The design of a French garden is timeless and will never go out of style, as it is eye-catching and makes every garden a true work of art. Furthermore, the French-inspired garden is a blend of art, science, and architecture that inspired plenty of other garden styles. So, suppose you are looking to add a touch of formality and elegance to your outdoors. In that case, you need to consider opting for a French-style garden, known for its simple colour palette and beautiful flowers, stone elements, and symmetrical lines.
The Italian landscape garden design, with its use of evergreens, geometric lines, and natural stone features, originally inspired the French garden styles. The ideas used by Italian designers were also considered by British gardens, which added their own styles to the gardening techniques. This is how the French-style garden came to be, inspired by Italian and British design.
France is home to some of the most popular gardens worldwide, which all use a French gardening style, including the gardens from the Palace of Versailles, Château de Villandry, and the Eyrignac Manor. So, do you wish to add a unique elegance to your outdoors, like the French do? If yes, you came to the best place, as in this article, we will present some tips on achieving a French-inspired garden. Keep reading to find out more.
What are the most essential elements in a French-style garden design?
If we were to show you a variety of garden styles and ask you which one is French-inspired, you could surely answer the question, as French gardens can be recognized immediately. These gardens are all about symmetry, a simple colour palette, and geometry. They have a clean design, where each element and plant has a specific purpose to make the space look balanced and stunning. The French garden has the perfect mix of nature and art, which is why these places look like a fairytale. Here are the main features of the French gardens.
Symmetry
Symmetry is essential in a French-style garden, offering a polished and neat look over the environment. In a garden, symmetry can be about mirroring objects and plants from one side to the other. For example, you can buy two identical benches and place them opposite to each other. Flowers can also create great symmetry, especially if they have a beautiful-looking pot, like those from elho. Furthermore, the boxwoods can also be a good idea for adding symmetry to the design, as they have geometrical lines and offer a traditional French-style garden.
Stone features
Stone features have been used in the English country gardens, but now they are also found in modern-day French gardens. You can use several stone elements, including stone walls, statues, columns and pillars. Stone walls have both a decorative and functional role in the French-style garden, as they can separate the garden rooms, offer structure, and improve the garden’s overall look. Statues will add a little bit of art magic, bringing intrigue and depth so that all the visitors will be amazed by them while visiting your home.
Columns and pillars are other vital elements that act as standalone features and they add classic elegance to all gardens.
Plants
Plants are other components of the French garden, and if you want to have a truly French-inspired garden, you should consider climbing plants. Roses are a good idea for climbing plants, and they also bring a specific French romance into the landscape with numerous rose varieties that offer fragrant blooms. Wisteria is another excellent option, as it creates a great impact with its magnificent blooms and will make your garden an aromatic paradise.
But don’t worry if you don’t have enough space for climbing plants, as you can also opt for smaller flowers and plant them in outdoor planters from elho. In this way, whether you have a small or big garden, you will have plenty of flowers to enhance the overall look of the outdoors.
Simple colour palettes
Traditional French gardens are renowned for their simple colour palette, which includes whites, greens, pinks, purples, mauve, and blues. This is why choosing some of the colours mentioned above will be better when selecting the plants for your garden. Also, remember lavender, which is a must for any French garden.
Spaces to relax
The French gardens also need a space to sit and relax, especially after all the hard work you have done to create them. This is why adding a small bistro or a bench to relax in that area would be good. And voila, in this way, you can teleport to a French city far away from the comfort of your house. If you want to consider more complex furniture, remember that you should opt for something weather-resistant so that the pieces will not suffer from exposure to natural materials.
Is it hard to maintain a French-inspired garden?
Yes, in most cases, maintaining a French-inspired garden will be time-consuming, as you need to trim hedges, replace flowers, and clear debris like leaves. This is why it is important to be careful with what type of flowers you want to opt for and consider the plants’ seasonality, as you might need to plant others in autumn if you choose flowers that only bloom in summer. Even if the French-inspired garden requires more work than the other garden types, in the end, you will have a beautiful, classic and elegant garden that will also enhance the look of your house.
But there is also a solution: if you don’t want to put that much time, energy and effort into a French-style garden, you can opt for a French country garden, which is much simpler to maintain.
