What is Scandinavian style and how to create it? Scandinavian style: how to bring the spirit of northern traditions to your site Constructions and buildings
The article will discuss what characteristic features the Scandinavian style has in landscape design, what techniques can be used when implementing the concept, and what techniques will help create the desired atmosphere. Photos and videos of finished examples will clearly demonstrate the beauty of the described direction.
A properly designed garden in the Scandinavian style resembles the scenery of films that tell about fairy-tale elves or gnomes. They had just left their home, but the atmosphere around them was still able to preserve the magic of an unreal world. Everything around looks natural and relaxed, but at the same time, a person’s hand is felt in everything. Landscaping helps make the local area very cozy and well-groomed. Its design reflects a special love for nature. And this does not happen by chance. In Scandinavian countries, summer is very short, their residents strive to enjoy its beauty.
Characteristic features of the northern direction
In order for everything to work out as it should, experts use basic techniques when creating a Scandinavian garden. Landscaping of the site should simultaneously:
simple;
reserved;
ordered;
functional;
natural.
When drawing up a plan, it is important to take into account not only the general features of the direction, but also the mentality of the peoples living in the northern part of Europe. They live where summers are very short and winter takes up two-thirds of the year. Outside the window during this period there are snowdrifts and gray fog. The soil does not warm up well. Therefore, the local landscape is rocks, mosses, and low trees.
Grass and shrubs please the eye only for a short time. Norwegians and Finns, Swedes and Danes value it, so they try to decorate their areas with at least some greenery. They cannot grow bright flowers, lush plants, or fruit trees. Everything that grows helps create a uniform landscape design. You can add color to it using bright decorations. That's why the following always appear in a Scandinavian garden:
wooden sculptures;
stone compositions;
small architectural forms (arches, wooden gazebos, benches).
General landscaping is formed with the help of coniferous evergreens. Scandinavians give them unusual shapes, make them into sculptures or living fences, square green rooms or simply multi-tiered structures that significantly enliven the exterior. They are located in a small area. Very often, on just five acres you can see paths lined with stone, small green lawns, group plantings of conifers and dwarf trees, as well as vegetation reminiscent of wild forest vegetation. The Scandinavian fence gets lost in it. It is often made of wood, so against its background the landscaping looks quite natural.
Closer to the house, fenced flower beds are laid out, and original benches are lined up next to the paths. They can use their backs to pick up evenly trimmed hedges. Unlike the regular style, the Scandinavian garden does not have a clear geometric pattern. This will explain why designers consider the described direction to be plastic and alive. It is constantly changing, but its main features have become well recognized.
A discreet but very functional aesthetic has long taken root in Europe. In Russia, the northern style is still gaining popularity. Its benefits have so far been appreciated by northerners living in similar climatic conditions. They always decorate a summer kitchen or a gazebo with a barbecue in the landscaping style. Such objects look like a fairy-tale house in which gnomes or elves could live. Such a move becomes justified from a thematic point of view.
Lots of stone
The Scandinavian style is ideal for those who own a plot where plants grow and develop poorly. In this case, experts recommend decorating part of the territory with stone boulders and making them the central part of the design. But here it is important to maintain aesthetics and not assemble alpine slides. There should not be many stones in a Scandinavian garden. Only large boulders of the same size, laid next to each other, or compositions formed from flat stones stacked in the form of steps will look good.
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If you use materials of different types and origins, the result will be very beautiful. Anything will do: large cobblestones, colorful granite, naturally polished sea pebbles. With its help you can make a path running like a snake across a green lawn. Let it rest against one single boulder (the center of happiness). If the garden is designed properly, guests walking around the site will appreciate such a find. It’s good to put a light-colored bench next to the boulder. Then it will be pleasant to relax on it and enjoy a friendly conversation.
The described style often uses paths paved with stones of different sizes. This is another characteristic feature of the style. If the terrain has an irregular shape or large differences in elevation, paved paths can be combined with stone steps.
