Simple patterns of green labyrinths at their summer cottage. DIY landscape design

Labyrinths in the context of landscape design are a rather unusual and non-trivial phenomenon for Russian reality. However, in the countries of the East they have been used not just for a long time, but for several hundred years. By and large, a garden maze implies a structure created using ornately conceived, originally planted plants or other fragments of garden decoration. In this publication, "Dream House" will talk about the creation of such labyrinths on the site.

Garden maze for children and adults

It is worth mentioning right away that it is unrealistic to build such a system on a site that is compact in its parameters. If the suburban area is wide and spacious, then you can perform one of the many versions of the garden labyrinth.

The floral version is one of the most popular and most frequently performed garden labyrinth systems. Its relevance and popularity is explained quite simply. It successfully and organically fits into almost all landscape styles. At the same time, planting material is available and its cost is quite acceptable. In addition, in specialized stores and markets you can always find the most outlandish varieties of flowers that will beat the design as a whole in an interesting and original way. No less important, when erecting a flower labyrinth on the site, it is easy to choose the desired height level of the structure.

At the same time, having correctly combined varieties of flowers, many caring parents often create a special labyrinth for their children. After all, this design has long been recognized by teachers as one of the incredibly effective ways to develop kids. For children, it is optimal to create labyrinths, the basis of which were plants in height up to 0.5-1 meters. The diameter of the entire structure as a whole should not exceed 2 meters. This will allow children to wander around the site with health and mind benefits.

The choice of material and design for landscape labyrinths

As for the direct choice of the plants themselves, their range is incredibly wide. Even standard marigolds can become the basis of such a garden decor. Among other options, not only shrubs, but also flowers stand out. Alpine currant, undersized spirea, boxwood, calyx St. John's wort - the perfect basis for a small labyrinth in your own suburban area.

If adult owners come up with the idea of ​​solving the mysterious puzzles of plants, then they will have to work hard on choosing the best option. The base for the structures in this case should be low trees that can reach a maximum of 3m in height.

Hornbeam, Tatar maple, wild rose, yew, mahonia, Thunberg barberry are quite suitable for translating these ideas into reality. In addition, boxwood, shadberry, hawthorn, and medium forsythia can be used as the basis for such an original decor. At the same time, it is worth trying when choosing combinations of plants among themselves. They should not only be harmoniously combined, but also, if possible, make the garden maze bloom throughout the season.

It is also impossible not to say about the shape of the structure. Traditionally, garden labyrinths are made with rounded parameters, but square versions are also increasingly appearing. Structures in the form of cartoon characters look non-standard, but such versions are optimal only in the context of children's structures. Labyrinths in the form of the initials of the owners of a suburban area or a spiral are not trivial. Often in the center of such a structure is located, which in a virtuoso way hides from prying eyes, noise and dust. And if you place it in the middle of the labyrinth, then there will be no limit to the envy of neighbors and ordinary onlookers.

Creating a labyrinth in your own garden is a creative idea that will help make the site unique and very comfortable, but most importantly, sincere and warm.

In the process of organizing the space of your own site, there is certainly a desire to make it not just attractive, but as original as possible.

The most interesting solution to achieve this goal is the design of the labyrinth. Note that this activity is far from simple, although certainly exciting, but still, with the right approach and careful preliminary design, it will not take much time.

How to make a decorative labyrinth?

To get an excellent result, do all the work in a strictly defined sequence:

How to choose a site for a labyrinth?

Delimit the area in which you are ready to create a decorative maze. There are no clear recommendations in this regard, since this form of landscape design is easy to organize both on flat terrain and on hilly ones.

Important! The main conditions follow the following rules:

What to look for when drawing up a composition plan?

Creating a maze scheme is the most responsible answer. The subsequent attractiveness of the local area depends entirely on how competently you do this work.

Important! Before you start designing a labyrinth on the site, consider the options for ready-made schemes, from which choose the ideas that are most interesting to you.

The sequence of work in the preparation of the project:

Which type of labyrinth to choose?

In modern landscape design, there are several directions for creating this form:

Important! Familiarize yourself with the features of each type to make the right decision. When choosing, be guided by the following criteria:

Why is it worth creating a labyrinth of stones?

This method is the simplest, but at the same time allows you to achieve maximum originality when decorating. Favorably distinguishes this type of landscaping a number of advantages compared to other options.

