Landscape design of a summer cottage in Provence style. Garden in Provence style on your summer cottage: landscape design and decoration. French provincial garden furniture
French romance seduces many of us, but not everyone has the opportunity to travel around the Mediterranean. Try to recreate the Provence style in the garden with your own hands, and we will show you how to do it.
The famous area in the south of France has been a source of inspiration for romantic people for decades. Provence attracts sensitive people with its delicate range of shades and airy forms. It is not surprising that many gardeners strive to recreate the atmosphere of French villages on their site. We offer several simple tips that will help you get own garden Provence Decorating a garden in Provence style is not at all difficult!
1. Place flowerpots and hanging planters in the garden
Decorate even small area possible with the help of dear ones hanging planters and flowerpots placed around the garden. Such mini-flower beds fit organically into the design of a Provence garden. About what flowers to plant in a flowerpot so that they look harmonious in your unusual garden, read at the end of the article (hint: the list is not limited to lavender!).
2. Use natural stones
Garden elements from natural stone(for example, retaining walls or terrace finishing) are indispensable attributes of the Provencal style in landscape design. Stones, especially those entwined with greenery, give the garden a naturalness and some mystery: “old” stones keep their own, not for anyone famous story. A haze of mystery is one of the components of French charm, including in the design of the site. Try to build a natural stone wall on your property yourself and see how the garden will be transformed.
3. Install a gazebo or pergola
A place for privacy is what any garden must have. We just need to “hide” from the hustle and bustle from time to time, spending time in thought and contemplation of beauty, or with a cup of aromatic tea and a good book. A cozy gazebo is perfect for this. IN provencal garden A gazebo or pergola made of natural material, such as wood, will look organic. When choosing a color to paint a building, give preference to white. This classic version will fit perfectly into the overall mood of the garden and serve as an ideal backdrop for climbing plants.
4. Decorate the facade of the house
One hundred percent fits into the Provence style - “blooming” walls. There is nothing difficult about planting unpretentious perennials near the walls of the house. climbing plants. They will beautifully weave around the walls and create the desired effect of carefreeness, evoking associations with the sunny French coast. They look especially atmospheric entrance doors and windows framed with decorative vines.
5. Install a fountain
The south of France is characterized by dry weather. To have a source of constant coolness at their disposal, residents of Provence often install fountains in their gardens. Why don't you use this idea too? In our latitudes, the fountain will serve more as a decoration than as an important functional addition to the site. This means that the main thing you will need to take care of when thinking about the concept and planning the installation is the appearance of the fountain.
6. Make narrow paths
Garden paths are called "arteries of the garden." In the case of provencal style paths must meet two conditions: they must be winding and narrow. Don't be afraid, you don't have to make all the paths in the garden like this and balance on them like a tightrope walker, just lay a few narrow branches from the main garden path.
7. Arrange wicker furniture
This style feature arose because in the south of France it grows large number vineyards whose vines are suitable for weaving. This does not mean that you urgently need to plant a vineyard and master wicker weaving. Just pay attention to wicker furniture from various materials(for example, rattan), presented in numerous stores.
8. Decorate your garden with antique items
One of the main components of the Provence style is the “worn” effect. Since in a Provencal garden objects must be present garden decor, make sure that the “stamp of time” is visible in them. Some things can be artificially aged by erasing the paint from them in places. Surely you have some nice old chairs, tables or flowerpots - their finest hour has come! The main thing is that items should not look bulky or too modern.
9. Plant ornamental plants for the Provence garden
The main rule here is to use the traditional range typical of Provence: shades of blue, purple, pink and white. Here are some ornamental plants suitable for creating a flower garden in a Provencal garden: sweet pea, sedum, delphinium, clematis, catnip, Japanese anemone, roses with petals of delicate shades, self-seeded poppy. A wonderful addition are cereal herbs in silver, pinkish and delicate golden shades.
10. Place vegetables and herbs in the flower garden
Combination ornamental plants, herbs, herbs and vegetables in one flower garden - an unusual for us, but quite typical feature of a garden in the Provence style. Plant nearby plants such as sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, pumpkin, zucchini, etc. Decorative vegetable garden- not only an original, but also an ergonomic solution for owners of small plots.
11. Select trees and shrubs for a French garden
Trees in the gardens of the southern coast of France, like fountains, perform not so much an aesthetic as a practical function. In the shade of a spreading crown you can always hide from the scorching sun rays. For French country Characterized by a combination of fruit and ornamental crops. Here are some shrubs and trees that look natural in a Provençal garden: mock orange, boxwood, forsythia, hydrangea, hairy willow, apple tree, cherry, apricot, virginian juniper, oleaster, grapes.
