French Formal Garden

What is the ultimate theme of the French formal garden?
It uses carefully sculpted vegetation, planted in straight lines, as organic architecture. This emphasizes man’s dominance over nature through a strict control of all plant material. The disciplined symmetry of this form is precise in its planning and layout, and runs along long axes that inspire the viewer with a sense of sublime infinity.

What type of house does this garden work best with?
Historically, French formal gardens were built beneath a terrace that allowed the visitor to overlook the entire garden. If a terrace was absent, the garden would be viewed from either the top of a wall or a large window that provided sufficient overlook.

This approach can easily be modified to our contemporary location because the French countryside is remarkable similar to the flat terrain of the Houston landscape. French forms can be developed here in much the same way, with the intended vantage point for the garden being a balcony or second story window overlooking the parterres and axes of the garden.

Where on the property do you normally install a French formal garden?
The French formal garden uses the home itself as the garden focal point. Trees are planted away from the home to give it special emphasis. Low parterres and trimmed bushes closer to the home help distinguish it further.

The garden is built around a central access that is perpendicular to the house. Normally this runs opposite the front entrance and moves toward either a horizon point or a classical statue. The main axis is most often made of gravel and is edged by trees. Perpendicular axes cross the main axes to provide aesthetic balance and human transit points.

What types of geometry does this garden style use?
The most sophisticated parterres are square, circular, oval, or scroll-like in shape. They are juxtaposed against the home in such a manner as to compliment the architectural motifs that distinguish its build out. The parterres near the residence are normally created with low boxwoods that hug the ground. As the linear movement of the French formal garden progresses away from the home façade, the hedges rise proportionally. Trees may be planted in larger gardens to enhance the sense of heightened perspective and drama.

Does the French formal garden use water features at all?
Yes. In fact, water features are among its most important elements. Canals, basins, custom fountains, and waterfalls lend not only a touch or elegance, but also have a mirror-like effect that makes the garden appear larger than it actually is.

What types of decorations does the French garden use?
To further emphasize the theme of order, system, and human dominion, classical sculpture is used in the garden to establish Greco-Roman or mythological aesthetics. Sculpture is normally placed at the intersections of axes or by water features.

Formal Garden

What makes a formal garden formal?
Order, neatness, geometry, and symmetry are the defining features of this style that traces its origins all the way back to the dawn of recorded history. Formality is a tradition honored equally in Western, Middle Eastern, and Eastern Cultures. We have all heard of Greek and Roman Gardens, and most of us as well have heard of the Hanging Gardens of Ancient Babylon. Since the beginning of history in the East, both China and Japan have perfected formal gardens as expressions of Taoist, Shinto, and Buddhist ideals.

Formality is like artistic diplomacy. It takes what would otherwise be a divergent and conflicting array of individual forms and brings them together into a working relationship where every contributing element plays a part in making up a greater whole.

What feeling should this type of garden create?
It should establish a sense of stability—something of an island of respite from the daily grind of life. Formality means elegance and that which is elevated above the mundane. Nothing mediocre should enter in to your garden, or even come to mind.

What types of formal garden plants are most commonly used?
Vegetation is selectively chosen so there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Different species of shrubs, trees, hedges, perennials, and annuals are arranged in cultural and historical motifs.

It is not a matter of the amount of plant material, but in the way that it is arranged. Some gardens are very simple and consist of only boxwoods enclosing a flower bed. More formal designs integrate and intertwine organic elements with inorganic elements. All forms must appear balanced and done to scale, be they trees, shrubs, or flowers. Inorganic elements are used to center attention on its midpoint, or to draw attention to a particular aspect of its geometry.

How many different types of formal gardens are there?
The most prominent types are based upon historical and cultural traditions. Others are based upon style or size. A few examples follow.

Formal French Garden
The French garden is intended to inspire awe and wonder, much like a grand chateau on an Elite estate. It uses carefully sculpted vegetation as organic architecture. The disciplined symmetry of this form is precise in its planning and layout, and runs along long axes that inspire the viewer with a sense of sublime infinity.

