CLASSIFICATION OF LANDSCAPES

Landscapes can be broadly classified into:

1. NATURAL LANDSCAPES
Refer to landscapes unaffected by human activity and are typical to particular areas across the globe.
2. MAN-MADE/ CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Refers to the areas that have been created and modified by man based on their cultural systems.

Man-made landscapes can be further classified based on:

 ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES  HISTORICAL STYLES
• Desert Gardens • Mughal Gardens
• Woodland Gardens • French Gardens
• Rain Gardens • Japanese Gardens
• Reclaimed landscapes, etc. • Australian Bush Gardens
 EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS OF DESIGN FORMS  FUNCTIONS
• Utilitarian Traditions • Kitchen Gardens/ Orchards
• Classical Traditions • Healing Gardens
• Romantic Traditions • Children’s Gardens, etc.
• Contemporary Movements • Scientific Gardens
 BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• Urban Landscape
• Rural Landscape
MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES
• Mountains are formed by tectonic plates on the Earth’s surface pushing against each other.
• This movement and pressure causes the land to be pushed up in a vertical direction and over time rise
high above their surrounding.
• Can be grouped in ranges or form ridges.
COASTAL LANDSCAPES
• Coast is where the land mass meets the sea
• Coastal landscapes are shaped by the natural forces of the wind and the waves.
• These forces erode or construct the natural environement constantly changing its shape.
• Features include: beaches, dunes, bays, cliffs, platforms, spits and lagoons.
RIVERINE LANDSCAPES
• Riverine landscape is formed by the natural movement of a water system such as a river.
• Landscape includes all the ecosystems (all living things) in and around the area of a river.
• A riverine landscape may also be defined as a network of rivers and the surrounding land.
• Excellent for agricultural uses such as farming.
DESERT LANDSCAPES
• A desert is defined as an area of land that receives less than 30mm rain per year. Deserts cover over one
third of the Earth’s surface and contain some of the most uninhabitable regions on Earth. Deserts are of 2
types:
• Hot Desert – located along the Tropic of Cancer and Capricon.
• Cold Desert – located close to the Artic and the Antartic Circle
• They have little vegetation and are characterized by sand dunes, rock and gravel.
TROPICAL RAINFOREST LANDSCAPES
• Tropical rainforests are lush forests which can be found along the equator. These areas receive lot of
sunlight and rainfall and therefore had dense vegetation.
• Ecosystems are complex and highly productive and houses upto 70% of species on Earth.
• Covers about 6 percent of the Earth’s surface.
KARST LANDSCAPES
• Karst Landscapes are formed when easily dissolvable bedrock is worn away by slightly acidic water from
and underground or a surface source.
• These water flows form unique features such as caves, stalactites, springs and sinkholes.
• Extremely unstable areas of land
• Sinkholes are formed when the rock beneath the earth’s surface has eroded away and sections of land on
the surface collapse.
CLASSIFICATION OF LANDSCAPES
Landscapes can be broadly classified into:
1. NATURAL LANDSCAPES
Refer to landscapes unaffected by human activity and are typical to particular areas across the globe.
2. MAN-MADE/ CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Refers to the areas that have been created and modified by man based on their cultural systems.

Man-made landscapes can be further classified based on:

 ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES  HISTORICAL STYLES
• Desert Gardens • Mughal Gardens
• Woodland Gardens • French Gardens
• Rain Gardens • Japanese Gardens
• Reclaimed landscapes, etc. • Australian Bush Gardens
 EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS OF DESIGN FORMS  FUNCTIONS
• Utilitarian Traditions • Kitchen Gardens/ Orchards
• Classical Traditions • Healing Gardens
• Romantic Traditions • Children’s Gardens, etc.
• Contemporary Movements • Scientific Gardens
 BUILT ENVIRONMENT
• Urban Landscape
• Rural Landscape
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SCALE: GARDENS
Defined as an enclosure (usually bounded with fences or walls) for cultivation of plants and providing spaces
for various useful functions, events and activities.

