| Leafing through a garden design book the other day, | | | | need for the horizontal spaces in the garden to be in |
| I was struck by a curious fact. The book is one of | | | | suitable proportion to each other. Let's take for the |
| many by John Brookes, the renowned British | | | | purpose of simplicity, an example of a 10m by 10m |
| designer. In virtually every case study presented, the | | | | plot, (30ft * 30ft) where the grass takes up almost |
| size of the lawn is greatly reduced in comparison to | | | | all the space, with 0.5 meters in width being left as a |
| the standard suburban garden most of us would | | | | border for bedding plants. Looking at the two main |
| recognize. As there is no indication in the book that | | | | spaces, i.e. the lawn and the border, it is clear that |
| Mr. Brookes is relating to water conserving gardening, | | | | the proportions are completely wrong. That is why |
| it is safe to assume that design is his paramount | | | | John Brookes or any less famous garden designer |
| issue of concern. | | | | would never create a garden in such a manner. |
| Gardeners in dry climates should take note of this, | | | | In fact, it is fascinating as a dry climate gardener, to |
| because saving water is usually the first reason, if | | | | see the design solutions he proffers. Lawns are |
| not the only one offered, for reducing the size of a | | | | replaced by brick paving or by a wooden deck, by |
| garden lawn. It is not difficult to see why, as grass in | | | | sweeps of ground-hugging plants, or by a beautiful |
| the Mediterranean climates typical of Southern | | | | seating area enveloped in lush, green foliage. |
| Europe, Southern California, or Southwest Australia, | | | | Furthermore, by expanding the width of the beds at |
| requires at least 700 mm of irrigation water year. In | | | | the expense of the grass, it is possible to increase |
| more arid regions like Central Asia and parts of the | | | | the three-dimensional character of the garden by |
| Middle East, the consumption rate rises steeply. Yet | | | | means of raised structures, or sunken spaces. |
| here we see a world-famous garden designer, | | | | Remember that changes of level, however gentle or |
| severely limiting the area allotted to a lawn, for purely | | | | subtle, are the stock-in-trade of the garden designer. |
| design reasons. | | | | Some gardeners in dry climates may look jealously at |
| All professional designers are acutely concerned with | | | | their counterparts in wetter climes, and dream of |
| scale and proportion. Most of us understand this | | | | growing acres of lawn without having to worry about |
| when it comes to how vertical lines relate to each | | | | wasting water or how best to irrigate the grass. |
| other, such the height of a tree being in scale to the | | | | Instead, we should learn from the great garden |
| size and height of the house. There is little difficulty in | | | | designers and reduce the size of the lawn in relation |
| pointing out that a 30-meter tree would be out of | | | | to the plot as a whole. In this way, we not only save |
| place in a tiny backyard plot, and next to a | | | | water, but also create a more satisfying garden |
| two-storey house. | | | | composition in the process. |
| Less obvious perhaps, but no less pertinent, is the | | | | |