Landscaping & Gardening Information

The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping


A principle of all art is unity. This means that each piece of art has one meaning. Creating landscaping or a flower garden should also incorporate this principle of unity. Your landscaping or flower garden is truly a work of art as much as any painting or sculpture.

Each work of art, large or small, should have one and only one meaning. Every part of the work of art, or in our case flower garden or landscaping, should contribute to this central or unifying meaning. Stated in physical terms, all parts of the landscaping should make one body of work with each part being subordinate to the whole. Every part which does not support in this effort must be removed, no matter how beautiful or interesting it may be in itself or so the principle of unity declares.

Unity taken to the extreme is monotony. When only one color, only one tone, or only one figure is used, the result may be monotonous. A garden planted with nothing but hollyhocks or a park with only red cedars would certainly be monotonous however beautiful the hollyhocks or cedars. Even so some believe it is better to have monotony than to lose unity. Indeed, in particular cases, monotony may be considered the height of artistic achievement.

The elimination of diverse colors, and forms, would tend towards unity. At least it would tend towards simplicity, which can be desirable in itself. Nearly all landscaping or gardening, in the hands of amateurs, shows too many forms, too many colors, and too many different kinds of plants. There are so many different kinds of plants and colors, you want to try them all. Fact is, the instances in which unity goes too far towards monotony are so rare, that these instances can be doubly interesting as curiosities.

Unity is frequently found through the development of functionality. If every part of the landscaping or flower garden has a definite and obvious practical pupose, then that dominating purpose can unify all the parts and pieces. Thus you can achieve unity.

In actual practice, the most powerful way to create unity lies in having a clear-cut motive and sticking to it. Essentially we mean, find a theme or subject for your landscaping or flower garden. Stick to it however tempting it is to not do so. In this way you can incorporate the principle of unity.

© 2005, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson. To find more articles with Gardening Tips visit our informative website, http://flowergardenlovers.com


MORE RESOURCES:

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TCPalm, FL - Nov 12, 2008
Employees will emerge from their desks and cubicles and spend the afternoon engaging in activities such as landscaping, gardening and painting. ...


Calendar for Nov. 20
Milpitas Post, CA - Nov 19, 2008
... event planning, facilities planning, fundraising, grant writing, graphic design, and landscaping/gardening. The Wildlife Center, located in San Jose, ...


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Palm Beach Daily News, FL - Nov 13, 2008
... County Thursday while employees took part in charitable tasks at various locations from 1 to 5 pm Tasks included landscaping, gardening and painting. ...


Roses & Raspberries
Battle Creek Enquirer, MI - Nov 15, 2008
Janet is closing her business after 13 years serving the Battle Creek landscaping, gardening and birding communities. We will miss you! ...


Thursday is Community Appreciation Day at Treasure Coast National ...
Stuart News (subscription), FL - Nov 10, 2008
National City employees will be engaged in a variety of tasks, including projects such as landscaping, gardening, painting, helping children with homework ...

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