In addition to them, you can install stone arches, form grottoes and let a stream flow through them. Stone compositions of complex shapes can act as a fence; they are often used to create barbecue areas of various shapes and volumes. Experts recommend using wood as a companion. The combination of two natural materials allows you to get very beautiful and functional objects that can become the central decoration of a Scandinavian garden.
It is important to understand one more distinctive feature of the described direction. When implementing the concept, it is necessary to use all the characteristic features of a particular natural area. If you choose a Scandinavian style, you do not need to create landscaping from scratch. It’s better to play up what already exists in the right style. There is no need to uproot a rotten stump; it can act as a stand for a flower pot. With some effort, dead wood with a hollow easily turns into an art object. You can decorate it like an owl’s house, plant a bird figurine on a dried twig and hang a flower pot. If you place a gnome or troll under such a tree, the overall picture will definitely come together.
In a garden decorated in a Scandinavian style, not only figurines of animals or fairy-tale characters are appropriate. You can often see sculptures of people in authentic design. The Scandinavians themselves love to decorate their areas with figurines of Vikings or flying Valkyries. They are the ones who add national identity to landscape design.
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Furniture
It is always present in the gardens of peoples living in the northern countries of Europe. There is no plastic garden furniture used there. Most often, rattan chairs or sofas and wrought metal sets are purchased. Next to them, things made using vine weaving may appear. Baskets, supplies, trays - they are not just decorations, all items are used for their intended purpose, with the help of them some interesting compositions can be created. For example, flowers in Scandinavia are rarely planted in the soil. Most often they are planted in wicker pots. They are put outside for the summer, and then brought home in cold weather.
The appearance of rare objects in open recreation areas is another feature of the decoration of Scandinavian gardens. There, grandma's spindle or a big old cart wheel are often used as decorations or supplies. Anything will do: a garden bed can be decorated with a rusty plow, an open terrace with grandfather’s chrome boots, stretchers and carts, barrels and tubs, shards of ceramics - such scrap materials are often used to make more than just decor, they create functional decorations that are very useful and practical (feeders, drinking bowls, flowerpot).
A garden designed in a Scandinavian style may have a vegetable garden. Here it looks more like flower beds with clear boundaries formed using stone cobblestones. Neat beds have a strict geometric shape. The paths between them are sprinkled with sand. If you want to fence off the vegetable garden from the main part of the garden, you can build a green wall of vines between them.
Plant selection
Studying the concept of a Scandinavian-style garden, it becomes clear what kind of greenery should be used to create it. Dwarf species of trees and shrubs, conifers and weeping willows will look great here.
Nursery catalogs always contain acclimatized forms of traditional compositions that can be used to decorate a garden in the described style. Experienced designers are able to create thematic landscaping using fruit and berry crops. They are simply pushed into the background and covered with decorative elements. You can play with such plantings: plant, for example, gooseberries along a hedge and cut them like a hedge. With this design, you can both harvest the crop and properly cover the fence, diverting attention from its practical design.
To create Scandinavian-style landscaping, experts recommend using perennial ornamental grasses. They are easy to care for and always look impressive. Flowers should not be planted in a flowerbed. There are no bright, flashy accents in the Scandinavian garden. Here it is permissible to grow snowdrops, crocuses, and other similar plants that are among the first to bloom. Only they cannot be planted in the usual flower garden. Let them bloom in groups, just like in the wild.
Video description
The video shows a landscape in the form of a Scandinavian forest:
Generalization on the topic
Scandinavian countries are very original. But due to their northern location, their peoples have similar ideas about the beauty of landscape design. Naturalness and simplicity, freshness and spaciousness are valued here. Everything should reflect the desire and ability to live beautifully and happily. There is no aristocracy in the character of local gardens, but the landscaping around the cottages still looks very respectable. That is why the described direction is becoming so popular in other countries of the world.
Simplicity, conciseness and versatility are the key touches of the Scandinavian style, which has become widespread in landscape design. The popular trend of arranging personal plots originated in the northern countries, for whose people the main task was to create a cozy garden that was harmoniously combined with nature, capable of withstanding the test of bad weather. The climate and topography of these regions have characteristic differences. But in the design of the household plots of the residents inhabiting the peninsula, it is easy to detect common features. Which ones exactly – read on.
