks “finished.” You may even decide to add more complementary plant species to the arrangement as you go along with your landscape. Find a few combinations that work and see what your landscape contractor thinks about spacing them out well for an intriguing softscape with a simple structure and finished look.
Create Swaths of Color
If you’re fortunate enough to have a large sprawling landscape, consider grouping a single color in large masses for a powerful visual impact. From a distance, it will look like a painter swept his brush across your landscape, creating characterful swaths of color.
Consider Your Desired Mood
Red, orange, and yellow are not only warm but are also bright and tend to catch one’s eye. Cooler hues like blue and purple often make themselves comfortable in the background. If you would like to achieve a muted meditation garden, opt for blue and purple flowers. Plant bright and cheerful yellow flowers beside the bistro table where you enjoy your morning cup of coffee to set the tone for the day. Parts of the landscape that are frequented at night will benefit from the inclusion of chartreuse and silver foliage or white flowers, which can foster a romantic mood.
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Create Depth and Dimension
We’ve established that warmer hues tend to demand more attention, while cooler colors are more subtle. The intensity of a particular hue will also determine how noticeable it is, as bright colors are easier to see than their muted counterparts. As a result, bright warm shades look closer while muted cool colors appear farther away. Utilize this effect to create visual depth in your landscape. Yellow flowers surrounding a water feature or bench can emphasize its position in front of a backdrop of lavender.