Modern Tropical Gardens

Modern tropical garden design is a highly eclectic style based upon the controlled juxtaposition of extremes. On the one hand, we have the starkly manmade element of a contemporary style home, while on the other; we have vegetation whose iconic significance evokes feelings of the wild, the exotic, and the remote. Unlike traditional tropical gardens which emphasize a fluidity of boundary, modern tropical gardens are characterized by lush foliage that is tightly contained within strict geometric boundaries.

To obtain this sense of containment, tropical plant species must be carefully selected to balance both symmetry and proportion with the garden boundary and surrounding terrain. Tropical plants with large leaves are planted in key locations to juxtapose against home architecture and hardscape design. These plants tend to grow upward more than outward, and add vertical expression to the linearity that characterizes modern design. Bamboo and palm trees can also be used to create this effect in tight linear plantings against modern walls.

Due to the fact that modern landscapes typically subordinate the organic to the inorganic, it is very important to make certain that the growth factor of the vegetation does not overshadow the fundamental purposes of modernism. Contemporary themes are always humanistic and dedicated to the elevation of human constructs over that which is perceived to be the untamed primitivism of natural life and forms. Tropical plants can prove very challenging when installed in such a landscape, because in their native habitats they tend to grow rapidly and cover the entirety of the ground.

However, there is another attribute that tropical species possess that makes them ideal for modern landscaping, and that is the ability for many different species to grow to one another without choking each other out. This allows the scale of the garden to be reduced to a size that is appropriate to the scale of the overall property and respectful of home architecture. Of course, plant selection must be very precise here in order to maintain the emphasis on contemporary design.

Because modern architecture relies on stark geometry to convey states of consciousness, tropical plants have to be chosen based upon the natural geometric patterns that constitute their forms. What works near the house may not necessarily work near the fountain and patio in the back. Garden design must follow the patterns of angularity and linearity of adjacent inorganic structures in order to remain true to the intent of contemporary landscaping design.

Typically, modern tropical gardens look obviously scaled down in comparison to more traditional design styles. The reason this is so is to create specific spatial experiences using greenery to enhance stonework, gravel, concrete, and masonry. Many times, planters are even shaped to mimic basic geometric shapes that compliment the lines and curves of walls, walkways, stepping stones, and custom patios. It is not uncommon for us to hire masons to build these structures as circular or rectangular enclosures that rise two or even three feet above the surrounding hardscape.

When modern tropical gardens are customized in this manner, it allows for organic design to play a specific supporting role for each particular landscaping element in the yard. The combination of geometry, custom masonry, and careful selection of plant species allows the landscape architect to create a multitude of organic spatial experiences that work with—never against—the predominately inorganic aesthetic of the modernesque landscape.