In place of ornate architecture and exotic plants comes simplicity and rustic simplicity. The name of the style itself represents visualization French village last century. No luxury or originality in the design! Only modesty, simplicity and natural materials. Provence is the charm of natural life. Great solution for city dwellers seeking peace and harmony. The bottomless simplicity and naturalness of nature allows you to find the meaning of existence. The decoration uses an exclusively soft palette: white, pale pink, blue, light gray. Natural materials, vintage decorative items, comfort and warm atmosphere - this is the Provence style.
A mandatory element of a rustic style is a gazebo. It should be made of natural wood or stone. Definitely rough or partial processing, no glitz or glamor. The materials for it are artificially aged, a patina of time is added to metal or copper items, paint is added to wooden surfaces necessarily with scuffs. The place for the gazebo is chosen away from the house. It is often closed, with light curtains on windows and doors, which will help protect against drafts and dampness. A gazebo is a place for privacy from bad weather and curious glances. It must certainly contain simple, high-quality garden furniture. Most often these are wicker tables and chairs.
Style French village involves many flower beds and flower beds. All of them have a round shape and are located around the house, gazebo and other architectural forms. In compliance with clear geometric shapes there is no need, the style allows for negligence and naturalness. Flower beds are framed with stone or brick. The main colors are blue, beige, light blue, white, purple. It is also allowed bright colors, their natural content. Garden plantings are selected with a pleasant, persistent aroma. This important feature Provence garden Pleasant lasting aromas are provided by geranium, thyme, lavender and others.
An important functional element is the paths, which are devoid of all geometric and regular lines. There is no stiffness or straight lines. The paths have a curved shape and go around all important landscape objects (house, garage, flower beds, gazebos, etc.). The raw materials chosen are natural - wood, stone, gravel. In the Provence style it is impossible to find concrete and plastic. The paths are framed by low plants and ornamental grasses. The wind swaying the stems creates movement in the garden and fills the area with “music.”
It is difficult to imagine a rustic style without numerous flowers in pots, cache-pots, containers and flowerpots. Containers made of clay and ceramics are welcome. They are placed literally everywhere, in a chaotic order. Another feature of the French country style is vertical gardening. Climbing and weaving garden plantings adorn the walls of buildings, the entrance to the gazebo, and the fence. They take up all the free space.
Many people associate the Provence style with the concept “ peach wall" This is a spectacular planting of low-growing fruit trees located near the high wall of a stone building. Color design the walls are always in light colors - white, peach or beige. Plants undergo regular modeling, thanks to which a palmette crown flaunts against the background of the wall. Trees are selected based on climatic conditions. The most popular in cold climates are peach, apricot, and pear. The wall and thinned crown contribute to a rich harvest.
Although at first glance the Provence style is simple and does not require any hassle or maintenance, this is not so. Timely watering, fertilizing and pruning of plants is of the utmost importance. The site must be well-groomed, decorative and fertile.
Plant selection
People with a fine mental organization and romantic impulses find in the Provence style an opportunity to find peace. It allows them to relax and slow down the pace of life, to feel harmony and natural strength. The surrounding trees, shrubs and flowers play an important role in this. For all its simplicity, there is a place of sophistication and sophistication here. Delicate shades of blue and beige, pleasant aromas and subtle traces of antiquity - all this will be an excellent reason to decorate your area in this style. And spending quiet evenings in the lap of nature will be a real escape from city life.
The Provence style is difficult to confuse with any other. He has his own peculiarities:
- Fruit crops (apricot, pear, peach) predominate among the trees. By pruning they are given the shape of a palmette;
- many flowering bushes located near the house or fence;
- an abundance of fragrant garden plants;
- predominance of delicate shades (blue, purple, pink).
Starting a garden in the Provence style from scratch is much easier than transforming an existing one. Play an important role garden plants. Many fruit-bearing trees are planted in the empty area. They are located near low fences and fences painted in white. Exposing regular pruning trees can achieve a crown that grows in width.
From traditional to village garden plants worth noting are geranium and lavender. Their colors and spicy aromas are symbolic of a Provence style garden. They keep company in the flower beds numerous species roses, climbing ivy and maiden grapes, rosemary adds romanticism. The colors of plants must certainly include purple and other pastel shades. Small bright accents are acceptable, appropriately located in group plantings.
Flower beds and flower beds can be moved several times a season, adding to the usual appearance novelty. Most flowers are planted in mobile containers (pots, flowerpots, flowerpots). When creating flower beds, they are not planted in the soil, but are only placed on top of the ground. I create a semicircular shape for the “flower garden” using stone or broken bricks.
Give it like that necessary style Provence, the spirit of antiquity can be found at hand. These can be fragments of antique dishes, specially aged furniture and interior items. Wooden tubs, old stumps and even musical instruments. One of the main goals when decorating a site in French rustic style, is considered to create a warm and cozy atmosphere. Only natural materials are used, textiles, comfortable upholstered furniture. In the gazebo you can always find a lot of pillows and warm blanket. When decorating the estate and recreation area, only calm, delicate colors are used.