Formal Italian Garden
Like the French garden, the Italian garden is a controlled, linear, symmetrical form. Unlike the French garden, its intention is to create retreat and repose rather than awe and wonder. Italian gardens appeal to multiple senses and invite the viewer to step into an alternate realm of contemplation, surprise, and a rich diversity of shape and color.

Formal English Garden
The English garden presents an idealized view of nature. It was originally inspired by pastoral landscape paintings that emphasized rolling hills, trees, and lakes. It is a geometrically balanced design built around a central pathway and a central focal point. Around the center grows a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants arranged in geometric, interwoven patterns.

Formal Small Garden
This is an ideal style for small yards and townhome properties. It uses small squares or circles of yard in areas where larger landscape elements cannot be created. Its disciplined symmetry lends itself well to complimenting the architecture of surrounding homes and buildings, and the richness of floral and vegetation patterns can be just as diverse as those in larger formal garden designs.
Formal Flower Garden
Formal flower gardens are designed as elegant beds with straight lines. The intent of this form is to mix annuals and perennials together so that as some flowers seasonally die and come back, others are continuously blooming at various times. This maintains continual floral growth that gives color and vitality to the Houston landscape throughout the year.

Where can I get formal garden ideas?
The best place to begin is by looking at garden pictures on the Internet and any print media sources you have available. Although many of these pictures will not depict formal gardens per se, you will see a wide range of vegetation, hardscapes, and decorative elements that you can select as a sort of collage of ideas. Bring these to the table when you meet with your Exterior Worlds garden designer.

How is a formal garden plan developed?
Your designer will look at your visual wish list and then talk to you about what you expect to see, smell, and feel when you experience the new garden we are planning. We will also take extensive time to study your home and yard so we can adapt your desires to appropriate landscape elements that truly compliment the house and surrounding yard.

The plan is sketched out as a preliminary draft, which you have the freedom to change or approve. Upon final approval, a more sophisticated draft is created that is part of the landscape master plan. Installation is either done directly through our team or through specialists we contract and supervise under our invoice and guidance.

Garden Design Ideas

Garden design ideas can be based on geometry, type, or style. Geometry is necessary to tie the architecture and hardscapes in with the organic elements of the Houston landscape. By using repeating patterns common to both the living and the manmade, we can establish common motifs that tie the two together.

Garden type, or style as many call it, are designations based on the proximity of the garden to certain structures (such as a patio garden or courtyard garden), or the actual contents of the garden itself. Sometimes too, a garden type is named after what the garden is used for. A good example of this is a morning garden, which is a garden you sit by in the morning as you drink your coffee and read your paper.

While it is possible for a do-it-yourself gardener to come up with very good garden design ideas on his or her own, making those ideas work with the rest of the yard is another matter. That is why you need a professional landscaper to come to your home and take a good look at your property. Identifying opportunities for garden design is the first thing we do. The second thing we do is point these opportunities for design out to you and match them to your plans for a future outdoor lifestyle.

Once our consultation is complete and the landscape master plan is in process of development, there are many garden design ideas we can introduce into that plan to make your yard into the equivalent of a second home just outside your home. Just of few of these ideas include the following:

Small Gardens
The intention of small garden design is to make use of ignored or overlooked spaces and to transform them into something aesthetically pleasing. This works to bring home architecture into a better relationship with surrounding yard elements.

Asymmetrical Gardens
Another popular garden design idea is an asymmetrical garden. At face value such a thing may not sound attractive, but it can work very well a small lot that is not shaped perfect to square, or where the house may be too close or too far away from the street.

Shade Gardens
When you have to sit under the trees to withstand the Texas heat, it is always nice to have greenery and flowering plants around you under the trees. This adds to the warmth (instead heat) to your outdoor living experience.

Formal Gardens
Symmetrical balance is the foundation of all formal garden design ideas. The garden is always centered on a geometric shape, statue, or custom fountain that brings all of its linear and radial elements together in focus. Plant life is also controlled and balanced, and trees and shrubs are planted at regular intervals with mathematical precision.

