Traditional Landscape Design Ideas
Traditional Style Landscaping
The word Traditional, refers to something that is rooted in the past. In this article, more specifically, we are referring to Traditional styled homes as those that were built roughly between the late 19th and early 20th century's in Minnesota.
These homes were built by the people that truly built Minneapolis and St. Paul, and they continue to have timeless appeal.
Landscaping Concepts for Traditional Style MN Homes
These traditional style homes mix numerous elements pulled from one or more of the: Neoclassical, Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, Farmhouse or Bungalow styles. Most of these homes were build in sought after locations around the twin cities and were just as desirable then as they are now. Many of these traditional homes are now considered significant in their own respect and are highly sought after.
Homes of the period can be found throughout the various communities in the State and were designed by architects and developers to have a somewhat understated look to blend in seamlessly into their respective neighborhoods. The style is a blend of historic design elements mixed with modern elements of the time period. Some well-known neighborhoods with great examples are Kenwood & Linden Hills (near lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles) in Minneapolis and the Macalester-Groveland & Summit Hill neighborhoods in St. Paul.
Common rudiments include symmetrically placed windows and a central front door, unassuming rooflines, and discreet architectural details. Floor plans are unique to each home design, but these homes have a warm and timeless appeal making them highly sought out to renovate or restore.
The Beaux Art and Prairie Style movements were popular prior to 1940 in Chicago and the Twin Cities. They influenced the traditional landscape style of the time for residences as more importance was placed on welcoming front lawns with the livable landscape utilitarian spaces in the back of the house.
Key Design Elements - Traditional Style Landscaping
- Formal lines and order, that project a mastery over nature, rather than creating "natural feeling" landscaped spaces. Traditional landscaping designs will pull homes architecture down and into the landscaping itself.
- A strong foundation planting typically anchors the house and provides year-round visual interest.
- A balanced or symmetrical layout that is focused on the front entry.
- Formal design elements, including neat and defined geometric layouts that emphasize straight lines, right angles, and sometimes elliptical forms, which are pulled from the house as well as other hardscapes like walkways or walls.
- Rows of plantings to define spaces (rather than staggered informal groupings) following the foundation lines or property line, patios, retaining walls
- Layers of plantings accentuate the stateliness and symmetry of the house and the use of repetition adds to the cohesive balance. An example of this includes: a row evergreens along the foundation with either flowering shrubs behind them or perennials in front of them, often times both.
Plants Commonly Used in MN Traditional Style Landscaping
The plants used in this traditional style landscaping in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Midwest are of course made up of plants that were available and seen as desirable at the time. Flowering plants were valued and used to add color and interest to the landscape, however there were not nearly as many varieties of ornamental plants available during those times, as there are today.
Other plants were used for there ability to create structure within the landscape, such as evergreens, boxwoods and several of types of shrubs that can be trimmed or shaped to various heights. These shrubs can be shaped to take on round, hedged or boxy geometric forms or even topiary forms to add dimension and style to the landscape. These manicured shrubs were similar to those used in the formal gardens of Europe during the same time period and prior. Some common plants used in traditional design are:
- Yews
- Boxwoods
- Hydrangeas
- Roses
- Lilacs
- Honeysuckle
- Hosta's
- peonies
- lilacs
- Lilies
- Irises
- Pachysandra
- Azaleas
- Rhododendrons
Hardscaping Elements used in Traditional Landscape Designs
Traditional landscape design prominently features hardscape elements and features used to add dimension, functionality, seating spaces and focal points within the landscape. Natural stone and brick are important materials for foundational surfaces.
If the homes architecture featured a certain type of brick or natural stone anywhere on its exterior, such as limestone or bluestone for instance, then those materials would almost certainly be used for other hardscape features within traditional style landscapes.
When possible, the consistent use of the same or similar materials throughout the landscape is preferred, to help create a cohesive sense of place throughout the property. Steps, patios, low horizontal walls, walkways, pedestals and columns are all examples of prominent design features used to delineate space and create a formal aesthetic within traditional style landscaping.
Ornate features constitute more than simple embellishments. Wrought iron fencing, stone arches, arbors, trellises and pergolas add to the structure, create vertical interest, and are often used to enhance the entryways and views of backyard. Fountains and small water features were sometime used to create formal points of interest and add white noise and tranquility. Accessories such a window boxes, urns, statuary, and obelisks were sometimes used to add a sense of refinement, character and charm.
Traditional Style Influences on Contemporary Landscape Design
The contemporary landscaping style of today draws significant influence from the formal elements used in traditional style landscape design. We now think of traditional style landscaping as being classic and timeless landscape design, because so many traditional design elements continue to be popular today. We continue to use rows of plants to extenuated the homes architectural lines and to define spaces in the landscape. We continue to outline foundation beds using evergreens to create the "backbone of the foundation landscaping," around a home and generally speaking formal design ideas are more popular now than they've been anytime in the last 30 years.
Contemporary landscape design acknowledges the appeal of creating some defined order within landscaped spaces. When plantings are laid out neatly in rows, have similar sizes or are evenly spaced and planted symmetrically, it becomes obvious how things are supposed to look. This creates an order that is easy to understand visually, which can feel comforting for some people in comparison to more free flowing, nature or wild looking planting design.
Many people still value a these clean cut and orderly looking landscapes, although contemporary design often loosens up the rules of traditional formal design and incorporates less formal elements as well. Contemporary design expands on traditional style by increasing the size of the landscaping beds to create room for more flowers, increasing the size of patio spaces for outdoor living activities and focuses mostly on functional hardscape features rather than those that would be used purely for aesthetic appeal. Contemporary design also tends to place value and using more flowering perennials, that can provide interest and color as throughout the entire growing season.
Contemporary interpretations of traditional landscape design generally follow simple rules of mass, form, line, texture, unity, and color. However, designers today tend to borrow and blend between styles to fit their projects and give them extra substance. They incorporate and blend concepts from cottage garden, modern, prairie design styles in ways that aim to take the best of each style and combine them to create fresh forward-thinking appearances. An example of this would be the incorporation of curvilinear bed lines and landscape features to delineate the space in a balanced, but not necessarily symmetrical layout of the geometry.
