“Design Project For Your Garden: Getting Ready For The Summer!”. Mini-garden Design Course At The International School Of Design (St. Petersburg)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Miniature beauty is prized not only in jewelry but also in the art of gardening. You are probably already familiar with the Japanese bonsai - mini-trees, and today we present you a new fashion trend - the mini-garden. His idea is ingenious and simple - in a small space to equip a garden according to all the laws of landscape design, with all the components of a full-fledged project, in a modern format. A mini-garden for any creative person is an ideal place for the implementation of the most daring ideas, vivid author's experiments. As when working with a large area of a landscape project, and with a mini-garden, the designer will need special training. Program “Design project for your garden: Getting ready for summer!”At the International School of Design (St. Petersburg) will allow you to master the basics of designing a mini-garden in a short time (2 months) and start creating your own project in May! The course is recommended both for those who are already working in the landscape field, and for those who are just starting their project activities. The course will be useful for graduates of the School of other specialties.

One of the most relevant trends in the modern landscape, tells the teacher of the International School of Design (St. Petersburg), curator of the course "Design project of your garden: Getting ready for summer!", Landscape architect Victoria Rogoleva. She has over 10 years of experience in landscape design and over 50 private and public areas and urban facilities.

How is a mini garden different from a traditional garden?

In my opinion, a traditional garden is a garden that belongs to a greater extent to past eras, a garden that is quite closely related to a particular garden style, endowed with the national flavor of the country where this style originated. While a mini-garden is more of a concept from our time, from a time when, albeit a small one, many more people can afford their personal piece of land than it was in past centuries. And having received the cherished weave, everyone seeks to embody their principles of aesthetics and comfort on them, hence the bright feature of modern mini-gardens is born - eclecticism and individuality. Modernity does not dictate a rigid framework and does not oblige to strictly adhere to traditional styles. However, as in any business, the base, initial knowledge,starting from which you can move on to the embodiment of your most creative ideas. The term mini-garden can also refer to a composition of miniature plants planted in a pot or any other suitable container, and a front garden in front of a townhouse of 1 acres and our standard plots of 6-30 acres (in the last two cases, it is quite appropriate to use the synonym "small garden", "Small garden", which is often found in the literature). But in all these cases there is a very definite feature inherent in any mini-garden - this is the presence of clear boundaries that close the territory, and this is the ability to look at the entire site from 1-2 points at once. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories. The term mini-garden can also refer to a composition of miniature plants planted in a pot or any other suitable container, and a front garden in front of a townhouse of 1 acres and our standard plots of 6-30 acres (in the last two cases, it is quite appropriate to use the synonym "small garden", "Small garden", which is often found in the literature). But in all these cases there is a very definite feature inherent in any mini-garden - the presence of clear boundaries that enclose the territory, and this is the ability to look at the entire site from 1-2 points at once. It is these initial data (closedness within the boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that influence the design decisions for such territories. The term mini-garden can also refer to a composition of miniature plants planted in a pot or any other suitable container, and a front garden in front of a townhouse of 1 acres and our standard plots of 6-30 acres (in the last two cases, it is quite appropriate to use the synonym "small garden", "Small garden", which is often found in the literature). But in all these cases there is a very definite feature inherent in any mini-garden - this is the presence of clear boundaries that close the territory, and this is the ability to look at the entire site from 1-2 points at once. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories.and a front garden in front of a townhouse of 1 are and our standard plots of 6-30 ares (in the last two cases it is quite appropriate to use the synonym "small garden", which is often found in the literature). But in all these cases there is a very definite feature inherent in any mini-garden - this is the presence of clear boundaries that close the territory, and this is the ability to look at the entire site from 1-2 points at once. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories.and a front garden in front of a townhouse of 1 are and our standard plots of 6-30 ares (in the last two cases it is quite appropriate to use the synonym "small garden", which is often found in the literature). But in all these cases there is a very definite feature inherent in any mini-garden - this is the presence of clear boundaries that close the territory, and this is the ability to look at the entire site from 1-2 points at once. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories.closing the territory, and this is an opportunity to take a look at the entire site at once from 1-2 points. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories.closing the territory, and this is an opportunity to take a look at the entire site at once from 1-2 points. It is these initial data (closedness within boundaries and small size), to a greater extent than all others, that affect the design decisions for such territories.

Can the same design principles taught in this course be applied when designing another landscape project?

The design principles and the order of design work for any landscape objects, in general, are quite similar. Of course, each object has its own nuances and characteristics. And, as it seems to me, a small garden is not the easiest to design, because a small area dictates the need for carefully calibrated decisions, working out all the details. Flaws that have gone unnoticed in a huge park will immediately attract attention on a small plot. Everything in a small garden should be aesthetically pleasing and extremely functional, there is no room for unnecessary, not well thought out details. Therefore, having mastered the design of such an object as a mini-garden, having received basic knowledge from practicing specialists, you can become either an advanced garden lover, whose competent opinion is listened to with family and friends, or continue your education,striving for professional activity.

In any case, this course will be the first step towards acquiring a relevant and very interesting profession.

What are the main trends in modern mini-garden design?

Landscape design, as well as any kind of creative activity, is greatly influenced by time and the surrounding reality. It also has its own fashion trends, its own vectors of development and trends. For example, now among landscape design customers it is very common to have a small-care garden; this is one of the main trends. This is not surprising, given that people in large cities often live in a state of lack of free time. Having gone out of town for a weekend, most of us want to relax, enjoy nature, and not spend time bowing our backs and caring for capricious exotic plants.

Another trend in modern design of small gardens is the focus on ecology. An environmentally friendly garden means using natural materials, saving water resources, such as using rainwater for irrigation, using biofilters in water bodies, minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and pest control products. Such a garden may require more attention and work from its owner, but if you love nature, want to protect it, enjoy communicating with it, then this path is for you.

The general trend for most modern landscape objects, including mini-gardens, is a fusion of garden styles. The modern style is quite democratic. In a sense, it is only an imitation of the main directions of gardening art that have come down to us from the past. But imitation is not blind, but enriched with the ideas and technologies of our time. The style of the gardens has become more eclectic, this could not but be reflected in the layout. Combined layouts are often observed in small gardens. The “parade area” in front of the house can be designed in a regular style, while landscape elements can be applied to the rest of the garden.

Perhaps I will name another trend in landscape design inherent in our country. This is a vision of the garden as an element of the environment that provides not only aesthetic pleasure and relaxation, but also brings tangible benefits. Almost all land owners would like to have fruit trees and small ornamental gardens. Fortunately, now it is rather a dictate of the soul than an urgent need!

What does the final draft design include?

The resulting draft project will include a functional zoning scheme, a mini-garden sketch plan, a concept board, a mini-garden master plan with visualization of its individual zones, made in the SketchUp program, as well as the necessary technical sections and a layout of the site. About the drawings included in the working project, you will receive general theoretical knowledge on the subjects of "design" and "landscape construction".

So, how to place all the desired elements in a small area and do it competently and beautifully, we will definitely analyze within the framework of our short but intense course!

On February 2, we invite you to a meeting with the course curator, landscape architect Victoria Rogoleva on the School's Open Day.

And already on February 20 - the course "Design project of your garden: Getting ready for Summer!"

See you at the International School of Design (St. Petersburg)!