Columns for Luxurious Garden Design

It is no exaggeration to say that columns for luxurious Garden Design have been used in design and landscaping for thousands of years, since the ancient Greeks and Romans, and even before! Columns can give a classy, luxury look to your landscaping whether that’s your garden or elsewhere around your home.

It can be all-too-easy to assume that columns are too difficult to install within your own yard, but this isn’t necessarily true. In this article, we’re looking at columns and how they can help to create an amazing custom design that will make people take notice in your garden.

Why Use Columns?

There are many reasons to use columns as part of your design. Some may be obvious, but others, you may not have thought of!

Columns can be a brilliant way to mark off areas of your garden. For instance, if you have an area such as a patio, surrounding it with columns can neatly round off the edges and make clear where one part of your garden starts and another ends.

The obvious benefit of a column is the fact that they look great. There is a very classy look to a column which makes it look rustic, and like it has been in place for decades or even longer!

Columns can be used in conjunction with other design features such as pergolas to allow you to hold up shaded areas. This way, columns can be put to use, too. They can also create a ‘gate’ area, showing you where walkthroughs are within a garden design. A column either side of a pathway, with shrubbery around it, can look wonderful.

Another benefit is the fact that columns provide a focal point in the garden and another area for things to grow. Vines and shrubs can grow up the column and create a more interesting setting for the greenery growing in your garden.

What Style of Columns to Use

There are numerous types of columns, and though they have historic names the terminology around columns is still used in the modern era.

A Tuscan column is a smooth shafted column which has become popular in modern homes as they’re very simple. Whereas other designs such as Greek Doric columns have carvings and ridges on the shaft, the Tuscan design is easy to make fit in with modern home designs.

For more of an ancient wow-factor, you could go for Corinthian columns. These are thick and designed to be lavish in their design. They have ornaments at the top with things like flowers carved into the design. Many government buildings and historically designed buildings in New York, Washington and elsewhere use these amazingly detailed columns. They may be more expensive, but they are a real statement piece.

Ionic columns are another option with an amazing history, but they’re still made today. They’re a little more slim and dainty than Doric or Ionic options and for this reason, are a little simpler to put in garden designs.

There are many wooden columns out there, too, and these might be a good option if you are looking for something cheaper and easier to install.

Plants to Choose

For plants and shrubs which will be suitable in the area of a column, you may want to opt for something that has a climbing design and will nicely compliment the height of a column. Climbing rose can give a classic look, a beautifully flowering climbing hydrangea may also be a good option. Wisteria and Honeysuckle can also look incredible if you can get them to grow up the column effectively.

Be careful, some plants such as Ivy can actually damage columns as their spikes can actually get into the structure. Avoid Trumpet Vine for exactly this reason, and make sure whatever you opt for is likely to compliment your column design rather than damage it over time.

Conclusion

Columns can give a really lavish look to your garden or backyard and create a focal point, as well as somewhere to grow any climbing plants that you may want. Your yard can look like an ancient Greek garden fit for the gods in no time at all if you make the right choices when installing columns.