What is characteristic of the Scandinavian style? The main feature of this direction is a close unity with nature and a life-affirming attitude. Thanks to this, the landscape, decorated in the Scandinavian style, is conducive to a pleasant holiday and at the same time charges you with energy and vivacity.
Scandinavian style successfully combines trends and styles that have developed in the northern regions of Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden and Norway
Scandinavian style is distinguished by natural simplicity, which borders on strict restraint of design, and functionality.
But at the same time, the arrangement of the site in the Scandinavian style involves the use of rich, rich colors. In conditions of scarcity of daylight and harsh, long winters characteristic of the North, light tones and bright colors help make the garden more comfortable and bright.
Key elements that characterize the Scandinavian style:
- Open plan;
- Hedge fences instead of fences;
- Containers with flowers instead of flower beds;
- Paved rectangular areas;
- Natural clearings and oases with wild plants;
- Unedged lawns without flower beds;
- An artificial pond of irregular shape;
- Presence of a heather garden.
In the design of a Scandinavian site you will not find artificial decorations. Instead, the garden is decorated with large stones and boulders, distributed throughout the area at first glance without any special system. All elements of landscape design are distinguished by clear lines and correct geometric shapes.
Heather gardens help ensure unity with nature - lovely oases that effectively emphasize the tenderness and lyricism of the landscape
A successful addition to a heather garden can be a small vegetable garden consisting of just a few neatly decorated beds. To maintain the style, the beds can be framed with board frames, and the passages between them can be filled with gravel.
The main advantage of Scandinavian design is the ability to create a picturesque Nordic corner even on a small piece of land. Most of the shrubs and flowers that are used in the design of Scandinavian plots are not difficult to find in our latitudes.
It is difficult to imagine a Scandinavian garden without evergreens. The main decoration of the garden area are pines, junipers, spruces and pyramidal thujas. in Scandinavian design, all kinds of floor pots and flowerpots are replaced. Hydrangeas, yews, and boxwoods look impressive in containers.
Low-maintenance boxwoods lend themselves well to pruning. Their crowns can be given original pyramidal and round shapes
A gazebo or recreation area can be planted. Ideal for these purposes are: climbing beans, hops, morning glory, ivy,.
Typical of the Scandinavian garden are miniature greenhouses, under the roof of which heat-loving ornamental plants are grown.
When creating flower arrangements, the most popular are: lavender, rhododendron, peony, poppies and daisies, as well as any wildflowers
Elegant lawns of phlox, asters, calendula and flax, like islands, are found every now and then in different corners of the garden. These joyful oases add a special charm to the Nordic garden. And they will help create the atmosphere of the Scandinavian tribes.
The following are ideal for arranging rocky gardens: Carpathian bellflower, Alpine carnation, sedum and creeping gypsophila.
The perimeter of the site is often framed by trees. Mixed plantings of lilac, birch, aspen, spruce and pine look unusually picturesque
When choosing plants, you should be guided by the principle that the overall appearance of the garden should remain discreet and simple, and only its individual elements can stand out with bright colors.
Small architectural forms
Wood and stone are the main materials for landscaping. The arrangement of the site in the Scandinavian style is aimed at creating a cozy and truly comfortable corner for a pleasant stay. The design of such areas necessarily includes open gazebos.
Spacious areas and cozy gazebos are arranged on boardwalks and equipped with wooden benches or sun loungers
The Scandinavian style is also characterized by an abundance of stone objects. Large boulders and stone figures decorate not only the garden, but also the front part of the territory.
Blocks of untreated wild stone scattered in a somewhat chaotic manner around the site help to display the elements of culture and style inherent in the northern regions
Artificial grottoes are another characteristic feature of the style. They are made of stones and decorated with beautiful flowers.
Stone fireplaces - decorative structures made from medium-sized stones - also help to add northern traditions to the area.