Contemporary Gardens
Contemporary gardens are unique in that they actually work to minimize vegetation and favor the man-made over the organic. They are very precise, abstract, and mathematical so as to communicate the exaltation of human though above instinct and organic impulse.

Bush Planting in your Landscape Design

At Exterior Worlds, we think the hard-working bush is one of the gardener’s best friends. The taller, evergreen bushes create the backdrop against which colorful plants stand out. At the mid-level, or filler, range, shorter bushes provide interest and flowering bushes add color and texture. All of which makes bush planting one of the foundational elements in your Houston landscape.

Bush planting is sometimes called foundation planting, coinage that came about when most houses were pier-and-beam and bushes were planted close to the house to hide the distracting construction. Unfortunately, foundation planting is often static and too narrow, a single row of shrubs in lockstep with the lines of the house. This problem has a quick fix: just layer the bushes front to back, from shortest to tallest, making sure none of the new bushes loom above the established ones.

One tip on garden landscape design when planting bushes: the wider the beds, the more freedom of expression. A wide bed lets you combine seasonal color, native grasses, evergreen bushes, flowering shrubs and graceful trees, which are more attractive. The wider width gives you more planting opportunities for a lush, layered look.

With bushes, you want to go with evergreens to create a year-round structure. However, you also want to use deciduous shrubs and perennials that provide ornamental value all year. Planting roses is one way to add bushes and color to your landscape. Rose bushes require specific and meticulous care, but the pay-off comes with that bowl of fresh roses from your very own garden, sitting on the dining room table and sending out waves of pleasure.

Planting azaleas is an often dazzling choice for our region. In addition to azaleas, choose plants with staggered bloom times so that you have spring blossoms, colorful summer flowers, bright fall foliage, and winter berries and fruit.

One ally in your bush planting endeavors is a reputable lawn and garden services provider, such as Exterior Worlds. We can do the inspection for insect infestation required feedings and pruning. And speaking of pruning—you need to be mindful of choosing varieties of shrubs that will grow to the size you want. It saves on your landscaping budget because it means the landscaping crew spends less time trimming.

Bushes thrive on proper mulching, as do all the plant material in your garden design.
We recommend that mulch installation be done as soon as new bushes are planted and then checked regularly to see where it needs to be re-applied. For superior results, garden beds should be mulched twice a year. Mulch should not run up the trunks of bushes—or any plants—as this over-application harms them and invites disease.

Finally, when planting gardens, plan before you plant. A good starting point is with an enlarged photo of your house from which you can trace its outline onto paper, including any features, such as mature trees, that you plan to keep. Then draw in your preferred plants, including bush plantings, at their mature shape and size. Exterior Worlds employs professional landscape designers who can aid tremendously in this important step.

Planting Azaleas in the Houston Landscape

Of the multiple items that work well in a Houston landscape, planting azaleas definitely tops the list. Azaleas provide the heart-stopping beauty that heralds the arrival of spring. At Exterior Worlds, we have long thought that all landscapes benefit from such loveliness.

There are thousands of azalea varieties, with blossom colors that run the spectrum from white to red. (However, even the large garden centers will carry only a fraction of that quantity.) Planting azaleas in a butterfly garden design or shade garden design enhance all the other decisions you’ve made for these styles. Azaleas are a great choice for foundation planting, too. Some bushes grow less than 12 inches in height and provide good mid-range filler in a layered bed or serve as a spreading groundcover, while other varieties grow quite tall and tend to spread with age.

Planting azaleas is a relatively uncomplicated procedure. They prefer good drainage in a slightly acidic soil with partial shade. We advise starting with the planting soil since heavy clay soil, as is found in Houston, benefits from added fibrous material and sand. We recommend a ratio of 1/3 loam (or soil), 1/3 sand, and 1/3 organic matter. In good soil, the hole should be at least a few inches wider than the rootball and as deep as the rootball. Because of this area’s clay content, we position bushes so that the tops of the rootball are several inches above the ground level. We then mound the recommended soil mixture around the rootball. Lastly, we mulch the newly-planted bushes, being careful not to place mulch up the trunks. The last step is to slowly and thoroughly water.

