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Piet Oudolf was recced to me

The most practical would be to stick to a woodland/cottage style. It would be easy to add a miniature discovery element. I could look for antique gates at thrift stores.

Okay for myself what I'm getting from this is that I need to pick a theme and stick with it. My problem is I see something pretty and want it, but it's a completely different style.

I like the Southwestern theme, but we have too many heavy thunderstorms for succulents & that theme can get expensive - I don't have the Southwestern deco stuff, I'd have to buy it. Not my area so it can't be found at thrift stores

Though almost all the gardening/landscape books from the 80s & 90s have ponds. Or a lot do. That was a trend that is no longer as popular. I have seen people turn down homes b/c they don't want to deal w/ the upkeep of ponds.

In almost all gardening/landscape books there's talk of 'secret gardens' or 'garden rooms' the discovery is fun to create in a garden. I used to love visiting my older cousin, who married a multi-millionare. She had secret garden rooms, with these elaborate water fountains that were magical to find as a kid.

He goes over concepts like emphasis, focalization, rhythm, balance, scale with examples. This is helping articulate what makes a yard look nice. I'm going to be able to give compliments (& insults) to people's yards in such a pretentious way now lol

The example he gives is a photo of a front lawn with a gravel flower bed. It has a birdfeeder, two swans, and random stones. Also a stone frog, deer.

This kind of design advice is common sense, but it's amusing to see it written out in a theoretical manner.

Solving landscape problems by using natural materials executed with sincerity of purpose tends to be more harmonious than using artificial products with no sense of artistry or function.

Authenticity and function unity improve harmony. In contrast to unity, harmony has to do with the relationship between elements as opposed to the overall picture...the key ideas are to maintain smooth transitions, strong connections, and adequate buffers between elements

This section is funny. It has different photos of lawns and then a subsection underneath each photo criticizing them, explaining why they are disharmonious

This translates to gardening by having groups of larger plants, several of the same plants. And a focal point. Otherwise it's a mishmash/hodgepodge of plants that isn't as visually appealing.

I see people who enjoy gardening do this all the time. They use a bunch of smaller plants/smaller pots and the end result does not look cohesive.

Given such variable human response, however, it is still safe to say that a recurring visual principle or organization is unity and harmony with interest.

Perception demands variety and new information and at the same time seeks security in regularity or repetition. A familiar pattern that contains somewhere within it unexpected change will likely create aesthetic satisfaction.

The observer's grasp and enjoyment of the surrounding world depend on two complementary principles of perception: a need for stimulation through novelty and a need for familiarity. The first response a change; the second, a response to constancy. Such responses involve a paradox.

idk why but I find this quote amusing

2. Principles of Organization

Techniques of organization-
Designer needs to combine them with principles of organization.

What they're promoting with the sketching is paying close attention to every facet of the environment. Getting every detail on paper limits the chance of forgetting something. I wonder if there's a free ai program or software for amateur people wanting to dabble in landscape design

I mean I get it, it seems elementary, but I can't count how many times I've heard of people doing some kind of renovation and they later realize they forgot to consider xyz and now they've done this huge project, can't go back and change anything w/out added cost

I have zero experience in landscape design.

The common theme in all the landscape design books is sketching the environment - they take their sketches very, very seriously.

I was sort of half-assing sketching anything, but I'm sort of inspired to try harder w/ the sketches