Why and how to create different areas in the garden?

Why divide a garden into several areas?

For several years (and the pandemic has emphasised this trend) the garden has become a cherished space, and more and more people have taken up gardening.

• However, while gardening involves planting vegetation on one’s plot, the creation project does not stop there. Planting is organised into borders and flower beds, but to succeed in creating a garden it is advisable to approach its design more holistically, which means thinking about the different areas, their organisation and pathways. The garden then becomes a genuine extension of the house. Like a house, it is divided into different ‘rooms’, which can be themed garden rooms guided by a search for style or colour, for example, or arise from a desire to assign a specific function to each zone (patio, vegetable patch, wildflower meadow, composting area, car parking, garden shed, bin storage…). If some of these zones are attractive by nature, others deserve to be hidden so as not to spoil the garden’s overall aesthetic.
• Moreover, dividing a garden prevents everything from being seen at once. Hidden by a hedge or a structure, the next area can be sensed without being revealed, thereby sharpening the visitor’s curiosity and urging them to explore further. By creating such surprises, the garden can offer several atmospheres and ambiences and this also makes it appear larger than it really is. This can be particularly useful in designing small gardens or when one has to work with a long, narrow plot.

Each garden area, as well as being pleasing to the eye, can have a specific function

How to create different zones?

• Once you have defined the areas you want to prioritise (a vegetable plot for fresh produce, a terrace for convivial outdoor moments, a chicken coop, a swimming pool…) and know how much space each will occupy, you need to consider how to link them together. This involves circulation, that is how to get from one area to another. Straight paths can create attractive vistas and draw the eye to a focal point (a tree, a statue, a pot, a panorama…). Curving routes have a more romantic feel and can, conversely, break that sense of perspective by hiding what comes next on the walk. Take care, however, not to choose curves that are too tight and/or too numerous, which can make mowing feel like an obstacle-course challenge!
• To landscape a sloping garden, creating terraces (or restanques) and steps is sometimes unavoidable, which contributes to this idea of compartmentalising the garden.

• Designing a flat garden, by contrast, encourages creating artificial levels (adding soil to create changes in level, lowering certain areas to create a more sheltered, intimate space, introducing vertical elements…).
• Finally, it is important to pay particular attention to ways of defining these areas, and to marking their entrances. Boundaries can take the form of plant hedges: some completely screen the view, either permanently or only seasonally, others, by contrast, allow the view to pass through, enabling enjoyment of an attractive vista and integrating surrounding landscape as if it were part of your garden, while visually enlarging it. Another option is to use fixed structures and non-plant materials, which can still be combined with plants.

Separate and connect areas with structures

Structures, depending on materials used, can prove very durable. They can be used alone or combined with plants, which make them look less artificial and add a touch of character.

Walls and low walls

Walls can, among other uses, be used to support changes in ground level or to define areas (even the whole garden).

Built of masonry, they can be quite tall and therefore enclose the garden effectively. Rather than leaving them bare, use them to festoon with climbing plants. Dressed thus, their presence is softened and the garden’s boundaries become blurred, which can give the impression that it is larger. Some plants, such as ivy, trumpet creeper, climbing hydrangea or Virginia creeper can attach themselves to this support unaided. Climbing roses, jasmines, honeysuckles or wisterias, however, need a structure to climb on, sometimes with help from the gardener. To provide a suitable support, use simple metal cables or wooden trellises. Well-exposed walls also offer an ideal area to train fruit trees, without taking up much ground space.

Built in dry stone, walls have an undeniable charm, even more so if you add planting. The top and crevices can accommodate many plants that brighten the structure with their blooms.

Gabions

Gabions are structures that are very much in vogue. These metal “cages”, filled with stones, pebbles or any other material of your choice, have a very contemporary look, which does not suit every garden style. Fairly similar to some walls in their use, they are easier to install, and can also be planted up.

Wooden or stone beams

To support a retaining wall or a terrace, large wooden or stone beams, installed vertically or horizontally, add a warm touch to the garden. To break the rhythm, dress the top of the earth retention by installing shrubs with a creeping and trailing habit, which soften the lines, interspersed with perennials. In addition to their decorative role, plants placed in this way create a natural barrier that helps make changes in level safer.

These elements can also be laid flat, buried to ground level, and thus mark out a space, a passage or a path.

Pergolas, arches and arbors

Pergolas, arbors, bowers and other arches are excellent means of creating vertical interest. They can be practical, such as a pergola that provides shade over a terrace or a seating area. Topped with a shade sail or a reed screen, they create a sheltered area, where you can eat and relax out of the sun. Planting climbing plants allows you to enjoy beautiful blooms, decorative foliage and even fruit (kiwis, grapes, passion fruit…).

Arches particularly mark the passage from one area to another. Framed by hedges, for example, they invite continuation of the stroll and form a kind of gateway, more or less mysterious, especially when festooned with climbers. It is an opportunity to create beautiful pairings (a climbing rose and a clematis, a spring-flowering climber paired with a climber with autumn interest, for example, to enhance different seasons).

Wire fences and trellises

A simple wire fence, or an ornate trellis, can be used to define two zones of the garden. Securing the area around a pool, defining the vegetable patch or the chicken run to reduce the risk of intrusions, enclosing the garden — they are very versatile and can represent a low-cost investment. While some offer aesthetic appeal, others are best concealed by using climbing plants once again. This kind of structure suits many plants (self-supporting ones or those that need something to twine around), but pay attention to exposure with respect to prevailing winds. Their surfaces can in fact act like a large sail which, in the event of strong gusts, can be destroyed in a few minutes.

Fences

Wooden fences bring a rustic, bucolic or more ‘ranchy’ feel to your garden. You can easily make them from commercial posts and boards, or even simply reuse elements from the garden (logs and branches from pruning, for example). Left “bare”, fences allow views through and define without enclosing. Enriched with climbing plants, they take on a poetic quality. Of course, more durable versions are available, such as concrete fences, and it is primarily a matter of taste and budget.

Divide spaces with plants

A hedge is a classic and well-known way to enclose a space, but the effect is completely different depending on the type of plants you choose.

• Evergreen, semi-evergreen or marcescent shrubs have several advantages. They provide structure to garden, effectively filter wind and ensure a degree of privacy year-round. Photinia, Eleagnus, Privet, Hornbeam and many conifers are among those often used. Cut into neat square shapes, they also convey a certain formality.
• More variable, flowering hedges, scented and country hedgerows are best left to grow freely. This way you can enjoy their flowering, fruiting or foliage that mark the seasons.
• To separate without blocking the view, it is possible to use shrubs with a small stature, some of which also tolerate pruning very well: certain Barberries, Euonymus, Shrubby honeysuckles, Shrubby Potentillas are good candidates, but you can also consider some roses, which are however less attractive in the off-season. All these plants can also be used to line a path or walkway.
• In the same spirit, some perennials can fulfil this role and create low hedges. Choosing perennials with evergreen foliage (Artemisia, Carex, Euphorbia, Heucheras, Lavenders, small Phormium, Heathers) guarantees retaining structure in winter.
• Garden style (in addition to soil, climate and exposure, of course) should also influence the type of plants you choose. In a zen- or Asian-inspired garden for example, bamboos are appropriate, whereas they might be more surprising in a naturalistic garden. So make sure to keep some coherence, or to deliberately create clearly distinct spaces, each imbued with its own particular atmosphere that can only be discovered by entering it.