Using texture is about activating an emotional response
Words: Adrian Swain
Texture is a design element that can be used in garden design to create a beautiful, unified outdoor space and activate an emotional response, making you want to reach out and touch.
Texture can be both a visual and tactile feature. The latter can be especially effective when used as a focal point for gardens where children play, or for sensory gardens where materials and plants are meant to be touched. Foliage texture can also affect the quality of natural light in a garden — feathery foliage produces lovely filtered light; thick, leathery leaves provide dense shade.
Nature as inspiration
When considering how you can use texture, take your cue from nature. There are many different types of naturally-occurring textures — beads of water forming on the smooth surface of a leaf, the patterned bark of a tree, the weathered surface of wood. Texture can also work to enhance mood, whether it’s the pleasant sensation you get when touching the soft, furry foliage of a plant such as lamb’s ears or laying on the cool grass under the shade of a tree.
Different textures and combinations of them also have different effects on your perception of a space. Their use can provide spatial definition, making an area feel larger or smaller, calmer or more dynamic.
Contrast or complement?
Contrasting textures can enliven a garden, such as the rough texture of dry-stone or recycled brick next to smooth paving, or a large-leafed feature plant in the midst of a dense, small-leafed hedge. Contrasting textures can also attract the eye to a feature or direct attention to a pleasing view.
Complementary textures can engender unity and calm. Similar textures may also be used to make an unsightly area blend in by enticing the eye to glide over it. In short, complex textures have the effect of drawing the eye, while smoother textures allow the eye to pass across them without interruption. Used wisely, textures can define a space as active or passive and set the mood for outdoor living.
Adrian Swain is a multi-award-winning landscape designer and founder of Sydney-based ecodesign.