What is a Formal garden? How to design formal gardens for beginners

It can be easy to become confused between a formal and informal garden style. Certainly, because some fusion gardens mix the two muddying the design waters. This garden design guide to formal gardens will show you how to spot one, design a formal garden and why you may choose one for your own garden space.

Formal Garden Styles

Formal garden styles encapsulate everything that is ordered, symmetrical and precise. The gardens of Levens hall, Versailles in France, Bodelwyddan's knot garden, and clipped hedges of yew and box will all bring to mind the classic formal garden to experienced gardeners. Neat lines and symmetry are key for formal gardens along with a restrained colour palette and paired back mix of materials.

Examples of Formal Garden Styles

1. Versailles Gardens, France
2. Italian Gardens at Longwood Gardens, USA
3. Gardens of Château de Villandry, France
4. Hampton Court Palace Gardens, UK
5. Boboli Gardens, Italy
6. Alnwick Garden, UK
7. Powerscourt Gardens, Ireland
8. Butchart Gardens, Canada
9. Gardens of the Palace of Caserta, Italy
10. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK

What is a formal garden?

A formal garden is a meticulously planned and structured garden characterized by geometric shapes, symmetrical layouts, and precisely arranged garden elements. These gardens often feature straight lines, clipped hedges, formal pathways, ornate sculptures, and meticulously maintained flowerbeds. The design typically reflects a sense of order, balance, and harmony, and the planting schemes are often symmetrical.

Formal gardens are often associated with classical or traditional styles and are commonly found in historical estates, palaces, and public parks. They are designed to evoke a sense of elegance, sophistication, and grandeur. Formal gardens showcase ultimate control over mother nature, make of that what you will!

Formal gardens can usually be folded on an axis to make a completely symmetrical garden. Imagine folding a pattern on a piece of paper and this is sometimes a good analogy for a 'true' formal garden. They follow symmetry, order and neatness.

Whilst there are many derivatives the formal style of a garden follows a set of rules or standards that make them fit the 'formal style'. Formal gardens are often higher maintenance due to the amount of clipping or attention they require to keep them looking neat and tidy.

Formal Garden Layouts & Characteristics

The 'formal garden' style follows a very distinct set of design principles which can help you both plan your garden and spot a formal garden layout easily. Compared to informal garden design styles, the formal layouts follow strict easily identified principles.

The rules of a formal garden are:

• Symmetry and geometry
• A restrained / definite / obvious colour palette
• Planting schemes that can be trained / pruned or shaped into set shapes.
• Patterns may be used to provide the template for planting, repeating shapes and symmetry are key

Who do formal Gardens appeal to?

Gardeners who choose a formal garden style will be drawn towards them because they appeal to certain characteristics. I'll provide some general statements about formal gardens below to assist you. This is not an exhaustive list but there are characteristics of a formal garden that appeal to certain personality types of gardeners.

If you agree with these it may suggest a formal garden is a style you're most drawn to!

Would a formal garden suit me?

1. Gardens that are clean cut and have shapes that are symmetrical.
2. People who like rules, order and consistency.
3. Predictability of the garden, pruning shrubs or hedges to give a defined 'obvious' shape
4. Neatness, order, tidy and always dressed appropriately
5. A clean or reduced colour palette allows the layout to speak louder than say competing colours

Benefits of Formal Gardens

1. Elegance and Sophistication: Formal gardens exude an air of refinement and elegance, often associated with classical design principles.
2. Order and Symmetry: The structured layout of formal gardens, with symmetrical patterns and geometric shapes, creates a sense of order and balance.
3. Low Maintenance: Once established, formal gardens can be easier to maintain than more informal styles due to their organized layout and neat borders.
4. Year-Round Interest: Formal gardens often incorporate evergreen plants, architectural features, and carefully selected focal points to ensure visual interest throughout the year.
5. Ideal for Entertaining: The organized layout of formal gardens provides defined spaces for socializing and entertaining guests, such as paved areas for seating or dining.

Drawbacks of Formal Gardens

1. Requires Planning and Design: Creating a formal garden requires careful planning and design to achieve the desired symmetry and balance, which may involve professional assistance.
2. Limited Flexibility: The rigid structure of formal gardens may limit creative expression and adaptability to changing tastes or preferences.
3. High Initial Cost: The installation of formal features such as hedges, topiaries, and ornamental structures can incur higher initial costs compared to more informal garden styles.
4. Prone to Formality: Some individuals may find the strict formality of traditional formal gardens to be too restrictive or impersonal for their tastes.
5. Regular Maintenance: While formal gardens may be easier to maintain than some other styles, they still require regular upkeep to maintain their neat appearance, including pruning, clipping, and tidying of borders.

Are formal gardens hard to maintain?

Formal gardens are not necessarily harder to maintain than any other garden but they do require more time dedicated to them. This is because they start to look messy and unkempt far quicker than say a formal garden. As formal gardens use sharp clean symmetrical layouts, any scruffy or wayward plants or hedges will soon break this symmetry causing the garden to look off-balance.

However, the amount of maintenance a formal garden needs really does depend on the components, plants and materials used in a formal garden.

