Landscape design

L andscape design is an independent profession combining nature and culture. It bridges between landscape architecture – the design of outdoor public areas – and garden design – the art and process of planning and planting gardens and landscapes. Landscape designers often collaborate with related disciplines, such as architecture and geography, civil engineering or botany. As design work, landscape design must be practical, aesthetic and environmental sustainable.

G enerally factors in designing include: > Objective qualities – such as climate, topography, lighting, human and vehicular access and circulation. > Subjective qualities – such as client's needs and preferences, desirable elements to retain on site, spatial development, or artistic focal points for enjoyment. T he aim of landscape design is to create areas that are beautiful and well functioning.

L andscape design is closely connected to gardening. Designed gardens are dynamic and not static after construction and planting are completed: in some ways they're “never done”. Boboli gardens, Florence (Italy)

Giardino all'italiana (Italian Garden) Palace of Caserta garden cascades T he Italian garden is a style of garden based on symmetry, perfect geometry and principle of imposing order over nature.

I t was influenced by Roman gardening and Italian Renaissance gardening, which emerged in the late 15 th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty. T he Italian garden has been copied by other courts around Europe over the centuries, and notably has influenced the Jardin à la française – the French garden, but also the English garden. Villa d'Este, Tivoli (near Rome) – UNESCO world heritage site.

G ardens have been used by the Medici to demonstrate their power and the magnificence they had brought to their city – eg. Villa castello. F lorence: the Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti palace, the main seat of the Medici, are some of the first and most familiar formal 16 th century Italian gardens.

The Royal Palace of Caserta (South Italy)

German garden Park Sanssouci, Potsdam (near Berlin) T he German garden is a style of garden influenced by the English garden concept. Typical of this kind of park design is clear structure and domestic animals, a necessary component of the garden.

A n exemple can be found near Dessau: the park of the Luisium Palace.

S et in Potsdam, near Berlin, Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. The palace and the great park around it have been praised as “a synthesis of the artistic movements of the 18 th century in Europe. That ensemble is a unique example of the architectural creations and landscape design against the backdrop of the intellectual background of monarchic ideas of the state” (UNESCO: Schloesser und Parks von Potsdam-Sanssouci)

Sanssouci in 1984

Dutch garden Arcen Castle in winter T he Dutch garden is a style of garden characterized by a dense atmosphere and an efficient use of space. On an international level, a garden with tulips is easily labeled as a Dutch garden.

A notable example of Dutch garden can be found in England, at Kensington Palace, the English Royal Residence until the queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace.

S et near Lisse, in South Holland, Keukenhof (“Kitchen garden”) is the world's largest flower garden – approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park. It is also known as the Garden of Europe.

Keukenhof

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