The Main Problems in Landscape Design — And How to Avoid Them
The main problems in landscape design – and how to avoid them
Far beyond its decorative features, landscape design brings with it biological and cultural issues that need to be addressed in projects. However, what is seen in most public, residential, condominium, commercial and business gardens is a range of approaches that strip landscaping of all its attributes and reduce it to a decorative layer in the construction. Next, we have compiled strategies to avoid the main problems of landscape design and to combine the aesthetics with its ecological and cultural possibilities.
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According to Ricardo Cardim in his book Paisagismo Sustentável para o Brasil (Sustainable Landscape Design for Brazil), “usual landscaping in contemporary Brazil is generally devoid of major ecological and functional concerns”. He also notes that the landscaping market, which includes both the projects and the sale of ornamental plants, is following a fad that is causing “gardens to become disconnected from local natural, urban and cultural realities, leaving limited ecosystem services and few uses for the offer people”. Therefore, the garden, whether public or private, whose imagery is linked to the idea of a refuge in the midst of everyday life, a place of rest, appreciation and health, often goes unnoticed by people or becomes an image to be treasured rather than a space to inhabit and Life.
The planned and designed garden must be connected in different scales. First, the gardens have the potential to be a space that provides ecosystem services, ie benefits derived from ecosystems that generate human well-being that have been degraded due to the contemporary urbanization process. A garden can connect with local fauna and flora, respond to its natural biome and bring benefits to both the environment and its users. In addition, the gardens also represent an opportunity to experience the local nature, learn about seasonality, climate, fauna and flora, and restore the connection between man and nature that has been lost in the urban setting. Finally, gardens are a space that people can use to encourage recreational and self-care activities that benefit the physical and mental health of society.
However, as Cardim notes in his book, there are some design strategies that need to be outlined in order for gardens to reach their full potential. Here are four points to consider when landscaping:
Study of the natural environment
The native flora of each location is the result of thousands of years of evolution of planet Earth, responding to topography, climate, humidity, seasonality, and many other natural aspects. However, landscaping projects resist the study of the natural environment and original species of each biome, often succumbing to the ease of purchasing the species available on the market without much thought for the impact this can cause, resulting in projects that fail lacking coherence with the surrounding natural landscape. Gardens, often detached from the native flora, bring together plants from the most diverse biomes, climates and regions of the world, albeit almost imperceptibly, as in the case of “tropical gardens”, which end up exploiting invasive species from other regions due to their density and remarkable diversity with similar characteristics. Aesthetics must not overlap with biological claims and definitions.
seek biodiversity
A selection of palms, in addition to other supporting species with similar characteristics and a few more shrubs arranged on a grassy plain. Filled with exotic plants, these gardens are arid environments, devoid of biodiversity and with almost no ecological role. According to Ricardo Cardim, the landscape market reproduces landscape compositions around the world based on the repetition of 15 species from the global ornamental market, resulting in entire neighborhoods with a continuous and monotonous landscape. This homogenization of urban flora creates regions that are considered “green deserts” where invasive species degrade the natural environment, causing environmental damage and also cultural identity damage.
Understanding dry places and gardens
The modern dry square is reproduced in cities as well as adapted for buildings, creating uniform, low-density gardens with entire surfaces of stones and gravel that facilitate maintenance and are almost non-invasive to the building. The problem with this practice lies in knowing how to read the place and understanding if its needs and natural characteristics allow this type of space to exist, taking into account not only the landscape but also its use. The same applies to the use of xeriscaping Strategies, a methodology aimed at reducing the water consumption of the landscaped garden. Both start in arid places with low insolation, which justifies these strategies, while in tropical regions, where both average rainfall and insolation are higher, it is not necessary to apply the same solutions, risking a result achieve that drives people away and prevents them from enjoying the garden.
Balancing decorative strategies
Contemporary landscape design is often based on strategies aimed at reproducing impressions of the imagination of the past, such as B. the use of species with rich colors or even topiary techniques where trees and shrubs are pruned to create geometric shapes or animals. These two strategies are related to European noble gardens, especially the French ones, and are associated with wealth and power. Likewise, another strategy is to reproduce themed gardens inspired by other cultures. All of these ornamental strategies primarily use non-native species in their configuration, in addition to detaching humans from the true local natural environment.
Therefore, landscaping has great potential if local natural geography is taken into account during the project. Studying possible species to be planted, giving priority to natural species, critically considering the ornamental market and finally recognizing possible parties are necessary actions to design gardens that are meant to be used, not just to be seen to become.
Relation: Cardim, Ricardo 2022. Paisagismo Sustentável para o Brasil: Integrando natureza e humanidade no século XXI.