Important! Take into account that the creation of a stone labyrinth is quite accessible for self-fulfillment, even in the absence of any skills.

Advantages of the stone labyrinth

There are a lot of advantages of such a solution, so we will highlight only the most significant:

Important! This phenomenon is due to the practical impossibility of choosing an absolutely identical material in shape, color and size. Therefore, even when using the most popular scheme as the basis, the result will differ significantly from the source.

What stones to give preference?

Almost all types of stones of various origins are suitable for creating a stone labyrinth:

How to make a maze flower bed?

This option also does not differ in particular complexity, but at the same time it will provide special brightness, saturation and extraordinary showiness of the site from spring to autumn. It is very important to choose the right pattern for planting flowers and combine them in color and height.

Important! Note that the undeniable advantages of such a solution are:

What flowers to use to form a labyrinth?

When choosing varieties, please note that it is undesirable to use those types of flowers that are actively resown to areas adjacent to the planting site. In this case, you will not be able to achieve a clear demarcation of the territory and the lines of the selected pattern will certainly be violated.

Give preference to the following types:

Important! The variety of shades of these rocks is so wide that it will not be a problem for you to find the most interesting solution for creating contrast in the neighboring figures of the labyrinth pattern.

Distinctive features of the labyrinth garden

The arrangement of this landscape form is the zoning of the site in accordance with the selected pattern using hedges. Most often, various types of shrubs are used for this purpose, which are easy to cut.

Important! If you decide to give preference to a labyrinth of plants, please note that the plants will require thorough care and regular molding. Otherwise, it will not be possible to achieve the desired result, and all vegetation will become a shapeless mass.

What plants to choose?

The choice of suitable plants is determined solely by your imagination, but there are several of the most popular options, the use of which will allow you to create a beautiful hedge with minimal time:

Important! In the case when you decide to prefer planting annual plants, pay attention to broom kochia - it gives dense abundant greenery, and the height of the shrub reaches 1 meter.

How to make a fantasy maze with your own hands?

Such a solution is acceptable only if your local area is impressive in size, and you are used to doing most of the construction and planting work yourself. At its core, a fantasy labyrinth is a combination of all of the above types of this landscape form in a purely individual order.

Such projects are very complex in design and often smooth and contrasting transitions from one figure to another cover the entire area.

Important! Please note that the difficulty of creating this type of labyrinth on your own lies not only in the need for excellent artistic taste in order to correctly arrange a wide range of species of plants and stones. It will require quite complex ongoing maintenance of green spaces to maintain the attractiveness of the form.

Video

Watch the video, which shows an example of a large-scale maze, to appreciate the complexity of such a project.

How to create attractive tracks?

There are also a few simple rules for doing this work, which you must follow at the design stage:

Features of the design of the labyrinth

The scope of work will vary depending on the scale of the territory under the labyrinth and the type chosen, but the sequence of stages remains unchanged:

Conclusion

Despite the complexity of creating a labyrinth, its attractiveness, with the right design, will delight your eyes and delight guests. Therefore, if you decide to arrange your own site in this way, carefully and very carefully do all the work so as not to be disappointed in the result. Do not try to complete a complex project right away, start with the simplest form, further adjusting it to your liking and expanding the space.

Anna Zlygosteva

In our preschool institution, much attention is paid to the organization of walks in the winter period of the daily routine of a preschooler. The stay of children in the fresh air is of great importance for the physical development of a preschooler. Walking is the first and most accessible means of hardening child's body. It has a positive effect on the comprehensive development of the child, helps to increase endurance and resistance to adverse environmental influences, especially to colds.

To make the walk varied, interesting for group plots in our nursery garden educators, together with parents, schoolchildren, build slides, ice paths and snow structures. This year we built fortress - labyrinth"for crawling, climbing, running, outdoor games.

The purpose of our work is to promote the development of a variety of motor activities of children on a walk and interest in it, to contribute to obtaining pleasure and joy from motor activities.

Here's what we got:

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“... the labyrinth is perceived as an island of calm in a chaotic

world, a quiet place for reflection and contemplation.

