Get in a Zen peace of mind, a state of serenity and tranquility with clearly defined landscape lines, soothing colors and quite restricted plantings.
Minimalist gardens may seem boring, simple and plane to many but there are many others that think they are stylish and charming. Typically, a minimalist garden is a beautiful family garden.
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Taking its cue from a minimalist interior decor, a minimalist garden provides a peaceful and simple outside space for your lifestyle.
Minimalist gardening as in fact any other type of gardening is just about how to use the outside space. It’s simple and easy. You need only to follow the new trends in interior decorating of course applied to the outside space. This kind of garden involves a few landscaping materials, several types of plants combined with an extremely simple but bold design.
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The only drawback may be that a professionally designed minimalist garden can be quite expensive exceeding your budget. However, you can get good results if you follow several basic rules.
Set the Garden Boundaries
Setting the garden boundaries is actually the first rule, a basic rule for this type of garden. The essence of minimalist design is the restriction in general, especially in terms of colour but not only. So, it is extremely important for the overall design to choose carefully the material for the boundary. It could be hedges, walls or simply, fencing. However, even a corrugated, galvanized metal panel can be a great boundary for your minimalist garden, since their natural ridges and furrows create shadow and texture. But perhaps, the best option is a limestone block wall. It looks great in combination with gravel paths. Also, the wall’s surface can act like a giant movie screen reflecting the lights of your garden lighting.
However, if the limestone blocks are not your preferred colour or smooth, they can be easily painted, but don’t use under any circumstances capping stones along the wall top, because this will undoubtedly jeopardize the clean and straight lines specific to the minimalist style.
Another great choice could be glass panels. They allow natural light to penetrate into your garden.
But back to colors. The best choice are neutral colors because they are understated, soothing and calming.
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Limit the Landscaping Materials
We saw above that the requirements of a minimalist gardens are the limitation of the colours. But just as well, it is recommended the restriction of landscaping materials. After all, our goal is a simple garden with a simple and clean look without a fussy feeling. The idea is to use the same nuance of timber for the decking and fencing, creating in this way a harmonious and matching scheme.
Paving is the best solution for alleys and paths in a minimalist garden. However, the paving material should be in the same or similar tone with the fencing and decking.
In this way, you can create a professional looking design for your minimalist garden.
Lay Grass on Ground Carefully
At a first glance, grass is an ideal surface material for a minimalist garden. Whether it is allowed to grow wild and freely or is regularly mowed, it creates somehow a neutral surface that perfectly combines with other materials, such as wood and stone.
But if the ground is not prepared carefully, a grass-covered surface may not have the desired effect. In a minimalist garden, you should prepare and level the ground carefully to create a perfectly plan lawn like a carpet. However, you can also use successfully artificial grass.
Use just Several Plant Species
Although the need for plants in a minimalist garden is minimal, yet we must not forget that a garden cannot exist without plants. Plants bring life in any design, and also calming the strict lines of a hard landscaping.
However, try to limit your plantings to two or three species that can be integrated in the overall scheme. A limited number of plants will look great, not to mention their maintenance will be much easier.
Boxwood shrub (Buxus sempervirens) is a preferred choice for a minimalist garden.
Attention to colours! Remember that you have to limit only to a few colours. Create unity and harmony including your plants in the same colour, but with different nuances and shades. To favorites colours are the following: gray, black and acid green.
- Gray: Artemisia “Powis Castle”, Cotton Lavender (Santolina chamaecyparissus), Perovskia “Blue Spire”
- Black: Ophiopogon Planiscapus “Nigrescens”, Phormium “Platt’s Black”, Phyllostachis Nigra
- Acid Green: Alchemilla Mollis, Euphorbia Polychroma, Euphorbia Schillingii
Use Grouped Planters
Use grouped planters to unify your overall scheme, in other words, to have a neutral colour scheme. You need contemporary planters with a clean, simple but stylish finish.
Add Water for Controlled Movement and Sound
Water features in these kinds of gardens should be understated. Don’t use water features as a focal point. They have to be integrated into the overall scheme and should create and provide a feeling of peace and serenity.