1. BOG/ MARSH GARDEN - Water logged soil for plants that thrive in those conditions (sedges, reeds)
often beside ponds or lakes.
2. COTTAGE GARDEN - Mixture of ornamental and productive plants seemingly haphazardly arranged
often with cluttered effect, typically as surrounds to small houses.
3. COURTYARD GARDEN - May have no or limited planting material; often has spatial function that
extends the inside to the outside or can be inaccessible and provide visual display or as lightwell.
4. FLOWER GARDEN (CUT-FLOWER GARDEN) has primary purpose that is ornamental but may also
be a productive source of cut flowers/foliage for use inside houses.
5. INDOOR GARDEN - similar to courtyards (which are open to sky) but indoors means under the roof,
albeit glass or plastic; includes internal green walls.
6. KITCHEN GARDEN; WALLED GARDEN - productive gardens for food (fruit, vegetables, salad
greens, herbs, etc.)
7. KNOT GARDEN - intricate hedging that create knot patterns as a version of a parterre; Renaissance idea
that is highly labour intensive to maintain.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SCALE: LANDSCAPE
A broader scale, not necessarily bounded, often in the public realm, with plants (cultivated and remnant
natural vegetation) also providing spaces for various useful functions, events and activities.
1. MARKET GARDEN commercial productive garden for food crops that greengrocers would sell,
especially salad greens, herbs and vegetables
2. ORCHARDS are productive plantations of fruiting crops, mostly trees arranged in regular layout.
3. PUBLIC PARK accessible open space, government owned for all to enjoy, mostly recreational uses, also
aesthetic values, can range from remnant natural vegetation to formal gardens.
4. CONTAINER PLANTING on big scale (on top of underground car parks around buildings) with no
access to ground soil or water..
5. RAIN GARDEN slows and filters overland storm water so it can seep into ground not down a drain; bog
garden plants used often here.
6. ROOF GARDEN a large scale version of container planting; with medium height canopies. Grassed
roofs are usually for the benefits insulating heat/cold inside not for walking about or other activities.
7. TERRACE GARDEN as distinct from podium planting, terrace gardens can have access to real soil and
ground water while much of the space is paved over for other functions than growing plants.
8. WALL GARDENING rough stonework or rockwork that allows small herbaceous plants to grow in the
gaps between rocks or spill over the face of the wall from beds located on top of retaining walls.
9. WILD GARDENING 19th century idea about naturalizing bulbs under deciduous (fruit) trees or mixed,
randomly arranged plantings simulating woodlands with upper and understory plantings and sinuous
paths through the plantations
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS OF DESIGN FORM

UTILITARIAN TRADITIONS
Refer to the historical evolution of designing the gardens. Among the various styles a broadly used patterns
were
1. Formal Gardens
2. Informal Gardens
3. Freestyle Gardens

The Utilitarian Traditions formed the inception of landscape design, where people planted in rows or a
defined pattern. The Utilitarian Gardens can be classified into:
1. PRODUCTIVE GARDENS - orchards, herb and vegetable gardens, and cut-flower gardens) were (and
are) usually arranged in a utilitarian manner. They are arranged in a pattern to accommodate maximum
planting
2. SYSTEMATIC GARDENS - which contain collections of plants arranged according to a variety of
scientific, geographic or other concerns (e.g. taxonomical systems) like experimental breeding for
horticultural or botanical matters rather than artistic aspirations or aesthetic purposes. Eg. Botanical
Garden, Arboretum, Bambooserie, Fernery, Rosary, Vineyard, etc.
CLASSICAL TRADITIONS
Represent the Regular and Formal Arrangement of the Historical and Contemporary Gardens
Ancient Egypt/ Greek/ Roman Gardens, Medieval Gardens, Traditional Persian and Islamic Gardens, Italian
Renaissance Gardens, French Gardens, Beaux Arts / Classicism of 19th century, Classicism of 20th and 21st
centuries

The KEY CHARACTERISTICS are:

• Refined geometry, either linear, curvilinear or combinations of these attributes.
• Symmetry along an axis creating a vista or alley.
COMMON PLANTING FEATURES
IDEOLOGIES attached to these FORMS: • avenues or rows of trees,
• Desire to dominate and control natural processes • clipped hedges,
• Achieving and maintaining perfection or purity of form • clipped edgings (short hedges)
• topiary,
Revival in Contemporary Landscape by architects like Paul Bangay • using narrow, straight beds
(Australia), Luciano Giubblei (UK) and Jacques Wirtz (Belgium). • rows of trees or shrubs
ROMANTIC TRADITIONS
Romantic Traditions represent the Irregular / Informal Arrangements
Traditional Chinese & Japanese Gardens, English Landscape Garden, Picturesque, Gardenesque, Wild
Gardens, Arts & Crafts / Surrey School, Native Plant Gardens: Prairie School (USA); Bush Gardens
(Australia) etc., Ecological regeneration works, Australian Aboriginal practices (function following form)

KEY CHARACTERISTICS
• Irregular layout - attempt to re-create or imitate natural forms and lines
• May be controlled, artificial, and 'unnatural' they might be in reality.