The winding path of the labyrinth invites the visitor to clear

your mind, refresh your soul, temper your ardor, slow down"

J. Savard "Labyrinths"

The labyrinth is an amazing phenomenon in all respects that arose at the dawn of human history and is familiar to many cultures. The history of this symbol has more than one thousand years. The records of ancient historians (Herodotus, Diodorus) brought us information about the four greatest labyrinths of distant eras. The first one, today related to one of the seven wonders of the world - Egyptian - was built by Pharaoh Amenemhat around 2200 BC. Herodotus considered the Egyptian labyrinth colossal, amazing and unimaginable, overshadowing even the Great Pyramid. The second - the Cretan (or Knossos) labyrinth is known thanks to Greek myths to almost everyone on our planet, according to legend, it was built by an amazing architect and inventor Daedalus. The history of this labyrinth is forever connected with the ancient Greek myth about the Minotaur, about the brave young man Theseus, who defeated the monster and found a way out of the gloomy dungeon on the island of Crete, thanks to the love of the beautiful Ariadne. The third labyrinth existed on the island of Samos, and the fourth was located in Italy in the city of Clusium. Many ancient labyrinths were built in Europe - more than 600 of them were found in Great Britain alone, they are also in our North - on the rocky capes of the White and Barents Seas, in the depths of the Kola Peninsula.

The theme of a special kind of garden decorations - labyrinths also has a long history. Garden labyrinths are created from more or less high hedges, located at an angle or in the form of narrowing circles so that paths are formed between them leading to one center, but communicating with each other so intricately that it is not so easy for a walker to reach the center of the whole composition, as well as finding the way back. Originally of religious significance, since the Middle Ages, living plant labyrinths have been erected all over the world for entertainment and decoration. At first, park labyrinths were not built high, only up to the knee. They had to be admired from above: low hedges formed intricate geometric ornaments. The free space between the bushes was filled with beautifully flowering plants, colored sand and gravel. Over time, the "live" labyrinths became higher and higher. Hedge labyrinths become an indispensable part of many gardens and parks in Europe, and a walk among the tangled paths and dead ends turns into a very popular entertainment for the aristocracy. Numerous "living" labyrinths, distinguished by exquisite taste, were in the possession of the powerful Gonzaga clan from Mantua, a walk through the labyrinth created in 1669 in the Garden of Versailles was considered unforgettable entertainment, and the labyrinth created in 1670 in the garden of the Villa Altieri in Rome became favorite pastime of Pope Clement X.

The British were especially fond of labyrinths with hedges made of trees and shrubs, turning the art of creating landscape labyrinths into one of the national symbols of the kingdom. One of the first English hedge mazes was planted in the 12th century during the reign of King Henry II in the garden near his palace at Woodstock. It was called Rosamund's Boudoir after the king's favorite, Rosamund Clifford. The maze in the Tudor garden at Hatfield House in Hetfordshire struck with its splendor, and the labyrinth of laurel bushes at Glendergen House in Cornwall, planted in 1833, still impresses with the tortuousness of its paths. One of the most famous and still existing English labyrinths of this kind - Hampton Court - was created in 1691 at the court of William of Orange on the banks of the Thames, 16 km southeast of London. Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to England to walk the path of their favorite character from Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat Not Counting the Dog.

The twentieth century is marked by the creation of new amazing "living" labyrinths. Particularly widespread are park-puzzle moves, called in the English manner “mazes” (maze). Maze, by its design, is even more intricate than the labyrinth, it is not so easy to get to its center or any goal. Usually, in mazes, the creators have laid down several possible ways to achieve the goal - the center of the composition, two or more entrances and exits, the paths communicate with each other and form various forks. An example of such a decoration is a maze created in 1988 in Leeds from 2,400 yew trees. The paths of the Leeds "puzzle" form an image of the royal crown, towers and bastions are installed in the corners, and the exit from the labyrinth is carried out through an underground grotto specially arranged for this purpose. The labyrinth, located in the garden of the English castle Blenheim, is considered the largest in the world, its length is 88 m, and its width is 55.5 m. It was called the "symbolic" labyrinth, since the heraldic signs of the British Empire are located on its "walls".

In Russian parks, labyrinths, as an attribute of a regular garden, became widespread in the 18th-19th centuries. Thus, during the reign of Peter the Great, labyrinths of the Summer Garden with sculptures on the themes of Aesop's fables were arranged in the Summer Garden. The labyrinth of the Summer Garden consisted of four clumps with a complex system of paths. Among the “living” walls, 32 niches were arranged, in which there were life-size figures cast from lead and gilded - the heroes of some Aesop’s fable: mice, frogs, snakes, a hawk, chickens, a hedgehog, a turtle, an eagle. At the entrance to the labyrinth stood a statue of Aesop himself.

