What is topography of a garden? Basically, this term refers to the hills and valleys, the slopes and bumps, the level spaces and peaks of your outdoor space. Understanding the topographical landscape of your garden means viewing it as a three-dimensional space, not just a two-dimensional plane. Once you embrace the curves and planes of your garden, you’ll be able to design a look that feels as natural as it is beautiful.
Vista
Quite simply, a vista is a view or perspective on something. With reference to a garden, it usually indicates a type of framed view of the space. Using plants of different heights, colors, and textures, you can manage what your guests see when they first walk into the garden, creating a postcard-perfect view.
To maintain the right vista, you’ll need to constantly gauge how much of the view you want people to see from a given angle. Framing can be provided by trees, tall shrubs, archways, posts, gates, arbors, or hedges. Low plants need to be pruned and curtailed, so they don’t grow large or overbearing enough to obscure the vista you’ve designed. You want visitors to enjoy both the near and the distant, so try to manage depth and perspective so your guests can appreciate small close-up details as well as the overall picture. Designing vistas is an art form, but with research, practice, and experimentation, you can achieve a delightful result.
Slope or Hill
Is your garden space on a slope or a hill? This type of slanted outdoor space can seem challenging to navigate at first, but it actually opens up a lot of great opportunities for creativity and variety! You can create natural layers using the slope as a guide. Consider adding tiered beds, or building a wall to aid in soil retention, if that’s an issue. Kurtz Bros., Inc. has plenty of decorative stone options for creating beautiful garden walls or tiered flowerbeds.
Another way to use a sloped garden is to play with water flow. You can use the natural tendency of the rainwater to drain down the slope, and use that to create a stream or fountain, leading down to a pool or water garden at the base of the slope.
Outcrop
In a garden, an outcrop is essentially a significant rock feature, often a mound of rock with some plants growing atop it. Succulents, sturdy flowering plants, and hardy grasses often work well if you’re designing a rocky outcrop for your garden. Kurtz Bros. can provide additional rocks and soil to help you create the look you want.
Remember, anytime you have questions, you can feel free to contact the lawn care and landscaping experts at Kurtz Bros., Inc. And you can always shop via our website for all your gardening needs, including tools, soil, decorative stone, and more. In addition, our blog provides a vast bank of knowledge for gardeners, from beginners to experts.