2 TYPES OF GARDENS
• Garden that is self monitoring and self sustaining – establishes its own ecological balance
• Gardens that require human intervention to maintain their character.

Some contemporary Garden types are Cottage Gardens, Tropical Gardens, Australian (bush) Gardens, Natural
Style Gardens, Ecological planting, etc.
CONTEMPORARY MOVEMENTS

Contemporary Movements influenced by Modernists, Purists, Pluralists, Eccentrics, Critics, etc.

Art Deco, MODERNISM (Abstraction), Functionalism, Minimalism, POSTMODERNISM (various forms),
Eccentrics: Burle Marx to Derek Jarmon

KEY CHARACTERISTICS
• Huge diversity of approaches being explored at present
• Conservation (natural and cultural), environmentalism and sustainability generally have become
important underpinnings

Ideas of the Contemporary Landscape has come from various sources, the inception being the influence of
Art Theory and Art Movements on contemporary planting design.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Rural and urban landscapes are, by their very nature, highly modified environments and consequently may
struggle to maintain populations of native fauna and flora. The main cultural features that alter the natural
landscapes are:
• LAND USE - Patterns made by people as they use the land for mining, farming, forestry etc. Altering the
vegetation by clearing forests to make pasture
• TRANSPORT FEATURES - Networks of roads, railways, canals, shipping lanes, airports etc. known as
infrastructure
• POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT - Patterns of population, its distribution and the location of
settlements, such as farmsteads, villages, towns, cities, etc.

The CONCEPT OF URBAN OPEN SPACE is traditionally used to embrace public spaces, parks, squares,
streets, boulevards, natural parks, surplus areas, left over areas, abandoned industrial or urban sites, etc.
• Stresses on a more comprehensive and holistic view on the open spaces and
• Requires structuring or restructuring of the city.

Landscape is planned, designed or shaped to convey human intention and it is affected by the social, physical
and natural context in which it is embedded.
URBAN LANDSCAPE
• Planned areas of green – built within enclosed spaces – terraces, within compounds, balconies, etc. for a
specific purpose
• Scale can vary from a terrace garden to large landscaped lawns for corporate offices, hotels and
apartments
• Also refers strip planting or roadside planting for shade
• High aesthetic value – defined by neat lines and geometrical shapes
• Accompanied by built structures – semi-open spaces, plazas, amphitheatres, places for people to relax,
etc.
• Planned use of plants – categorised according to shape size and colours to look pleasing
• Clubbed with water bodies and hardscape to create a pleasing composition
• Generally clubbed with other activities – fun inducing, sandpits, dining, etc.
• Designed to suit the type of occupancy they are set within
• In city level context, can be planned as an open lung space – large urban parks, water gardens, botanical
gardens, etc.
• Develops a limited ecological interface due to its modified environment
• Levels and compositions in design artificially achieved
RURAL LANDSCAPE
• The rural landscape includes a variety of geological and geographic features such as cropland, forests,
deserts, swamps, grasslands, pastures, rivers and lakes.
• A large part of the land is converted to farms and fields, however, also retains a natural element in its
landscape
• Supports a diverse ecology that also contributes to the socio-economic systems required for human life
• Unenclosed, reaches out to hectares of land
• Fields separated by hedge row planting, boulevards, etc.
• Uneven lines, does not follow a set pattern of geometry, land to be cultivated usually follows the terrain
on which it is set, Less built up spaces, infrequent roadways, and infrastructure
• Unplanned use of plants – categorised according to shape size and colours to look pleasing, mostly use
the native plants according to its needs
• Water bodies form a part of the larger picture, planned elements could be farm ponds or tanks – built for
utilitarian purpose
• The biodiversity is richer in the rural landscape and the interaction between the different elements of
landscape seems more natural.
• Principles of drainage and climatic forces are planned to work in tandem with agriculture
• Respect for the natural systems that sustain the ecology of the land and the forces that work with it
DEGRADED/ RECLAIMED LANDSCAPE
• These refer to the abandoned Industrial and Mining sites, which have been robbed of its natural ecological
value due to human activities.
• These lands do not have any vegetation apart from sparse scrub lands
• Contaminated and toxic resources, it affects the environment and people around.
• An attempt to reclaim degraded land would mean to restore it back to a more natural form.
• It follows a step by step procedure and requires atleast 5 – 10 yeards to complete.