At the beginning of this summer, residents and guests of St. Petersburg will have the opportunity to walk along the paths of the "green" labyrinths. This year, from May 27 to June 3, 2009, the Mikhailovsky Garden of the Russian Museum will host the second International Festival of Landscape Art "Imperial Gardens of Russia". Within its framework, an unusual exhibition-competition of landscape design "Labyrinth-Ornament-Symbol" will be held. Participants of the exhibition-competition "Labyrinth-Ornament-Symbol" are invited to reveal the ornamental and symbolic diversity of the labyrinth by means of landscape design and garden and park art. Adrian Schiefer, an outstanding world designer of maze and the creator of numerous labyrinths, who has already created more than 500 such structures, agreed to enter the jury of this competition. For example, at last year's Olympics in China, Fischer, as part of the cultural program of this event, built a labyrinth with a total length of 8 kilometers, breaking Guinness Book records.

IN Mikhailovsky garden 20 expo places were allocated for creating labyrinths, among the participants of the competition are representatives of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Germany, Holland, France. The announced topics of the projects are striking in their diversity. Here is a variation on the theme of the labyrinth of the English park "Hampton Court", mentioned in the book by Jerome K. Jerome "Three in a boat, not counting the dog", and a recreation of a wooden fragment of the "Labyrinth" bosquet of the Summer Garden; "Sicilian Garden in Prussia"; interactive maze "The Little Prince", which will be especially interesting for children; labyrinth-symbol "In Search of the Russian Garden".

The Imperial Gardens of Russia festival is included in the official program of City Day celebrations. During the festival, ancient sculptures will come to life in the space of the Mikhailovsky Garden, in the “Street” zone, the paintings of the Russian Museum will turn into their graffiti twins, and in the “Quiet” part of the garden, guests will be able to try on dresses created by florists from natural flowers. Avant-garde art and an open-air library, theatrical performances and a film lecture hall will await visitors in the Mikhailovsky Garden.

Advance ticket sales will begin at the box office of the palaces of the Russian Museum two weeks before the opening of the festival. The ticket price is the same as last year: for all visitors 100 rubles, for privileged categories of citizens (pensioners, students and schoolchildren) - 30 rubles. All relevant categories of museum visitors have the right to free admission: disabled people of groups I and II, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, etc.

Most likely, any owner of a summer cottage is trying to create in it something unique and at the same time grandiose, something that would distinguish his garden from the neighboring ones. A beautiful fountain, a small pond and so on looks gracefully on any site. But the garden labyrinth gives it a special charm. Such a site is completely transformed, becomes mysterious and attractive. We should here recall such methods of garden decoration, which were extremely popular in medieval times, with the help of which graceful palaces or houses of some nobility were framed. Such a labyrinth in his garden today can already be afforded by any gardener who appreciates beauty.

Labyrinths in the garden

The easiest way to get a beautiful front lawn

Of course, you have seen the perfect lawn in the movies, on the alley, and perhaps on the neighbor's lawn. Those who have ever tried to grow a green area in their area will no doubt say that this is a huge job. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think so, professionals have long known about the innovative tool - liquid turf AquaGrazz.

Any garden labyrinth is a territory that is difficult to build, with intricate paths, passages leading to a specific place on the site - the central part of the composition. They are usually small in size, there are also miniature options that have a simple shape. In addition, different materials can be used to form them, which includes both hedges and stone paths. If there are kids among family members, then be one hundred percent sure that this garden border will be their favorite area to play.

Thanks to curved lines and contrasting shades, the garden labyrinth acquires a special appeal. You can organically fit such an element of landscape design into a regular garden.

Compositions for the labyrinth

Important points for creating a composition for the maze:

Location

Before you start creating a garden border in your backyard, you need to decide on its location. The compositions of many ready-made options in the country can only be viewed from a small height, so it’s great if your garden has a hill or a two-story house. In order to place it, you can choose the territory near the recreation area or playgrounds.

Center of the labyrinth

Form

The simplest form is a twisted spiral, in which any paths are closed in its central part. Slightly more complex shapes can be obtained with dead ends.

