It could be small or expansive, carefully structured or riotously unplanned. What’s important is to know what style you want for your garden, and then work towards creating it.
Some of the most pleasurable and distinctive gardens are designed as an extension of the house and its inhabitants. Like your living space the garden can be an expression of personal style, and some thought and planning are essential to build a garden that is attractive and designed to meet your needs.
Whether you hire a landscape designer or redesign an existing garden yourself, start by making a list of requirements. If vaastu, feng shui or astrology is a consideration, get expert advice. Look at gardens in your area and at garden design books, for a broad perspective. Consider your space — whether a large suburban garden or an apartment or terrace garden — and choose a style that suits both you and the area you have.
THE HILL-STATION GARDEN
A picture-perfect English garden has a profusion of flowering plants, trellised walks and rose arbours. If you have a home in the hills, you can make provisions for spacious flower beds, including roses, which flourish at high altitudes. Include a lawn, hedges, flowering and foliage trees, fruit trees and vegetable and herb beds. Terraced beds, waterfalls and rockeries can be planned for sloping sites; utilise the natural slopes and fit your garden to the contours instead of flattening the land. Most hilly areas experience water shortage, so that needs to be considered too.
THE JAPANESE GARDEN
The Oriental garden is a tranquil space for relaxing and entertaining. Classic Japanese gardens have ornamental trees and shrubs, bamboos and grasses. A large garden can accommodate separate areas for raked gravel, moss or bonsai and a tea room, linked by bridges and strolling paths. Japanese gardens have a sense of balance and harmony, and it is important to plan with care and restraint.
THE DESERT STYLE
This style is a practical and attractive option for dry and arid areas. Once this garden is established it needs minimal attention. An oasis can be planned in a corner with a shallow pond, planted with palms, wild grass, cacti and succulents. Instead of a lawn, sand can be used to create patterns, as in the Japanese-style garden. A West Asian or Rajasthani mirrored tent can serve as a seating area.
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A WATER GARDEN
This style features ponds, reflecting pools, fountains, waterfalls — and sheet cascades which can be floodlit and set to move to rhythms. It is possible today only in public gardens and lavish country homes. With some imagination, however, modest versions can be used for smaller spaces.
THE ‘INDIAN’ GARDEN
While there is no specific contemporary Indian garden design, planning a native garden with plants and trees that are suited to the soil and weather conditions in your area, with appropriate water features, seating and art, is a sensible and attractive option.
Classic
For a large garden, plan an avenue of ashok, gulmohar or palm trees. Add features like a long reflecting pool with lotuses, or a marble fountain edged by patterned flower beds; a meditation area under a shady tree or a pavilion with marble balustrades. Include carved sandstone seats and wooden swings.
Courtyard
This style can be created in your garden or on a terrace. If you are fortunate enough to have a courtyard in your home, include a lotus pond surrounded by temple trees, and features like an old door or a jharokha and large urns. On a terrace, create a similar space with floating petals or diyas in an urali, using indoor plants like Ficus benjamina, frangipani and potted palms in brass handis, and an eye-catching piece of sculpture. Add a large, embroidered Rajasthani umbrella for that shaded spot.
Tropical south
In the lusher regions of south India, the ideal choice is a tropical garden with a profusion of bougainvillea, frangipani, bamboo, palms and ferns against a backdrop of teak, mahogany and raintrees. Plant fruit trees like coconut, mango and banana palms for their lush foliage, along with spice trees like the cinnamon tree and curry leaf tree, and ornamental gingers. Add features like old temple bells and a lotus pond to complete this look.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Gardens are created for your pleasure and should not become a tiresome encumbrance. Planning is critical — you should not end up with a large lawn or a collection of potted plants in a water-scarce area, for example, or a labour-intensive garden when you have only a part time gardener.
Choose plants, trees and shrubs for your kind of garden; resist the temptation to buy whatever catches your eye, for the result may be short-lived or at best chaotic. Space need not be a limitation; a verandah or terrace can be your green space and your favourite elements can be incorporated. If your wish list is lengthy and impractical, it needs to be re-worked, but that need not mean giving up that dream project altogether.
A client once gave me a list of “must haves” in his garden including, among other things, a waterfall, a tree-house, a gazebo, and a walking path around his steep mountain garden. I ticked off each item as the garden developed, except for the tree-house which was deemed a frivolous request for a middle-aged businessman. When asked recently whether he was pleased with the garden he was lavish with his praise, but said he hadn’t forgotten his tree-house!
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A CLASSIC WATER GARDEN
Sahelion-ki-bari, or “the garden of maidens”, an 18th-century garden in Udaipur built by Maharana Sangram Singh II, was designed as a summer retreat for the royal princesses and the 48 maids who accompanied them. Classified as a rain garden, this three-acre garden’s many pools and fountains are gravity-fed by the Fateh Sagar Lake, which is at a higher elevation. The garden has a pavilion of rain fountains which seem to move to the rhythm of dancing girls. The marble chhatri in the centre of the main pool is glimpsed through a curtain of water, and carved stone birds spout water from their beaks onto the four chhatris on the edges of the pool. The tree-lined marble walkways lead to extensive lawns, shady paths, a large rose garden and more fountains and pools. Overlooked by a stone throne, a large circular pool with a tiered fountain in the center spurts jets of water, creating a curtain of rain. |
Your garden is a work in transition, and your plan will change by the day. It can be an eclectic mix of the styles and things you love, or reflect your talents as a gracious host. Make your own list of must-haves: meditation corner, rose garden, swing, barbecue area or space for your Ganeshas or lanterns.
And so you can have that plastic garden gnome right next to your grandmother’s old urali under the appliquéd Rajasthani umbrella, but make sure you’re comfortable with this reflection of your personal style.
Lathika George is a writer and landscape designer based in Kodaikanal