There is a place in the Provence style for decorative lighting. The light should be soft and dim. It gives the landscape that same touch of antiquity and warmth. home comfort. Have fun with the dimly lit garden noisy company or secluded for a romantic dinner. The bright, cold light leaves no room for imagination, as if exposing everything around. Warm yellow beams of light from under openwork lampshades or antique lamps will look beautiful on rustic wicker tables covered with a cotton tablecloth.
The mentality of most gardeners changes over time, and we generally love the simplicity that reigns in the countryside and simple shapes. A Provence style garden involves the formation personal plot in visual old village in France. Only because of this, the owners country dachas and country estates quite often use landscape design in the Provence style in their own gardens.
Provence style
If we are talking about this style, then it should be noted that Provence is the name of one of the French Mediterranean villages. A design in this style should not contain luxury in decor. Here modest and charming ordinary things from everyday life should prevail, only natural materials, and there should not be anything ultra-modern. Such noble poverty is quite peculiar, however, there must be traces of sophistication here.
Some parts of the decoration for a personal plot should also match the overall style of the exterior. You probably remember the impression that remains when viewing the landscape of Claude Monet’s garden plot; if so, then landscape perception should leave something similar in the subconscious. There is no need to use large areas of the garden. Sometimes you just need to use one modest gazebo, which was left over from grandma’s old garden, or you can place antique furniture near walls overgrown with trees and shrubs, bright flower beds, several flowerpots with plantings near small sizes pond. Also, this style can be complemented by slightly carelessly scattered household items from the last century nearby, so that the landscape is considered truly decorated in the Provence style. Without taking into account all the riot of color of the plantings, it is necessary to remember that the structures themselves and what are usually called small architectural forms should be painted in discreet pastel colors such as white, brown, and so on.
Features of Provence style
Wood is the main material intended for buildings in this style. In order for the landscape design to truly resemble Provence, the gazebo must be built as far as possible from the buildings, while during the work it is necessary to use slightly processed stones and wood; a deliberately rough type of fitting may even be useful. An excellent solution in this case would be a building that has windows with doors, thus protecting the area from winds and rain. It is better to have curtains hung on the windows. They will be an excellent shelter in hot weather and will be able to hide from different eyes if you want privacy. Large table a sofa made of any type of wood or woven from wicker - this is enough for the garden. Fabrics for such a gazebo should be used only in natural and light shades - in one tone, in a small flower or in a checkered pattern.
Paths with paths in this style are not prim at all and consist entirely of straight lines. Let them go along flower beds, wells, arches made of wood or stone, that is, everything that creates a landscape in the bottom style. Can't be used here concrete paths and pave the area, you can only use stones and gravel for backfilling. Winding paths running in different directions, planted along the edges with the help of low plants - this is all the decor of Provence.
Choice of colors
This stylistic direction involves the use of containers, boxes and pots with plantings, which are arranged and hung in a chaotic manner throughout the free area. Climbing varieties of flowers at any point in the garden where this is possible. Grapes and ivy can create vertical landscaping in such a garden. An excellent solution if such landscaping is used on fence walls.
Round flower beds made of various types plants can also fit into this style. Planting should be done using concentric circles, however, there is no need to be intimidated different types and fanatically get emphatically straight lines. A little carelessness anywhere in the garden will be present in a competent version of this style. All flower beds must be lined with brick or stone. The main Provencal shades are blue, blue and violet, however, other bright shades can also be used. A Provence-style garden plot can be easily recognized by its smell, so you need to use those types of plants that have a good aroma, for example, lavender and so on.
Wooden paths in Provence style
This style should always include such an attribute as a “peach wall”. This name refers to low varieties of fruit trees that grow under the protection of walls. The wall itself must certainly be stone - it must be painted white, and the trees must be specially trimmed. As a result, a decorative flat-type crown like a palmette fan is created on the trellis. Which fruit tree you can choose, a peach or a pear, is decided based on climatic conditions and the preferences of the owners of the plot. With all its decorative form These types of trees bear fruit successfully, there is a lot of sun rays for the thinned out crowns, and this is enough for them, and thanks to the wall a favorable atmosphere is created.
Landscape design has many styles with which you can plunge into various countries and feel like the owner of large estates or colorful villas. The most common style currently is Provence style. In this style, even tall two or three-story houses look restrained and elegant.
The walls of a Provence-style house deliberately age the house with uneven whitewashing. The facades of such buildings are most often decorated with limestone or plaster. Another feature of this style is the small number decorative elements, they are usually replaced with variegated roof tiles.
