Landscape design entails modifying your outdoor environment according to your personal taste and the desired function of your property. It is a wide array of techniques for beautifying your property and also forming natural barriers in your landscape.

Landscape design is an art form in itself. At its maximum effect, landscaping can enhance the value of your property. A professional landscape designer will help devise a plan for realizing your ideal landscape.

Landscape design is also integral to the look and feel of commercial property. Landscaping can lend an inviting air to a commercial property, while simultaneously guiding traffic and acting as a natural buffer between parking lots and walkways.

How do we classify landscaping? Landscape design comprises two main types: hardscape and softscape.

Anything added to a landscape that functions as architecture is known as hardscape. Elements of hardscape include fences, stone walls, brick walkways, fountains, benches and many more. To put it in a few words, hardscape is any aspect of a landscape that is not a plant.

Of course, that leaves us with softscape, which includes trees, shrubs, grass, etc.

With that understanding of landscaping categories under our belt, let's learn about the five definitive elements of the art of landscape design.

Talking about landscape design is very similar to talking about art. Color, form, line, scale, and texture are the essential qualities of a work of art and just as much essential to landscape design.

One of the most important aspects of landscape design is color. Color can breathe life into a design. We emotionally connect with color; it affects our mood, and can imbue a sense of relaxation or drama to a landscape. Color can be useful in tying together otherwise disparate compositional elements or to distinguish one from the other.

One of the first things you'll be considering is form, or the shape of the plants used in your landscape. Shape is a huge factor, probably the most important, in designing a landscape - or any aesthetic composition. Consider for a moment the difference between a tall, conical evergreen and a low, spreading bush. The arrangement of plants in a landscape is not an arbitrary matter!

Line refers to the path your eye follows in relation to the placement of the plants. Good design is conscious of the best way to draw an inviting line with a simple arrangement of plants.

Scale is the relationship between the sizes of forms. Scale will dictate how the forms fit together, and attention to scale will ensure a harmonious landscape.

Texture refers to the feeling or tactile quality of an object. Depth can be created by creatively juxtaposing textures.

When all of these parts are taken into consideration by someone with a keen mind, a harmonious sum emerges. The beauty of your outdoor area can be greatly improved by the smart use of landscape design.