If desired, you can lay out more stones. And then sitting around the fire will become one of your favorite activities on cool evenings.
Scandinavian style design involves the use of utensils and household items from the past. Clay pots, ceramic and straw figurines, colored watering cans, roughly made tubs, cart wheels - all these folk items can be used to decorate the site.
Material on how to make garden decorations from unnecessary things will also be useful:
Antique items or their high-quality imitation can create that unique atmosphere of a cozy and unusually picturesque area
An effective addition to the exterior will be wicker items: screens,
A necessary attribute of a northern garden is a small waterfall or decorative pond, the surface of which is decorated with graceful beauties of lilies.
If it is not possible to arrange a pond on the site, you can add a touch of the water element to the atmosphere by installing a tall tub of water.
Garden furniture with character
Wooden elements of garden furniture help ensure a harmonious combination with nature.
Rough garden benches made from ordinary hewn logs look picturesque against the backdrop of colorful lawns with fragrant flowers.
So-called container benches, in which it is convenient to store all kinds of gardening tools, have also become widespread in landscaping. Thanks to these convenient, functional designs, Scandinavian gardens are also called “container” gardens.
Original garden figures and figures help to add expressiveness to the image.
Wicker furniture is an equally popular element of the Scandinavian style. It successfully combines interesting design and ease of use.
When arranging a site, wicker chairs, sun loungers and tables are most often placed not in open areas, but in shady corners under the canopy of trees.
Scandinavian style is, first of all, a successful combination of small details that create a single image full of harmony and perfection.
A beautifully decorated garden plot can please the eye and also allows you to have a great rest after a hard day at work. Garden landscape decoration has a huge number of varieties, each of which has its own characteristics. The Scandinavian style in landscape design is one of the most popular types. This stylistic direction has simple decoration bordering on discreet execution. Despite this, decoration in this style requires the use of bright palettes with plants and decorative items of unusual shapes.
Materials used
The easiest way to have a beautiful front lawn
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Despite the fact that this stylistic trend is typical for northern countries, it can also be formed on your own personal plot. An important point that will come in handy is to stock up on various necessary materials and items for decoration. It is thanks to them that you can get a completely unique image. Scandinavian style is a sophisticated combination of a little chaos that looks quite harmonious.
The rough details of garden tools look ideal in combination with a fragrant garden, in which the stems can entwine various decorative items. For example, hewn pieces of furniture, which are mainly used instead of ordinary benches, should always be placed near flowering bushes or flower beds. To make the style more expressive, according to the recommendations of decorators, it is better to install an unusual piece of driftwood near the log. It is small accents like these that make it possible to recognize the image in all its beauty.
Plant selection
Wicker furniture is an indispensable attribute of this stylistic trend. Basically, pieces of furniture should not be placed in the open air, but between an area of trees or overgrown bushes. To make the image perfect, you definitely need to use wooden equipment, as well as various objects. It is important to remember that style is a combination of small elements. When combined into one composition, they can form one image that is full of perfection and harmony.
Subtleties of this style
Scandinavian garden decor involves the use of “wild” stones, granite, and a variety of wooden structures. Large boulders, as well as various figures of women, can be used as stones. Boulders can be useful both for decorating the garden area and for equipping the area near the front area with them. Different seemingly careless huge stones will make it possible to recognize some elements of the stylistic direction inherent in the Scandinavian style. Almost any personal plot that has decor in this stylistic direction has paths that are original in their decor. Paths must be equipped with granite paving stones or sandstone slabs and other stones. It is necessary to remember that this style is characterized by pastel colors, diluting bright accents. Designers mainly use red and orange colors.
Let's consider the main elements inherent in the Scandinavian landscape style:
- Artificial grotto
This is one of the design features of this stylistic direction. Basically, grottoes are built from medium-sized pebbles. To make the appearance more natural, decorators can decorate with stone blocks made from plants. There is no need to use only flowering plant varieties. The selection of creeping plant varieties is quite wide; here you can find beautiful options with different leaf shapes.