"Heart" of the building

When forming the composition, it is necessary to pay attention to the interlacing of entrances and paving of paths, but also to the center of the territory - the "heart" of the labyrinth. Here it is better to have an area for relaxation, for example, a cozy pergola or wicker chairs with a nearby table. In the central part of the composition, interesting flower beds, sculptures, a small pond and much more can also be located.

Consider the most common types of labyrinths in the decor of a personal plot.

hedge maze garden

The most impeccable garden décor is a maze of hedges that has just the right amount of height. Although in this case the gardener will have to spend a lot of time and effort to create it. Shrubs or trees that create such a garden move need constant care and trimming. And the territory for such luxury for your personal plot requires a fairly large one. But, if the territory of your personal plot is rather big and you are ready to constantly look after such a hedge, then you just have to start work. Since such an element of your personal plot will certainly be a favorite place for all members of your family. Most likely, both your kids and grandchildren will be able to spend a lot of time there, running along winding paths and entrances, since a hedge that is correctly planted, with careful care, will not lose its attractiveness for many years.

Garden decor example

In order to create a maze and a hedge border, you can use various plants, from common privet to common laurel. If you do not want to wait for years for your hedge to grow, then you can plant fast-growing varieties of shrubs, for example, broom cochia. Thanks to such a shrub, you will soon receive a dense mass of greenery in your garden, which lends itself perfectly to a haircut. Only here there is one minus - it will be necessary to restore such a fence annually. Therefore, such a fence should be chosen as a temporary option.

Flower maze in the garden

To date, the creation of garden elements from various varieties of flowers is in special demand among gardeners. They are usually planted in the form of flower beds. For a labyrinth, it is better to choose miniature flowers that have the correct shape, and the stems are rectangular. Flowers should clearly follow the even outlines of the structure's spiral, so it's better not to opt for sprawling and prone to overgrowth varieties of flowers. You should also not plant beautiful cross-seeding plants, such as poppies, as they have a tendency to self-seeding. Self-sowing of these plants in the shortest possible time will cause even lines to become blurred and the garden border will not be visible.

It is better to choose miniature garden flowers like annuals or perennials. For example, you can decorate your backyard with bush petunias, snapdragons, salvia, coleus, and border roses. An important rule is that flower beds should clearly follow the contour of our garden element. The choice of colors in such a decision should be the clearest, otherwise the flower beds will look blurry and not be perceived as something unified. If your composition consists of two closing spirals, then in this version you can use two contrasting colors. You can arrange it like an ordinary flower bed, that is, its purpose is to decorate your backyard or be a place for your family members to walk. In the latter case, paved paths should be laid between the flowers.

Composition Center

stone border

A stone border is an element of magic in your garden. You can make a path of stones, in which case it will look like the ruins of ancient magical buildings. Like a flower bed, a border can be created to be admired or made into a place for walking. A decorative spiral can be laid out using pebbles or masonry-sides, which are of the same size. Large boulders or stone walls form a walking option. If there is a desire or it seems that the stone version looks very gloomy, then you can “revive” the gloomy stones in your backyard with some kind of decor. All you need in this case is to plant some varieties of plants or flowers between them.

If your structure consists mainly of small stones, then various varieties of "alpines" will be an excellent choice for landscaping it. You can completely change the stone wall with the help of ampelous or climbing plants, for example, dichondra, ivy or others.

fantasy option

This option is the most unpredictable, because it does not have any specific lines and clear laws of geometry. There is no need to plan a garden scheme and choose a place for the center of the composition, since in this case there should be as many intricate passages as possible, unexpected dead ends, as well as all kinds of intersections. Walking through a garden like this should be an entertaining journey when you don't know what will open your eyes around another corner.

Entrance to the labyrinth

The fantasy decor of the garden is interesting for another such moment that it can turn out to be not only an organic detail of the garden, like other options, but to occupy the site of the entire cottage with a recreation area, playgrounds and paths. The important point here is that any garden transitions should be small so that they alternate with various turns quite often. That is, if you are in the center of the entire structure, then you will not be able to see what follows further a few meters away from you. Such compositions can be created through various arches or graceful pergolas. Various decorative bushes and trees grow freely here, growing as they want to hide from prying eyes, which is located at a distance of several steps.