Hello Lisa.

Welcome back to another edition of THE PENCIL CASE! As always, each issue focuses on a theme to encourage a fresh look at garden design and graphics. This week, let's explore the SQUARE in celebration of National Dark Chocolate Day (that isn't too much of a stretch, is it?). ♥︎

.....

The photo of the garden above was taken in Seattle, Washington.

SQUARES ON THE GARDEN FLOOR

The basic unit of landscape design is the GARDEN ROOM. To enclose and define this space we design garden floors, walls and ceilings.

.....

From these three, the floor is a great place to start when establishing your room's edges. Once you know the function of your garden room (dining, relaxing, badminton?), then you can determine the size, materials and SHAPE of the floor. There are many shapes to consider, but today let's focus on the SQUARE.

.....

A super fun way to design a square-inspired garden floor is using LINES OF FORCE (drawing a grid by extending lines from your house). Once you've drawn your grid, place tracing paper over it and see how many ways you can use a square to layout your new garden floor (see some ideas from the images in this newsletter) or on this Pinterest Board.

.....

The drawings above were inspired from the book, Foundations of Landscape Architecture by Norman K. Booth.

THE SQUARE IN DESIGN

Some benefits to using squares in your garden design:

Symmetry + Balance: Squares are symmetrical shapes, and symmetry is often associated with balance and stability.

Asymmetry: Squares can also be divided asymmetrically by pulling a line off-center through the space, while the overall square will still provide that stable balance.

Modularity: Squares are modular shapes that can be repeated and combined to create simple to complex patterns. 

Style: Squares have been used throughout history in various cultural and artistic contexts, contributing to a sense of tradition. At the same time, their clean lines and simplicity make them relevant in modern and minimalist design.

.....

The photo above is a lovely Seattle garden designed by @landmorphology and @gillianmathews.

.....

The photo below is a lovely Tucson garden designed by @prideauxdesign. And BTW, Kathryn won the APLD Gold Medal for this design. ♥︎

Let's do this!

Learn more about using shapes in your garden design via the awesome book, FOUNDATIONS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE by Norman K. Booth.

.....

This month we are exploring how to use the square, triangle and circle on the garden floor in our monthly membership, THE GARDEN DESIGN COLLECTIVE. We'd love to have you join us when enrollment opens again late March. You can join our WAITING LIST here.

.....

If you don't want to wait until March to learn about design, join our 10x10 GARDEN DESIGN TIPS email journey for only $10.

....

If you know someone that needs design inspiration, please feel free to share this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe right here. I also keep a VAULT of past issues in this secret location.

.....

With warmest regards,

Lisa 

.....

PAPER GARDEN WORKSHOP

Thank you to Mandy Orgler for designing the lovely graphics in all these newsletters.