For an additional way to add color to your landscape, planting annuals is a viable option. Seasonal color complements any blooming bushes and trees and adds freshness to the yards. Pots and containers are perfect for annuals since they help define your garden spaces. Small- to large-sized containers can frame a view, create a pathway, or enclose a garden zone.

Masses of blossoms make for garden beds with eye-popping beauty while beds filled with one of this and one of that merely look like a mishmash. When planting azaleas, in general we plant them in groups, to underscore the theory that more is more. At the same time, we are careful to give each plant room to grow. In the spacing of the bushes, we take into account their mature size and shape.

As for garden designs, the ones that express unity are more pleasing, an objective we accomplish by choosing only one or two colors, grouping bushes in series of three or five, and by repeating these groupings across your landscape. This repetition achieves continuity, unity and balance. A residential landscape designer from Exterior Worlds can help you make the best choices for the conditions of your particular property. We understand the Houston topography and natural elements and work hard to incorporate the architecture of your space and your personal style.

In Houston, your garden landscape practically require azalea bushes. Their colors bewitch us. The names alone are lyrical: Pink Cascade, Serenade, Silver Sword, Marvel. Let them work their magic in your gardens.

Foundation Planting That Works

Foundation planting is a term that started when many homes were pier-and-beam construction and homeowners needed landscaping to hide that visual distraction. It refers to the plantings—usually bushes—that are arranged up close to the house. However, these plantings can be an elegant part of your Houston landscape. Foundation planting doesn’t need to be a grim grouping of bushes hugging the house.

As mentioned, bush planting is the most common choice for foundational plantings, but other selections are appropriate—even luscious. For instance, we can create interest in your landscape master plan by incorporating layers into the garden beds, with taller plants along the back and moving forward with shorter and shorter plants down to groundcover. Small, flowering trees also add height and color.

In all foundational plantings, we are cognizant of yard drainage, an issue of particular importance with Houston’s terrain and weather. Since you always want water to flow away from the house, one method to consider around the foundation is the raised bed. Your plants will love it because it helps keep their “feet” dry.

At Exterior Worlds, we recommend that the best place to start in planting gardens of any type or location is to plan first. We can choreograph the layout on paper to best determine how much to plant and where. We want to take a thoughtful approach to your landscape design, including foundation planting, that truly enhances your home.

The pre-planting planning session is particularly helpful if you use a landscape phasing approach to your landscape design. Landscape phasing lets you add elements over time, sometimes during the course of several years, using incremental steps with the more expensive undertakings spaced out to help manage your cash outlay. When we use landscape phasing, we usually do greenscapes first which allows the most time for plants to develop to their mature shape and size.

During the planning process, we are careful to incorporate the architecture of your home. If your home is formal and symmetrical, such as a Federal, Georgian or Colonial Revival, then we employ formal aspects in the landscape design—perhaps neatly trimmed shrubs at the front door. As another example, a contemporary home could benefit from a more organic approach.

We always think in terms of plants at their mature size and scale. It is a common mistake of the amateur gardener to forget to take into account a plant’s ultimate size. Making the right choice in this area helps keep pruning to a minimum. We also consider the features of the surrounding area because we want to design foundational plantings that are appropriate for the entire site. These elements include the sidewalks, driveway, streets, adjacent bayous and woodlands, large trees, fences and hedges.

Exterior Worlds uses the most current landscape techniques to give your foundation planting the look of a professional landscape. We create luxurious, highly personalized signature designs in which green plantings are unified with the home. From the curb to the front door, your property conveys a warm and welcoming impression.

Garden and Landscaping

What goal am I trying to achieve in garden landscaping?
Garden and landscaping services transform your property into a work of art. Like any work of art, there are key points of interest, unique variations of color, and calculated interplays of light and shadow. This makes your yard look multi-dimensional in its expression of beauty. It also provides you with more opportunities for Houston outdoor living, because the many elements that evolve from garden and landscaping services ultimately become hotspots for entertainment.

