Using Lines to Advantage in a Garden Setting

Line defined: a long narrow mark or band, a straight or curved continuous extent of length without breadth, a contour or outline considered as a feature of design or composition, a notional limit or boundary, a length of cord, wire or other material serving a particular purpose...

"Sight line" defined: a line extending from an observer's eye to viewed object or area.

Jackson Pollock painting, Summer 1950, photo: Hans Namuth 

Image Source: National Gallery of Australia

A simple line can be powerfully expressive thing.

It can speak volumes of the action that created it: the rapid downward slap of a brush loaded with paint or the fluid gestures of an arm as it loops the dripping paint brush over the surface of a blank canvas.

The gardening equivalent of a Jackson Pollock painting!

The vertical line of a tree in Marion Jarvie's garden in Thornhill, ON

In a garden, there are certain lines which the eye gravitates to and follows: the vertical line of a tree trunk, the curve of a pathway, a length of fence or the horizontal line of the horizon.

Brian Folmer's Botanical Garden near Walkerton, ON

The eye shoots along the simple straight line at high velocity. Speed lends a certain sense of drama to 

the distance the eye is able to cover so quickly.

Private Garden in Rosedale, ON

To pull off this kind high drama, you need to keep the eye focused and moving. 

I think this works best when the line of sight is created using a single material, in this case fine gravel. 

In this and the previous example, the plantings have been deliberately kept simple and repetitive to reinforce the linear perspective.

Private Garden, Forest Hill, Ontario

You might think that you need a big garden to effectively use the power of converging straight lines, but here we have a much more humble sized walkway as it intersects with a little courtyard just outside a suburban front door. 

The journey is not nearly as long, but the effect of projecting the eye in the direction of the urn is still quite effective.

This is the garden that actually got me thinking about the subject of this post. 

In this backyard garden nothing stops the eye from shooting rapidly down one side of the garden, across the back and up the opposite side. 

Unlike my earlier examples, here the rush with which the eye travels down the parallel straight lines of the flowerbed and fence does not work in the garden's favour. There are no design elements present that invite you to relax or linger. I think that the unintended result is that you are much more likely to be dismissive of what is actually quite a nice planting.

A simple quick fix for the problem would be to break up the fence line with vines, evergreens or small trees. She could also soften the line of rocks with plants that spill forward over the edges of the raised beds.

Curves are more relaxed than straight lines.

Private Garden on Ward Island near Toronto, Ontario 

When used well, a simple curve can feel like a bit of a grand gesture.

Marion Jarvie's garden in Thornhill, ON

As evidenced by the next three photographs of Marion Jarvie's garden in Thornhill, Ontario, 

the bold sweep of a curve also has a certain elegance to it.

Marion Jarvie's garden in Thornhill, ON

Marion Jarvie's garden in Thornhill, ON

Private Garden, Brampton, ON

The eye can still makes pretty swift work of a simple curve, but trek does not end as abruptly 

as it tends to with a straight line.

The curvaceous lines of the flowerbeds in this garden in Rosedale, Ontario are more complex and it only stands to reason that it takes the eye much longer to make the trip around the garden. 

Private Garden in Rosedale, Ontario

Again be aware that the objects you place in the garden can greatly impact your experience of it. Here a bench has been added to the previous image. The straight line of sight to the bench now trumps the sweeping curves of the flowerbeds. 

The effect on our perception is not better or worse; just different.

Brian Folmer's Botanical Garden near Walkerton, ON

When a line, in this case a path, vanishes into the distance it creates a sense of mystery. 

In terms of an overall strategy with your garden's design, it is not a bad idea to keep at least 

some of  your cards close to be vest.

Private Garden, Forest Hill, ON

This looks like a woodland park, but is actually a suburban garden in downtown Toronto.

Who knows what's just around the bend! And that uncertainty is intriguing.

Private garden in Milton, ON- More of this amazing garden in the coming weeks

There is no right or wrong in using lines in your garden's design.

 It's more about using lines to show off your plantings to their best advantage.