- Stone fireplace
Thanks to the use of large stones, with the help of which such products are built, you can get the spirit of the northern tradition on your personal plot. Such boulders are functional, however, they are mainly used as decoration. Sitting around an open fire is a favorite evening entertainment, during which different stories are told.
Scandinavian style
- Paved areas
Such paving must be made of stones. The site should have a rectangular or square shape. To make the area varied, you can use flower beds in its decoration. The place for flower beds can be either around the perimeter of the site or located directly on it. Often flower beds are arranged in smooth shapes throughout the area. The central part of the territory is decorated either with the help of boulders, which are thrown one on top of another in a chaotic manner, or with a pedestal with strict forms. This may turn out to be a monument that looks like a small table, but has a multifaceted base.
Selecting material for Scandinavian style
Any decorative details must be made of either wood or stone. Slatted and plank facades are used more often. Wood is an indispensable material for the Scandinavian stylistic trend. Various decorative figures like gnomes and so on. In addition to wood, wicker is also very often used. Wicker furniture is very impressive, at the same time it is very practical. Such furniture is distinguished by comfort and beautiful decor. In addition to furniture, there must certainly be accessories such as baskets and much more.
To decorate a garden plot in the Scandinavian style, plantings are used, which are widespread in central Russia. If you wish, you can plant decorative plants next to it, which are shrubs along with berries and fruit trees. It is important to note that the entire appearance should be very simple and discreet; only some details can be highlighted with bright colors.
Strictness, clarity and unity with nature are the main features of the Scandinavian style.
The Scandinavian style, which is popular today, came to us in landscape design from the distant northern countries: Norway and Switzerland. That is why its distinctive features are the severity of forms, simplicity and naturalness. For the peoples of the north, in difficult climatic conditions, the main thing was to create a garden that could withstand the test of bad weather, unpretentious in care, and at the same time, harmonious and cozy.
That is why they settled on the most frost-resistant plant varieties (most of them take root well in our climate) and strict geometric shapes. Considering the fact that there is a shortage of daylight in the North, the Scandinavian garden is designed using exclusively light colors.
Features of a Scandinavian garden
Quite often, all kinds of decorations, most often made of wood, are used to decorate a site in the Scandinavian style. They are covered with light colors, with the exception of some specimens, as planned by the author, which should stand out as a bright spot in the garden - red, yellow or green. Benches in the garden are also often made of wood, and, wanting to make the most of the space on the site, they are complemented by special containers where it is customary to store all kinds of gardening equipment. This is why, by the way, Scandinavian gardens also have the second name “container”.
As for the rest of the furniture on the site, preference should be given to wicker chairs, tables and sun loungers made of natural wicker. A mandatory attribute of such a garden will be all kinds of household items with history. It can be:
- old clay jugs;
- carts without wheels;
- watering cans;
- broken garden tools, etc.
A plot of 6-7 acres would be optimal for implementing ideas in a Scandinavian style.
A necessary attribute for a Scandinavian garden is a small pond, beautifully decorated with water lilies. If there is not enough space for a full-fledged reservoir, then as an alternative you can consider a tub of water, also decorated with moisture-loving plants. Large natural chaotically located stones and boulders in the form of garden fences will be a good addition to the garden.
Scandinavian style: plants in landscape design
As mentioned above, plants in such a garden are planted to be weather-resistant and unpretentious. Evergreen coniferous trees and shrubs would be a great idea. These can be thujas, junipers, spruces.
To decorate the garden, you can additionally plant fruit trees and flowering shrubs, such as lilac or boxwood. Variegated asters and peonies, as well as charming field poppies, daisies and cornflowers, will enliven the landscape in the garden.
How to decorate a Scandinavian garden with your own hands?
There is nothing easier than recreating a garden on the site, which will become a reflection of the northern nature of Norway with your own hands. The main thing is to remember that it should turn out natural, with the correct geometric shapes. Diversify the area with rectangular areas with beautiful paved paths and boulders arranged in creative chaos. Plant a lawn, always without borders, decorate the lawn with wildflowers, and arrange a compact vegetable garden.
