In our previous blogs we looked at the importance of structure and focal points within the garden as elements of good garden design. This blog features on another aspect of design that Garden Designers need to consider, repetition.

It is a key technique used to bring unity to a garden.  This helps the eye 'feel comfortable' by the repeated use of a plant, material, colour or shape.  Repetition is like the beat in a song and helps to blend the design together and give it a harmonious and flowing feeling.

​Clever use of repetition can be a shape that is replicated in different forms – for example in this image the round allium flower heads replicate the box balls, while at the rear of the garden the oblong of the pleached trees is repeated in the shape of the low box hedge. Interestingly the box balls are different sizes which adds interest and prevents the garden from becoming like "Toy Town"

Another use of repetition in this image is the multi-stemmed trees that are repeated on the left of the image, as well as the toned palette of green with white accents from some of the planting and the colour of the hard landscaping in the design. 

​This is the same garden, taken from a slightly different angle, and just as dusk is falling. This image shows how lighting can accentuate the repetition and bring a garden to life at night so that it can be enjoyed beyond shortened autumn and winter daylight hours. It also highlights the echo of the straight lines of the hard landscaping with the straight trunks of the pleached trees and the trees on the right of the image.

In this garden the large rounded and domed cherry tree is replicated in the shape of the pond (image 1) and the stone arch (image 2).  

While the yew hedging has been clipped to replicate the shape and thickness of the walls (image 3) and the stone used for the garden walls is repeatedly used in the pergola supports (image 4).

Even limited use of repetition really makes a garden stand out​, the shaped yew trees are repeated either side of the wildflower meadow and help draw the eye to the bottom of the garden.

Further Reading

For more reading on garden design principles relating to repetition try clicking on these external links : The Telegraph's article on "Rhythm Planting" and The Spruce's piece on "The Principles of Good Garden Design"

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