Garden Design: Formal Dress

Some would say that formal gardens are for people who don’t like plants all that much - constraining nature with regimented rows, unnatural geometric shapes and lines of symmetry. But I love them. It’s the peace and tranquility that’s achieved when a design brings together those most fundamental of elements: plants, rocks, water and air, in a structured and uncomplicated way. Formal gardens are the perfect antidote for our busy lifestyles, a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of urban living.

Formal design can be a fantastic way of making a bold statement in a small garden. It particularly suits the urban setting where the design can echo the geometric proportions of the surrounding architecture. There is a long tradition of formal garden design in Europe as well as other parts of the world, resulting in many influences and styles. European formal garden design probably dates back to the classical gardens of Greece and Rome, but it was the invention of the hedge that transformed formal gardens into the designs we know today.

During the 16th-century, Elizabethan estates established formal knot gardens creating intricate designs using low-clipped box hedges to mimic the popular motifs of the period. To really appreciate these living works of art, it was necessary to get an aerial view, so they were planted close to a raised terrace or house with elevated viewing points. During the Italian Renaissance, parterres became all the fashion - elaborate formal garden designs of clipped box hedging and classical statues, delineated by crisp gravel paths. Later, flowers were introduced and designs became ever more elaborate and intricate. By the 17th-century, during the reign of Louis XIV, the French really captured the spirit of the formal garden on a really grand scale. Celebrated designer André Le Nôtre shot to fame on the back of his ground-breaking formal gardens created at Versailles and elsewhere - complete with hedges, sweeping manicured lawns, extravagant gravel paths, statues and pools. But it was his manipulation of perspective which he introduced that transformed the garden setting into a piece of theatre.

The Victorians, too, were big fans of the formal parterre, adding evergreen yew clipped into geometric shapes, such as cones, pyramids and spirals. They also brought formal design to the people by featuring them in public parks and gardens alongside elaborate formal bedding schemes - including the ubiquitous coat of arms and clock that are still features in public parks today. For the Victorians, it was the ultimate expression of nature in harness.

Making plans

In many ways, a formal garden design is easier to tackle than any other style. At its simplest, the design is based around a single axis, with one side mirroring the other - so you really only have to design half a garden. The design can be broken down into building blocks which can be conceived largely in isolation, enabling you to construct the design block by block. The axis either can be defined, in the form of a path, lawn or low hedge, or implied - so that several different elements along the axis hold the design together. The axis also provides a line of sight leading to a focal point, which could be a piece of sculpture, fountain or even an archway to another part of the garden. The secret to a good formal garden is that further axis and vistas are built into the design, so the garden is full of surprises as the casual viewer is drawn down towards the main focal point.

Creating a parterre On a smaller scale, you could create your own parterre in a border, on a bank or as an island bed feature in a lawn. I recently created a leaf-shaped parterre on the flat using three types of thyme, which would be ideal for jazzing-up a patio, path or driveway. The parterre measured 2x3m, was lined with weed-proof membrane and planted in a leaf motif using variegated and flowering thyme finished off with pea gravel.