Do not forget that a pond should be a mandatory attribute of a Scandinavian garden, and its shape should be irregular. Try to avoid stone and wrought iron fences. They will disrupt the natural harmony of the garden. It’s better to choose hedges that will look more natural and impressive. A small heather garden wouldn’t be out of place either. As for flower beds, in a Scandinavian garden it is better to replace them with containers with flowers. Firstly, it is more convenient, and secondly, it will highlight the individuality of the site.
When creating a Scandinavian garden on your site, remember that it should turn out to be more folk than classic with notes of aristocracy. At the same time, such a site must be neat and well-groomed, “solid” at any time of the year. Landscape designers recommend that owners of log houses build their territory in this style, since such buildings fit most harmoniously into Scandinavian design.
The main task of the author, who is working on arranging a garden in the style of the northern peoples, is to ensure that the site turns out to be truly positive, comfortable, practical and functional. Garden owners should have the opportunity not only to relax here from worries, but also to restore peace of mind, lift their spirits and recharge their batteries even on a cold winter cloudy day.
The Scandinavian style of landscape design originated in the northern countries and is characterized by restraint and simplicity, freshness and closeness to nature. Scandinavian style design can satisfy the taste of both lovers of modernity and those who value tradition.
The bright and airy colors inherent in it perfectly solve the problem of lack of daylight in northern houses. In houses decorated in this style, white colors predominate, and the garden is a small area with a minimal amount of decor. Scandinavian design motifs include simple shapes, light, discreet colors and the obligatory lawn. Such a garden will be very cozy and easy to care for, and peace and harmony will always reign in it.
Scandinavian style and its attributes
The Scandinavian garden is characterized by “wild” stone, gravel, granite and all kinds of decorations made of natural wood. The latter are often painted, and if you see that restrained, neutral colors predominate in the garden, then individual elements can be painted more lively and bright. It can be blue, red, orange. Garden benches can be made of stone, brick or wood.
Bench-boxes are also popular, in which you can store all sorts of gardening tools. Benches can be made from different materials. The Scandinavian garden is often called a “container garden” because of these benches. Garden furniture is usually wooden or wicker. Scandinavian style “loves” weaving. Interesting screens, wicker baskets, or stylized garden figures will take a very honorable place in such a garden.
Design in the Scandinavian style also implies the use of household items from the past - cart wheels, old equipment, large half-broken clay jugs, watering cans.
The most suitable plot size for setting up a garden in this style is from 5 to 7 acres. The platforms must be rectangular, preferably made of natural stone. In such a garden, regular, square shapes predominate.
Be sure to have a small plot for a vegetable garden and a small lawn with lilies. An artificial pond can be replaced with a very large, roughly made tub of water. The design of a Scandinavian garden will beautifully fit large blocks of unprocessed wild stone, scattered in creative disorder without any special system - everyone who is familiar with northern culture will probably understand why such Scandinavian motifs are very significant.
A rather unusual solution would be to fence the garden with huge wild stones.
Plants for the Scandinavian garden
The simplicity of this style also influenced the choice of plants. You can focus on flowers and trees associated with any of the Scandinavian countries, find a match with their symbols, official emblems, etc. The best choice is evergreen trees.
The garden is landscaped with both fruit and ornamental trees. Conifers are also very common.
Common shrubs include elderberry, lilac, rhododendrons, spirea, cinquefoil and snowberry. Poppies, daisies, geraniums, bells, bathing flowers, cornflowers, carnations, lupins, rudbeckia, phlox, asters, peony bushes, delphiniums and islands of perennial flax should enliven the garden and give it variety. Peonies are very popular.
Linen of different colors is also used in a variety of ways. Flowers similar to wild ones will look harmonious.
The Scandinavian garden landscape can be decorated with cereals. The most valuable ornamental plants are grown in a small greenhouse located right in the garden.
Remember that in all the diversity of plants, it is necessary to highlight some of them from the general background. “Leading” trees may differ in leaf color or crown shape. This way you can focus on one plant or another. Any type of coniferous tree can be used.