For example, if you choose clipped box hedging, then yes there will be some maintenance to keep them looking sharp and trim. Probably clipping them 3 to 4 times per year. If however, you went for raised beds or a walled garden to provide your pattern then these structures are lower maintenance in comparison. Choosing slow-growing shrubs will also reduce the maintenance of any hedging you use.

For lower garden maintenance utilising gravel and slow-growing plants, a very formal structured garden can be created with minimal maintenance. Garden Ninja can design you a garden that provides the neatness and order of a formal garden but with a low-maintenance planting scheme.

Gravel is often used within formal garden patterns to provide interest to ground cover, rather than just exposed soil. It also helps suppress weeds and keep patterned borders looking unified.

Did you know that you can take my course and learn how to become a Garden Ninja yourself? Click here for details

Top 10 Formal Garden Plants

Formal gardens are known for their structured and symmetrical designs, often featuring meticulously maintained plants that contribute to the overall sense of order and elegance. Here are some common plants found in formal garden styles:

1. Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens): Boxwood is perhaps one of the most iconic plants in formal gardens, prized for its dense evergreen foliage and ability to be shaped into hedges, topiaries, and formal borders.
2. Yew (Taxus spp.): Yews are another popular choice for formal gardens, valued for their dark green foliage and tolerance of pruning, making them suitable for creating formal hedges and shapes.
3. Hedge plants: Various plants are used to create formal hedges, including Privet (Ligustrum spp.), Holly (Ilex spp.), and Beech (Fagus spp.), which can be trimmed into neat, uniform shapes.
4. Roses (Rosa spp.): Roses are classic additions to formal gardens, appreciated for their beauty, fragrance, and ability to be trained against walls or grown in orderly beds and borders.
5. Lavender (Lavandula spp.): Lavender's aromatic foliage and delicate purple flowers make it a popular choice for formal garden designs, often used for edging pathways or creating low hedges.
6. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.): Hydrangeas with their large, showy flower heads add colour and texture to formal garden beds, providing a focal point amidst structured plantings.
7. Alliums: These ornamental onions produce tall stalks topped with spherical flower clusters, adding vertical interest and architectural appeal to formal garden borders.
8. Santolina: This hot aromatic plant is often used in parterre or knot gardens with its white silver foliage and scented leaves. It makes a great foil for other plants.
9. Bedding Plants: Annual bedding plants are often used in formal garden arrangements, for symmetrical bedding displays or even flower clocks.
10. Viburnum: Evergreen Viburnums offer excellent structure for formal gardens, especially those with white spring flowers.

Bodelwyddan formal garden 

Garden Ninja visited Bodelwyddan formal garden and Kitchen Garden during its prime season in Summer. It's a wonderful example of a classic formal knot garden and formal kitchen garden. Lovingly looked after by the grounds people in the garden which overlooks Llandudno in Wales. This is the epitome of formal garden design where everything is manicured to within an inch of its life.

The award-winning restaurant provides amazing views over the gardens which are serene and incredibly well-ordered. So le'ts take what wwe have learnt about formal gardens so far and see how this garden stacks up as a classic excample of a formal garden!

Looking at the photo of the formal garden above we can see some of the defining characteristics:

• Symmetry
• Clipped hedging
• Restrained colour palette
• Neatness & order

This is a perfect example of a formal garden showing restraint and razor precision with the planting. It's definitely worth a visit if you're thinking about a formal garden or a traditional walled garden. Visiting formal gardens in person can really help you decide whether this neat and tidy design style is for you.

Can small gardens be formal?

The short answer is yes small gardens lend themselves really well to formal garden design styles! However, smaller gardens require more care when being designed to make the most of the space and the layout.

Formal gardens can work really well on a small scale as they can draw the eye to certain parts of the garden and give order to a small space that looks a bit lost. In a small garden, the key is to adapt the formal elements to suit the available space. This might involve using smaller-scale features such as compact hedges, raised beds, geometrically shaped containers, and carefully placed focal points like urns or statues.

The use of symmetrical layouts, geometric patterns, and neat, orderly planting arrangements can still create a sense of formality and elegance, even in a limited area. Using patterns you can even elongate a small garden by using certain optical illusions, distractions or borrowed views.

By carefully planning and selecting the right elements, a small garden can achieve a polished and refined look characteristic of formal design.

Summary

Formal gardens are well-suited for those who appreciate symmetry, order, and structured design in outdoor spaces. They are ideal for individuals who prefer meticulously planned layouts and geometric patterns, often characterized by neatly trimmed hedges, precisely arranged plantings and symmetrical features.

People who enjoy classic, elegant aesthetics and prefer a more controlled and refined atmosphere in their gardens will find formal gardens appealing. Additionally, formal gardens are suitable for those who have the time and resources to maintain them properly, as they typically require regular pruning, shaping, and upkeep to maintain their polished appearance.

Furthermore, formal gardens can complement architectural styles, such as Georgian or Victorian homes, and suit environments where a sense of grandeur and sophistication is desired. Overall, formal gardens are favoured by those who appreciate the timeless elegance and enjoy the meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail associated with these meticulously designed outdoor spaces.

Are you a formal garden fan? If so why not Tweet, Facebook or Instagram me with your pictures? You can also follow me on YouTube where I’ve got plenty of garden guide vlogs.

Get in touch to discuss how a formal garden design could work for you.

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