What is a Formal Garden?
A formal garden has a clear structure, geometric shapes, and often a symmetrical layout. Its origin traces to walled gardens in Western Asia’s deserts. Styles seen in Persian gardens and Late Middle Age monastic gardens continue in Italian Renaissance and French Baroque gardens. Through design, a formal garden conveys order and transparency.
Formal gardens feature hardscape like paths, walls, and benches, and limited plant colors. While formal gardens are precise and balanced, informal gardens are relaxed and naturalistic.
Characteristics of a Formal Garden
The key to formal gardens is recognizable, usually geometric, shapes outlining plantings or hardscapes. Though using minimal colors, those present harmonize. Paths are straight and wide. Hedges and borders are neat, trimmed, and evenly spaced.
How to Design a Formal Garden?
What does a formal garden look like? A formal style of garden has an emphasis on balance, symmetry, repetition of planting, good structure, and strong lines. These can be geometric or curved in the design, such as with parterres. Key features include topiary, an evergreen backbone, sculpture and focal points. Use larger groupings of plants to keep the look restful to the eye. Formal gardens are usually well proportion, usually symmetrical, and geometrically balanced.
Formal garden design offers refined, timeless elegance that can elevate any outdoor space. Focus on symmetry, geometrical shapes, and carefully curated plants to transform garden into formal masterpiece. Incorporate principles while reflecting personal style and taste. Formal gardens require maintenance for clean lines and well-manicured look.
A formal garden has clear basic shapes. Simple, clearly structured gardens convey tranquility through neat, reduced design. Basic geometric shapes divide the garden into areas. Few elements are emphasized: green areas, straight paths, accurate hedge, individual plants central to the design. Matching beds with annuals also effective.
Shrubs/trees clipped into ornamental shapes likely feature. Pleached trees add volume. Focal points like fountain, statue framed by planting. Planting schemes frame views. Elegant benches/seats set into planting with viewpoint. Parterres are popular: enclosed beds separated by paths, viewed from above. Color palette often restrained, green dominant. Stone walls likely but gravel, brick, concrete work too.