The Art of Flowing Design
In my last blog post I discussed garden styles and themes as a way of presenting established ideas used in landscape design. As an artist and landscape designer I developed my own style of design based on what my ideas of a natural and comfortable landscape should look like and how the design could bring all the elements together.
My client’s were welcome to choose any garden style that they preferred and I would happily translate the concepts onto a workable landscape plan but, left to my own devices, I most often chose to design in a Curvilinear style. This design style has lots of curving shapes, rounded off corners and steps, circular sitting areas, interlocking circles and paisleys, and flowing lines. I felt this design style fit in with the natural environment, softened the hard geometric lines of the homes, was more inviting, and pleasing to the eye. Many of the homes I worked on had fenced in yards in either a rectangle or square shape although there were many oddly angled fence lines. The curving lines helped to give interesting planting borders with undulating lines allowing for narrow and wide sections. I had to work with some existing geometric patios or paved areas but I found that the curves, arcs and circles were easy to tie in with 90 degree corners and that having some straight edges was no problem. It was very nice to have clients comment on how much they loved these designs and that they needed my help in getting away from the traditional boxy shapes.
These are some examples from gardens I designed, gardens I visited for the Travelogue and one or two photos from Google images. Rounded structures as well as curvilinear path and paved areas.
I found it was a lot of fun to play with the geometric shapes of paving blocks, bricks and stone tile set into these curving spaces. The contrast of the regular shapes with the irregular lines is interesting. There was even a interlocking paver manufactured to be laid in a circle. Boy, did I have fun with those! I used connecting circles, fan shapes and half circles to form unique paving layouts.
Drawing curves does require some technique and drawing tools to produce these shapes. I have seen walks, patios and pools with cramped radius’ for the circles and curvy walks with too many curves making them look like a child’s drawing. For Curvilinear design to work well and look professional, the curving lines should be sweeping arcs, circles should be proportional to their function and each individual space should tie into the other shapes with a similar design.
These are a few plans drawn in a Curvilinear design. The first two are the same plan but one is an enlarged image. Notice how the arcs and circular shapes repeat so that the shape compliment each other. The proportions of the areas are set up to fit furniture and seating areas and pathways are large enough to roll a cart or walk with another person easily.
Curvilinear design is often mixed with geometric shapes, as I mentioned before, either for the purpose of functionality or to fit a geometric shaped element into the garden i.e. portable spa, court, pool or vegetable boxes (as shown in plan). Often these elements then play off the rigid lines of the house.
I am certainly not unique in my design aesthetic, there are many examples of curvilinear design in all types of industries. I simply present this type of design work as another style of garden planning. When drafting these types of plans, I found it very difficult to work with a computerized design package or CAD program. This may not be true for you but I enjoyed drafting these plans with a French curve, circle templates and a compass. I recommend drafting with a pencil and paper to people wanting to draw a plan, in general, as its a very accessible and low cost way to produce plans.
I don’t think this design type is trendy or represents a particular era. It seems to be timeless in my view and should remain a beautiful layout throughout the life of the garden. I look back at some of the first gardens I designed in the early 1980’s and they still have a current and inviting appeal to them. The plants may need some refreshing but the structure of the garden is sound.
To learn more about landscape design and drawing plans check out my Landscape Design course on this website:
For examples of Botanical Gardens in the U.S. and their many different garden styles and themes check out the Travelogue available through this website:
