Ornamental Horticulture

Informal style

• The idea behind this design is to imitate nature.
• Hindu, Buddhist and Japanese gardens lay no emphasis on formality.
• Woodlands (vanams) and running water (streams and rivers) was the main feature around which the garden was created in natural way.
• Brindavan of Lord Krishna was a woodland.
• Every temple was provided with irregular shaped lotus tanks. (Latter on such tanks was given masonry boundary either rectangular or square).
• Japanese developed a naturalistic style of gardening. It is in Japanese garden that the asymmetric balance has been perfected.
• The impact of industrial climate drove the British to opt for natural gardens later.
• The further the man is isolated from nature (due to industrial revolution) the deep is the longing to go back to nature. The industrialized cities have become concrete jungles with no flavour and aroma of nature. To avert this, the concept of natural gardens was given impetus.


Informal Gardens
Nature’s projection of mountains, oceans, rivers and lakes on a larger canvas of earth’s surface is informal with all its grandeur. Such grandeur is mimicked in informal gardens.

Key features of informal style / natural style

• This style reflects naturalistic effect of total view and represents natural beauty.
• It is contrast to formal style.
• Plan is asymmetrical according to the land available for making the garden.
• Smooth curvaceous outlines are more appropriate.
• Water bodies are more irregular in shape.
• Features such as hillocks, water falls, lakes, islands, cascades, rocks, shola and rustic hutments are provided to create rural effect.
• Plants are appropriately grouped and they are not trimmed, so as to avoid geometrical arrangements.