fbpx
Gardening with Roses
  • Home
  • Rose Gardening
  • Rose Cultivation
  • Propagating Roses
  • Rose Pests
  • Types of Roses
  • Home
  • Rose Gardening
  • Rose Cultivation
  • Propagating Roses
  • Rose Pests
  • Types of Roses
No Result
View All Result
Gardening with Roses
No Result
View All Result
Home Rose Gardening Rose Garden Design

Dry Climate Gardens

in Rose Garden Design
3 min read
478
0
Dry Climate Gardens
739
SHARES
3.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Garden Design in Dry Climates, Reducing the Size of the Lawn

Dry Climate Gardening is not easy and requires careful planning. This is particularly true when planning a lawn as part of the design. This article looks at some of the variety of aspects being considered when planning for dry climate gardening.

The problem of dry climate gardens: is the lawn to blame?

Leafing through a garden design book the other day, I was struck by a curious fact. The book is one of many by John Brookes, the renowned British designer.

In virtually every case study presented, the size of the lawn is greatly reduced in comparison to the standard suburban garden most of us would recognize. As there is no indication in the book that Mr. Brookes is relating to water conserving gardening, it is safe to assume that design is his paramount issue of concern.

Gardeners in dry climates should take note of this, because saving water is usually the first reason, if not the only one offered, for reducing the size of a garden lawn.

It is not difficult to see why, as grass in the Mediterranean climates typical of Southern Europe, Southern California, or Southwest Australia, requires at least 700 mm of irrigation water year.

In more arid regions like Central Asia and parts of the Middle East, the consumption rate rises steeply. Yet here we see a world-famous garden designer, severely limiting the area allotted to a lawn, for purely design reasons.

All professional designers are acutely concerned with scale and proportion. Most of us understand this when it comes to how vertical lines relate to each other, such the height of a tree being in scale to the size and height of the house.

There is little difficulty in pointing out that a 30-meter tree would be out of place in a tiny backyard plot, and next to a two-story house.

Less obvious perhaps, but no less pertinent, is the need for the horizontal spaces in the garden to be in suitable proportion to each other. Let’s take for the purpose of simplicity, an example of a 10m by 10m plot, (30ft * 30ft) where the grass takes up almost all the space, with 0.5 meters in width being left as a border for bedding plants. Looking at the two main spaces, the lawn and the border, it is clear that the proportions are completely wrong.

That is why John Brookes or any less famous garden designer would never create a garden in such a manner.

In fact, it is fascinating as a dry climate gardener, to see the design solutions he proffers. Lawns are replaced by brick paving or by a wooden deck, by sweeps of ground-hugging plants, or by a beautiful seating area enveloped in lush, green foliage.

Furthermore, by expanding the width of the beds at the expense of the grass, it is possible to increase the three-dimensional character of the garden by means of raised structures, or sunken spaces.

Remember that changes of level, however gentle or subtle, are the stock-in-trade of the garden designer.

Some gardeners in dry climates may look jealously at their counterparts in wetter climes, and dream of growing acres of lawn without having to worry about wasting water or how best to irrigate the grass.

Instead, we should learn from the great garden designers and reduce the size of the lawn in relation to the plot as a whole. In this way, we not only save water, but also create a more satisfying garden composition in the process.

Tags: dry climate gardensgarden designrose garden landscaping
Previous Post

Problem Shaped Gardens

Next Post

Landscape Design Tips

Related Posts

Zen Gardens
Rose Garden Design

Zen Gardens

0

Zen Garden Design - Principles and History Zen gardens, originating with Buddhist monks centuries ago, have become all the rage...

Read more
Landscape Design Tips

Landscape Design Tips

Problem Shaped Gardens

Problem Shaped Gardens

Permaculture Garden Design

Permaculture Garden Design

Garden Design With Roses

Garden Design With Roses

Garden Wall Fountains

Garden Wall Fountains

Next Post
Landscape Design Tips

Landscape Design Tips

Discussion about this post

Follow & Subscribe

Private Beta Access

Our forums are currently in private beta. If you’d like to take part, please complete the form below. You’ll be sent an invite as soon as spots open up!

    Popular

      Gardening with Roses

      All About Roses and Gardening

      Your interest in roses and rose gardening has brought you to this site! gardeningwithroses.com is all about roses and rose gardening! Whether you simply want to grow beautiful rose flowers, full rose bushes, get climbing roses started up a trellis, or create a full-fledged rose-themed garden... you'll love this site!

      Fine Print

      • Contact / About
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Privacy

      Other Solar Hill Sites

      • Gardening With Roses
      • The Self Development Guide
      • FitnessLine Magazine
      • Lupus Connection
      • Compound Bow Hunting Magazine

      © 2020 Solar Hill Solutions.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • Rose Gardening
      • Rose Cultivation
      • Propagating Roses
      • Rose Pests
      • Types of Roses

      © 2020 Solar Hill Solutions.

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Create New Account!

      Fill the forms bellow to register

      All fields are required. Log In

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In