GARDEN FORMS FOR AESTHETIC EFFECTS

Eyecatcher – is a feature placed on

a distant, prominent point integral to
the overall design of the landscape. It
is most commonly found in
eighteenth-century English gardens
but can take on various forms. The
eyecatcher gives direction and
constructed of vegetation or
architectural materials.

Folly – is a species of garden structure characterized by a

certain excess in terms of eccentricity, cost, or conspicuous
inutility. A folly can direct circulation in a garden and give
pleasure to or dumbfound the visitor. It can be made of
trees, shrubs, or vines in an architectural form.

Giardino segreto – literally

means secret garden, a
feature found in many
Italian Renaissance gardens of the
fifteenth century. The giardino segreto
is often a small enclosed garden for
private use or a space one comes upon
by surprise.

Giocchi D’acqua – water game – is a fountain

device conceived of in fifteenth-century Italy that
consists of water jars located in strategic places
throughout a garden that surprise and, with luck,
delight the visitor. The water game is an asset to
a planting design – water can emerge from
plants, paving, or walls. The giocchi d’acqua at
the Villa Lante in Italy still delights the
unprepared visitor four centuries after the
inception.
Green theater – is an invention of the Italian Renaissance. A theater constructed
of plant material is the setting for plays and concerts, the enactment of rituals, the
telling of stories, or the creation of illusions.

Maze – is an intricate, usually confusing

network of walled or hedged pathways. The
maze is a very ancient form that has appeared
in many shapes and sizes, but all mazes have a
deliberate design containing twists and turns.

Rill – is a small channel through which

water flows to a garden. Rills evolved from
simple irrigation ditches, as design
elements they are often associated with
dry climates and the corresponding need
for irrigation. Acknowledging their respect
for water as sacred element in a garden,
many designers implement rills in
contemporary landscapes. At
Hestercombe the rill moves the eye over the landscape to the view beyond. A rill
serves as an axis or a line in the landscape that extends the geometry of the
house into the garden and the garden into the landscape.

Sculpture – is a multifaceted and diverse

three-dimensional art form that has been
used to adorn gardens since the time of
Ancient Egyptians. It can take myriad forms
in the landscape and in some instances
landforms – plants or earth – themselves
become sculptures.

Specimen plant – is an individual tree or shrub that is

significant enough in its form, color, or size to stand alone
as a design device – to emphasize a point of transition, or as a focal point. A
specimen plant possesses enough interesting characteristics to attract attention.
The plant appears almost sculptural; its size and scale vary according to the
location in the landscape. In a garden it dominates space, draws attention to the
place where it is located, and can be compelling element of the design.
 Topiary – is the art of clipping,
trimming, and training trees or shrubs
into specific shapes. Topiary can form
architecturally clipped hedges that
define an edge or playful green living
sculptures that decorate and amuse.
Topiary can link built forms and the
natural landscape or it can be a foil to
a more organic treatment of plants.
The topiary pandas located on the
shores of West Lake in central
Hagzhou, China, are created from
sculptured boxwood and privet. A topiary rabbit in the children’s garden at
Longwood Gardens elicits an amused response from both children and adults.
Yew, juniper, ivy, holly, and laurel are species often used for topiary.

Research by Limcaco, Christian Denver V.

1999121205