Slender white-barked birches with languidly hanging thin branches, a log well, a small pond with a wooden bridge, an old cart thickly overgrown with wildflowers, apple trees, pears, spreading currant and raspberry bushes surround a large solid house-terem, near which there are low benches here and there … Passing along winding narrow paths deep into the garden, we come out to a cozy gazebo, in the shade of which you can enjoy the peace and quiet, the delicate scent of flowers, the quiet singing of birds and the murmur of water. All this is called the Russian style in landscape design.
Features of the Russian style
The style of the Russian estate assumes the presence of a rather impressive land plot required for household and decorative buildings, a large garden with flower beds and fruit trees, placement of a natural or artificial reservoir and, of course, for the house itself, which looks like a Russian log tower 2-3 floors.
When decorating a personal plot, it must be remembered that all elements must harmoniously fit into the natural landscape. If coniferous or deciduous trees grow in the garden, a cheerful stream flows, or there is a meadow overgrown with grass, then do not rush to clean them.
The Russian style is characterized by a combination of external beauty with functionality and practicality. For example, next to flowering flower beds there may be a small vegetable garden with medicinal and spicy herbs, and not far from the house – a summer kitchen, a bathhouse and a neat shed for inventory.
Wooden buildings are the hallmark of the style. A manor house made of thick pine logs smelling of resin, a well that may well bear a decorative load and not be used for its intended purpose, an openwork gazebo, carved benches, bridges across a reservoir – all this is imbued with the Russian spirit and is close to us thanks to its historical heritage.
In the Russian estate style, the entire site is divided into the following zones:
- front door with a front garden;
- utility room with utility buildings;
- landscape or walking with forest plantations;
- garden with fruit trees and shrubs;
- vegetable garden with vegetables and medicinal herbs;
- rest zone.
Parade zone
The front garden is the first thing that guests see when entering the territory of the site, therefore, it is necessary to arrange the front zone taking into account the characteristic features of the Russian estate style.
The path from the gate to the porch of the house can be sprinkled with tree bark, which has become fashionable recently. Also, gravel and tree cuts are used for the embankment.
On the site, there may be irregular flower beds or mixborders with bright flowering plants and fruit and berry bushes. Flowers should be selected and planted in such a way that their fragrance does not stop all summer.
A fence in the front garden can be a low fence, wicker or hedge. An additional decoration can be wooden garden figures of characters from Russian folk tales.
It is appropriate to place a small artificial pond surrounded by plants in the front garden. Reservoirs are also an integral part of the Russian style.
Economic zone
The Russian people have always been distinguished by their hospitality, which could not but affect the structure of the personal plot. In the household area, a summer kitchen with a large dining table, a barbecue, a wooden shed with a woodpile, and even a country bathhouse are often installed.
You can decorate the utility area with a decorative well in the form of an original flower bed.
Walking area
Deciduous trees and tall shrubs bring summer coolness, casting shadows on garden paths, smoothly enveloping flower beds, ponds and wooden sculptures. Handsome maples, ash trees, luxurious lindens and sad birches, intertwining their branches, create cozy shady alleys and arches.
In large areas, you can locate areas of mixed forests and groves, for the design of which traditional conifers and deciduous plants are suitable: yew, birch, spruce, thuja, mountain ash, pine, maple, oak, linden, juniper, lianas, fragrant lilac and jasmine.
The winding paths diverge from the central part of the site in different directions and connect all the zones. The paths are usually sprinkled with sand, gravel or tree bark, and if the paths are planned to be made of slabs, then it is advisable to leave gaps between the blocks and sprinkle them with earth. The grass breaking through will just create the appearance of a certain carelessness and slight neglect, which is characteristic of the Russian style.
Garden area and vegetable garden
Fruit trees and shrubs are an invariable part of the style of the Russian estate. Apple, pear, plum, sea buckthorn, honeysuckle, raspberry, currant and gooseberry have always been popular garden plants in our country.
In small beds, often sheltered from prying eyes behind hedges, medicinal and spice plants, as well as some vegetable crops, are grown.
Rest zone
It is better to arrange a recreation area in a shady part of the garden with tall spreading trees. Here you can sit in a gazebo with a book or handicrafts, relax in a comfortably swinging hammock, ride a rope swing or play with children on a specially equipped playground.
Although there are certain canons for site design, modern landscape designers do not get tired of offering non-standard solutions using the latest materials, which helps to create a unique and comfortable garden in the Russian style.
