An In-Depth Guide: Landscape Designs, Styles, & Themes

When it comes to your home, having a landscape that’s well-maintained is essential. However, there are also ways to truly make your landscape stand out. Whether it’s a particular style, or unique lighting and features, having such a landscape can complement your home immensely.

That’s why the team from The Plant Concierge has collected this in-depth guide about today’s top landscape installation styles, designs, and themes.

What Does Landscape Design Entail?

Often, landscape designs can involve everything from choosing what type of plants will thrive in your home’s environment, to adding hardscape features and planting trees and shrubs. Most landscaping experts will recommend planting trees, shrubs, and flowers native to your environment for a lush, well-maintained landscape.

Landscaping Style: What it is & Common Landscape Styles

First of all, you might be wondering precisely what a landscape style is, and it’s a fair question. Over the years, landscape styles have evolved from efforts at mimicking the best features of natural landscapes on a commercial or residential property. A good historic example is the traditional English country garden, made up of plants, shrubs, and flowers that thrive in the misty English countryside. Or, Japanese Zen gardens.

Some of today’s most common landscape design styles include:

• Mediterranean: This landscape style is designed to mimic the cliffs by the seaside that are so common in the Mediterranean area. Often, it consists of various types of flowering plants that droop or hang over the side of a wall of brick or stone.

• European Formal: One of the more unique landscape installation styles, the European formal style is influenced by direct, straight lines, and often paths lined by precisely pruned shrubs. These shrubs will often be planted to add privacy or draw the eye to a particular landscape/hardscape feature (most often a courtyard or fountain).

• English Country Cottage: Taking inspiration from the traditional English country garden, the English country cottage style includes brightly colored flowers planted close together, rolling grasses, and trees for maximum shade. Additionally, more unique landscapes will boast hardscape features like a small pond or waterfall.

• Tropical Gardens: Another popular landscape installation style is planting tropical gardens. However, doing so requires special care and professional expertise. For your tropical garden to thrive it will have to be watered properly, which may mean installing a specialized irrigation system in some areas. But tropical gardens are beautiful, consisting of tropical flowers and lush green foliage.

• American Southwest: One of today’s most popular styles due to its rustic look is the American Southwest style, boasting lots of space, rocks, and stucco walls. This style uses plants that like dry, desert-like weather, such as cactuses and drought-tolerant plants.

• Japanese Zen: Arguably one of the most unique landscape styles is the Japanese Zen garden look. This style features winding pathways, ponds, bridges, and Japanese plants and shrubs that create a subtle contrast in the landscape without being overpowering.

• Contemporary Native: The name says it all with this style. This type of landscaping employs the native plants, shrubs, and flowers directly from your surrounding area. Often, they contain a minimalist layout that highlights some of the area’s more unique plants. Plus, since they’re native plants, watering is much easier.

Different Landscape Themes

Much like landscape styles, there are several landscape themes that can make your property unique. Unlike style, which refers to the overall look of a garden, landscapes have a theme that adds personality. Such themes often draw from the native landscape where your home is located.

Some great examples of popular landscape themes include:

• The Neighborhood Theme: This theme draws inspiration from the landscapes of homes in your surrounding neighborhood. Often, things that are expected to add balance to the look of your neighborhood or provide something new are planted. If you’re friends with some of your neighbors, don’t hesitate to ask them about the inspiration behind their landscaping design.

• Vegetable or Herb-Influenced Theme: If you want to create a more local, homegrown feel to your garden or landscape, consider installing a vegetable or herb garden. In the old days, everything from tomatoes to potatoes was grown in household gardens, and the trend is certainly coming back.

Contact us today for luxury-level landscape installation, design, maintenance, & more!

If you’re in the Dallas area and need concierge-level landscaping services for your luxury home, contact The Plant Concierge online today or call (972) 243-1455 to request a quote.