TIMBA – Abandoned Basalt

Quarry
Today the entire area has become a natural
environment with several varieties of
insects etc. approximately 140 varieties of
birds visit it every year. Economically, the
project has become viable with grass and
other minor products paying for its
maintenance and upkeep. Efforts to
improve soil quality and introduction of
native plant communities attracted
butterflies followed by snakes and other
fauna including migratory birds. Today the
quarry has transformed in to a mature
woodland without any maintenance. The
processes involve commitment and
patience as against natural resources. The
time involved is the time needed to allow
nature to recover itself.
LAKE OIL S
STYLES OF GARDENING IN LANDSCAPE
FORMAL GARDENS

CHARACTERISTICS

• Central Axis and secondary axes

• Orderly and Symmetrical Appearance

• Straight lines or Simple Geometrical patterns

• Defined edges

• Balance and Repetition

• Symbolic use of plants

• Expensive construction and maintenance

• Examples:

• Versailles garden, Villa Lante, Paleis Het

Loo and Villa d'Este.

INFORMAL GARDENS
CHARACTERISTICS

• No stark Central Axis, renders natural look

• Asymmetrical Appearance

• Free flowing or Simple Geometrical patterns

• May or may not have defined edges

• Balance achieved by grouping of plants – need

not follow symmetry

• Plants can be used in their natural forms (not

topiaried).

• Construction is easy, can make use of the

natural landforms.

• Examples:

• English Gardens, Japanese Zen Gardens,

Contemporary Gardens, etc.

FREE STYLE GARDENS

CHARACTERISTICS

• It is a combination of formal and informal

elements.

• Generally free flowing patterns.

• Use of symmetry and geometrical patterns not

only along central axis but in individual

elements also

• Blends with the topography.

• Could have various themes.

• Generally used in urban landscape designs

KITCHEN/ TRENCH GARDENS
• The kitchen/ trench garden is also called the vegetable garden.
• Plants are grown in trenches and over trellises to facilitate the climbers.
• It can also be used to grow herbs – requires an understanding of soil types, climate and water
requirement.
HERB GARDENS
CONTAINER GARDENS
• Practised since the ancient times – as old as horticulture itself.
• Plants are grown in containers and pots that can act as an edge or boundary.
• Some plants grow better in pots
• Various shapes, sizes and colours of containers also add to the landscape element
• Choice of materials for the containers can add texture to the composition
• Can be created indoors or outdoors or can even be accommodated in balconies
ROOF GARDENS

• Rooftop gardens are great alternatives for urban gardeners.

