The Approach – The Entrance – The Front Yard Landscape
On most properties the approach area was planted for the benefit of people directly facing the front door from the street. The picture was balanced on each side of the line for best effect. For practical reasons, the service area was directly connected to the kitchen or service entrance, which was usually at the back of the house. The recreation or garden area was most frequently seen from some door or window of the living or dining room as people did not consider the first purpose for a garden to be a place for outdoor living. In older houses this arrangement is still suitable.
The plan of our modern homes, however, does not lend itself to this obvious axial arrangement. Architecture has changed from the symmetrical and decorative to a structural mass for functional purposes. We must think of our gardens as comfortable living areas rather than only for decoration.
In addition to a direct approach from the front, we must consider the angle view from the garage or parking area. The service entrance and kitchen window are now often at the front of the house where they have no connection with the service area or where we keep the garbage area. Unfortunately, the living-room window often faces the street so that the garden is usually seen from a patio, two sides of which are formed by two walls of the house. The main view is therefore on an angle to the house. Yet some windows of the living quarters should overlook the garden and these lines of view must also be considered.
Divisions and paths – As the rooms of a house or patio landscaping are separated by partitions, which define areas used for different purposes, so the various areas of a large garden or landscaping around a patio need to be divided from each other. Screens, hedges, shrubbery or surface coverings can be used to make each part stand out. Our minds dislike confusion, so we appreciate each area more when we see it alone or understand its purpose.
Divisions and paths – As the rooms of a house or patio landscaping are separated by partitions, which define areas used for different purposes, so the various areas of a large garden or landscaping around a patio need to be divided from each other. Screens, hedges, shrubbery or surface coverings can be used to make each part stand out. Our minds dislike confusion, so we appreciate each area more when we see it alone or understand its purpose.
There should, however, be a logical connection between one area and another by paths, steps or lines of view. We should be able to pass from one part to another without retracing steps or being conscious of too great a shock. This increases the feeling of unity.
The location of the entrance, service and recreation areas on a landscape plan, should be connected to the house and to each other by a system of circulation to give continuity, is the skeleton around which the garden is developed.
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