How to Choose
Formal versus Informal Outdoor Living Room
The right type of outdoor living room to develop is one that is most expressive of one's taste and interest. If we prefer to see a garden trim and neat, with everything restrained, in perfect order and set pattern, with something here that exactly balances something there, we will enjoy most creating a formal outdoor living room. If our tastes are the opposite of this, by all means plan an outdoor living room along informal lines. It is true that some home grounds naturally adapt themselves to a formal treatment while others a more informal arrangement seems more fitting.
Here might be a place to heed a word of caution: If we want to have as little work as possible in keeping our outdoor living room in order, it is best not to develop the strictly formal type unless the space is small. The formal type of room is planned along architectural lines, many of which are established by the planting. These lines must be maintained if the real beauty of the plan is to be realized.
This often involves much extra work in edging and trimming since plants grow quickly and soon get out of bounds if not constantly maintained. With the outdoor living room planned along informal lines, all is different. Here a bit of neglect often results in the most charming of pictures. The informal scheme encourages plants to attain their full and natural charm and it does not matter when one gets a bit out of bounds.
Informal Type
The informal outdoor living room is developed as a small park where there is no regular shape or pattern followed. As a rule the center is left open and unobstructed. The boundary planting is along graceful curving lines. The planting should vary in height to gain that feeling of freedom and organized irregularity so charming in an informal treatment.
In planning the informal outdoor living room it might prove helpful to adopt a system for determining the confines of the beds. With careful planning, a pleasingly shaped area should result.
It is always best to confine all flower and shrub plantings to the borders, which may be made wide or narrow. Wherever high planting is needed for screen or accent, that section of the border is usually designed wider to accommodate larger growing shrubs. Of course, we cannot plan border outlines unless we take into consideration the view to be screened and the vistas to be framed.
Considering all of the many possibilities of varied development for the informal outdoor living room, we are the magicians, Nature is our assistant and the extent and nature of our magic depends upon our wishes. There is no limit to our opportunities.