• A rooftop garden is sometimes challenging due to hot, windy rooftop conditions
• Requires a proper design and plant selection
• The layers of water proofing and drainage holds maximum importance.
• Quantity of soil varies from 3” - 4” for flower beds to 3’ – 4’ for trees – dead load.
• Can be used for vegetable gardens or for small functions
CHILDREN’S GARDENS
• A children’s garden is a great way to get the kids interested in gardening.
• Mostly theme based gardens – with curious plants like touch me nots
• Themes can be based on a favorite game, story character, place, animal, hobby or even an
educational focus.
• Should have a combination of shaded and sunny spots
• Should be visible from main areas in the house
• Also includes elements like hammocks, playing equipment, sand pits, shallow pools, sculptures, etc.
WILD GARDEN
• Informal garden style – imitation of wilderness
• Choice of plants ranges from local and wild herbs, medicinal plants to wild flowering plants and
grasses
• Majorly uses plants that grow well in that region.
WATER GARDENS
• Water forms an integral part of landscape.
• Can be used in simple as well as complex
forms.
• Different characters of water gives the
garden a different feel
• These may include:
a) Small water ponds
b) Streams
c) Waterfalls
d) Container water gardens
e) Fountains
• Water garden plants are found in several
shapes and forms including utilitarian
plants like (oxygenating plants – typha
grass) to ornamental plants (water
lilies and cattails)
• Bog gardens (marshes) house a variety of
moisture-loving plants.
WATER GARDENS
FLOWER GARDENS
• Flowers bring colour in a garden – different types of plants can be used
• Arranged to form a balanced and pleasing design
• Seasonally flowering, biennial, perennial plants.
• Ornamental flowering plants
• Plants with coloured foliage
• Plants with texture – smooth, rough edges, velvety, paper, etc.
• Fragrant flowering plants, etc.
ROSARY
• Not a very good looking plant –
very beautiful flowers
• Rosaries should preferably be
separate areas in gardens –
they require clean soil, large
quantities of water and good
amount of sunlight
• Rose climbers are better
options in rosaries.
• Lawns should be avoided with
rose plants – gives a patchy
look
CUTTING GARDENS
• These refer to special plants that are
propagated by cuttings – mainly
flowers.
• These gardens could have few plants
in particular variety or a wide range
varieties.
• Flowering bulbs, perennials, annuals,
ornamental grasses and many shrubs
TOPIARY GARDEN

• Topiaries are plants pruned or shaped into

certain forms.
• These forms can be as simple as a pyramid or
as complicated as animal shapes.
• Can be created by pruning the plants, by
training a plant over a frame.
• The best plants to choose for a stand-alone
topiary are those with small, dense foliage.
• Plants trained over a frame should be vines
with dense foliage that will fill empty spots
forming a dense mat.
ZEN GARDENS

• The basic principles of the Zen garden are

simplicity, symbolism, tranquility and

minimalism.

• Inspired by simplicity of nature itself.

• All elements used in the Zen gardens are

symbolic of natural elements.

• Adopts a principle of minimalist simplicity

• Water wise garden.

RAIN GARDENS

Rain gardens not only protect the quality of water but also welcome wildlife. A rain garden is a naturally
shallow or dug out depression in the ground designed to catch rain that would otherwise turn into
runoff; and with the addition of native plants, a rain garden can be an attractive landscaping feature.
RECYCLED WASTE SCULPTURE GARDEN
XERISCAPE GARDENS

• Xeriscape gardens use low-maintenance,

drought-tolerant plants grouped together
to form natural-looking landscapes,
• conserve energy and water.
• Plants range from annuals and perennials
to grasses, shrubs and trees
• Xeriscapes can be of 3 types:
• Rock gardens
• Desert or succulent gardens.
• Zen Gardens
BASIC XERISCAPE PRINCIPLES

• Planning xeriscape designs requires careful consideration water requirements, function,

aesthetics and expected maintenance, both now and in the future.
• Soil that drains well while retaining adequate moisture to sustain plant life.
• Choose water-wise plants that thrive in poor, dry, rocky soil.
• Lawns should be kept to a minimum and should consist of drought-tolerant grass
• Choose xeriscape plants or native plants, as native plants are better able to tolerate
weather conditions better than exotic, non-native plants.
• Native plants also withstand pests and disease while attracting beneficial insects such
as honeybees, ladybugs and butterflies.
• Watering plants deeply and infrequently develops long, healthy, drought-tolerant root
systems. Shallow watering and frequent watering creates shallow, thirsty roots.
• Mulch, such as bark chips or compost can prevent evaporation, keep roots cool and
moist and prevent growth of weeds.
• Mulch also creates an attractive, natural appearance and returns nutrients to the soil.
ROCK GARDENS
• Plants can be introduced in crevices
• Rock garden plants should be chosen according to the climate and growing conditions
within a given area.
• Many perennials, low-lying shrubs, bulbous plants and annuals thrive in a rock garden
• Rocks are partially buried in the soil for a natural feel
ROCK GARDENS
XERISCAPE INDOORS
DESERT AND SUCCULENT
GARDENS
Can be created by adding a variety
of cacti, succulents, ornamental
grasses and other drought-tolerant
plants to the garden.