The main decorative element of this style are fountains or ponds in front of the house. When planning a garden, you should strictly follow the shape. In the center of the garden there must be a large flower bed with various bright plants, the combination of which creates a colorful pattern. Site near this landscape element it is covered with soil and generally not formalized in any way.
Since the Provence style came to us from France, its peculiarity is the creation of a romantic mood in the garden. Here you can find various figurines, fountains and high hedges made of climbing plants. The combination of plants and shrubs, fountains and flower beds - all this is an extraordinary Provence style. Walking through such a garden, you can find new elements for yourself every time. It seems that plants in this style are planted chaotically, however, this is not the case; all plants and their planting locations are strictly planned.
The main color in the garden is green. There is a play of light and shadow here, which is quite difficult to achieve on your own. In France, a garden is an extension of the house; it is believed that this large, green room is designed to welcome and see off guests. Therefore, it is created especially carefully.
In the backyard of such a house there are usually small beds in which vegetables and fruits grow, this allows the French to cook food directly from the garden, so their food always seems to be filled with a special taste.
Stages of creating a garden in Provence style
As in all styles, the first stage of creating a garden in the Provence style is its planning, then the plants are selected, mainly climbing plants and fruit trees. After this, small plants and flowers are selected for the flower beds. Another innovation in this style are plants planted in pots; they are usually located in the recreation area, where the owner retires after a hard day.
Creating a garden in the Provence style like in the photo is not an easy task, but if you decide, be sure to adhere to the features of this style and remember, even though it contains a riot of various shrubs and plants, the garden should look well-groomed.
French gardens in the Provence style embody the romantic and passionate notes that characterize the French. These are fragrant plants climbing along the trellises, and the sound of murmuring water in a small fountain, and figurines evoking pleasant emotions. All these nuances reflect a penchant for expression and beauty.
The most famous French garden that comes to mind is Claude Monet's lush garden at Giverny, near Paris. It surprisingly succinctly reflects the past, present and future, in a way that only the French can do. Everything in it is clearly balanced and harmonious.
French garden- this is, first of all, a mixture, and such that upon a quick inspection it may seem that all this riot of plants has simply gotten out of control. But this is far from true. The gardener vigilantly watches every flower. And the only way to convey the pressure and power of rich colors is by giving free rein to the plantings. At the same time, however, this is not a chaotic execution, but a verified plan.
The garden of Provence is very green, built on accents of light and shadow, and bright and lush flower buds breaking through the foliage. In essence, the garden is an extension of the house. Its largest and brightest room, welcoming guests and seeing them off after visiting the estate.
The back door from the kitchen opens onto a small vegetable garden where various vegetables and herbs grow. This allows you to cook straight from the garden. The taste of the dishes is incredibly aromatic and rich.
Let's now move on to the stages of creating your own French garden
The first step is planning
Before installing flower beds, organize the placement of various accessories around the perimeter of the future garden. These can be pergolas, sculptures, trellises for climbing plants, fountains. Immediately plan where you will put the gazebo.
Create winding paths through your garden using gravel or stone for future romantic walks. The more twisty they are, the better. After all, you need to walk around the garden slowly, contemplating the beauty of the flowers.
Step two - climbing plants
Plant grapes near arbors, pergolas, trellises, etc. Consider planting wisteria, climbing roses, fragrant jasmine.
Plant the same grapes or ivy near walls and fences. If your house has a porch, then you can also plant grapes on it.
Third step - fruit trees
If your plot allows, then plant some fruit trees. Such as apple trees, plums, cherries. In the southern regions you can also plant nuts.
The fourth step - flower beds and flower beds
Create flower beds and flower beds, plant lawn grass between flowerbeds. Also, if you wish, you can plant ornamental vegetables. Don't be afraid to push and mix up flower beds. Let them go one into another. Let the rows of roses, lavender, petunias, peonies, and irises merge into a serpentine dance. In French garden shouldn't be clear lines and boundaries. Everything is by nature. The most important thing is the presence of green foliage and bright accents flower buds. Everything on your site should smell fragrant and explode with emotions of joy and color.
Fill all the free space from the house to the property line. Give free rein to expression and emotions.
Step Five - Container Garden
Use geraniums in tubs and pots. This will greatly enliven the garden orchestra. Geranium is very popular in France. It flashes with bright spots, and in containers, rearranging geraniums around the garden, you can always find new patterns of rich shades of red.
Step six - a place for solitude
A French garden would not be complete without one or two secluded corners where you can sit with a book or a glass of wine. Place a bench made of stone or wrought iron in such a place, an arch or pergola above the bench and let in climbing plants. In such a place you can be alone with yourself and enjoy the aromas of the garden.
Additional advice for creating a Provence style garden
Please note that despite the abundance of plants and their lush growth, the garden should not become wild and unkempt. Monitor the growth of flowers and trim them in time.