How important is my lawn in all of this?
Your lawn is like a canvas. It serves as the backdrop of your garden and landscaping design and establishes the degree of openness that your back yard or front yard communicates to guests. The more grass in your yard, the more a sense of vastness. The more hardscape and conscious cultivation of softscape elements, the more isolated points of interests become.

How many gardens should we have in a big yard?
It is not the number of gardens, but rather the way in which they are designed and arranged. When we work in a big lawn, we divide it into zones where different garden and landscaping designs can be developed.

There can be a garden pergola in one zone that leads up to an arbor, while in another zone, a hand-laid stone patio can overlook a lighted natural swimming pool nestled beneath forest-like trees. In still a third zone, a swimming pool with flagstone patio and lounge furniture can function as a transition area between the house and the rest of the back yard, while in a fourth zone, a small garden courtyard can surround a lighted custom fountain for special gatherings and conversations under the stars.

If my lot is very small, does that mean I can only have one garden in the back yard?
No. We also have garden and landscaping designs that work to make a smaller property look much bigger than it is. The key here is to use smaller hardscapes and smaller physical garden sizes to emphasize the grassy parts of the lawn. In places where shade trees may have killed patches of grass, we can plant shade resistant grass and flowering plant species to extend the greenery up to the bases of the trees. This goes a long way toward enlarging the perceived size of the property.
Can you plant trees near my gardens?
Yes, but only if we plan your garden with shade-resistant species. On a larger lot, you can have a veritable forest of large trees toward the back of your yard and still have plenty of room left over for formal garden and landscaping work. In smaller yards, you have to be choose between limited your softscape options to shade-resistant plants or planting a few trees in key locations where they will not interfere with garden growth. You may also want to consider smaller tree species like Japanese Yew or Japanese maple.

Planting Gardens

Planting gardens personalizes your Houston landscape. Because they create a welcoming ambiance and anchor your home in the surrounding landscape, they enhance your overall property value. The time and effort you put into their planning, execution and maintenance is rewarded by the pleasure they afford.

Exterior Worlds recommends starting with the basics when planting gardens—that is, your planting soil. We believe that the most fertile and productive soil mixes fibrous soil, organic matter, rock particles and minerals, water, oxygen and micro-organisms. This combination of materials includes a portion of the native soil to encourage your plants’ health and hardiness.

When planting gardens, most people then consider their trees—which to keep and what to add. This step is usually followed by bush planting, sometimes called foundation planting since bushes, being among the taller plants in your landscape design, are usually planted close to the house’s foundation. We encourage our clients to pay attention to a plant’s mature size so you don’t want end up with bushes that overwhelm the space. Also you don't want to unnecessarily spend your maintenance budget on pruning and trimming them away from walkways and the house.

The holy grail of gardening for many people is planting roses. Roses do well in full sun with good air circulation, so for your Houston rose garden, pick a location where there will be sun for at least six hours of the day. It is preferable to find an area with morning sun and afternoon shade. Also, keep them away from large trees or hedges. They also require regular, light feedings, but do not overfeed.

Planting annuals adds definition to your gardens because you can use their color and texture to, in effect, draw lines. With seasonal color, the more, the better—so don’t be afraid to use drifts of three, five, seven, or more of the same plant. Remember to till the soil prior to planting your annuals because this area’s clay soil is easily compacted.

A question we get all the time is when to plant annuals. We advise our clients that, with seasonal color, you really need to pay close attention to the passage of the seasons. When waiting too long to switch them out—to the point where they’re dying—you’ve often missed the window for the next season’s plantings.

Please consider that one of your smartest long-term investments in the health of your gardens and entire landscape is a partnership with a well-qualified garden services provider, such as Exterior Worlds. From the start, we can help you select the best plants for this region, in general, and for your gardens, specifically. Additionally, we can do the initial installation and labor. Finally, we can provide meticulous care and attention on an ongoing basis so that your plants survive and thrive no matter what Mother Nature throws our way.

Planting gardens in your home landscape design is a key element in your total landscape because gardens, whether a bed of flowers, bushes, trees or combination of these plant materials, add texture, interest, variety and dimensionality to your yards. Not coincidentally, they are also fun because gardens show your creativity and preferences.