Beautiful Gardens of Doon-66
By SUNITA VIJAY
A minimalist garden is simple, uncluttered, neat and easy to maintain, while also providing a relaxing space. The idea is to create a contemporary garden that exudes strong positive vibes and looks attractive. The busy life schedule and expensive hobby that gardening is, it is advisable to invest less yet thoughtfully while addressing your wish to have a calming garden space to relax and chill.
Here are some simple tips to create minimalist gardens with least upkeep. Make it an enjoyable endeavor while not exerting much. The need of the hour is to spend less time and enjoy more; less basic fertilization and trimming and low maintenance grass lawn, clean patios, neutral colours, monochrome shades that go well with green vegetation. Plants are wonderful companions requiring good soil, adequate water, a conducive space and abundant love to grow happier each day to make your yard a soothing & peaceful space to unwind.
- Create some hardscapes, geometrical beds with low cemented boundaries to lend a neat contemporary look. Fill it with plants that can survive your yard’s ecosystem. The direction of the house, amount of sunlight it receives, the space you can devote to these permanent beds, all must be kept in mind before choosing plants. Look for attractive, colorful drought tolerating plants.
- Design as per space and requirement. If you have a spacious yard, define the space as per utility. A mix of seasonal beds, a patch of lawn grass, a barbeque area and herbal garden. Plant minimal plants and do not fill the space with more pots. Use different spaces in your garden for distinct and different purposes. For example, you may choose one fruit tree or a flowering tree to give a good backdrop or create a water body or a geometric area devoted to annuals, fix a big sized urn or a statue.
- Keep less pots, preferably of same shape and size and of the same species.
- Keep your ideas simple and not elaborate. Be focused. Choose a design that supports fast brooming, provides clean look and is soothing to the eye. If at any point you find a tendency to switching over to more plants and pots, nip the thought in the bud. It will look messy and cluttered. Imagine water leaking from pots and dirt accumulating underneath the pots making the cleaning difficult.
- Keep an extra set of containers to change on regular basis. They will break the monotony and provide fresh look every time you change the containers.
- Try to add steps and raised beds made from natural material like wood and stones.
- Design your garden in a way that water tap, hose pipe, tools area, all are hidden or appear natural, clean and simple. Provide automated sprinkling system that can be operated remotely.
- Plant native species. Curb the urge to use lots of colours. It will give an unprofessional look. Stick to limited species, nurture them well, keep them healthy and it will lend a fantastic look. Do not overcrowd while not making it a concrete yard. A balance has to be maintained.
- Create an immaculate grass lawn. If you want a patch of grass lawn then trim it well, nurture it adequately, keep it tidy at the edges where it meets gravel.
- Keep the design in hardscape using simple squares. It will be visually neat and orderly.
- Embellish the yard with simple outdoor furniture made of stone or wood.
- Do not use complicated designs in pots and containers. The design and pattern should merge with minimalist approach that we have chosen. Square or rectangular shaped, simple monochrome pots look best. Stick to a minimalist colour palette.
- Work towards creating a focal point using a piece of furniture or water body or a raised bed.
- Focus on warm lighting to accentuate the space. It will create a soothing ambience after sunset.
The whole idea behind a minimalist garden is making conscious choices and to embrace a lifestyle that is suitable to our budget and time. There is always an option to switch over to elaborate gardening.
Minimalist garden is not a specific style of gardening but simply follows an aesthetic principle based on ‘less is more’. In this set up, plants are selected carefully with the use of hardscapes and natural material, geometric shaped beds, smart and simple pots that correspond to the design of the house and shape of the yard. The design should make a point without overwhelming the senses.
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