Positive and negative space definition how to#

Positive and negative space definition how to#

Photo by goosmurf How to avoid a lot of wasted “dough” The left over scraps of dough is the negative space. The cookies that are cut out from the dough is the positive space. Think of a rolled-out sheet of cookie dough. James’s Park, Westminster, London via photopin (license) No not that kind of negative! photo credit: Eeyore Spots a Tasty Globe Thistle, St. No not negative like Winnie the Pooh’s less then enthusiastic friend Eeyore, but instead what is left behind when the positive shapes are removed. This left behind shape is considered the negative space. One thing that is not usually considered is what is the shape of the turf that is left behind? While the beds we are making are made of shapes.

photo credit: Summer Symetry via photopin (license) What are we left with? When our lawns get cut up by a bunch of positive spaced planting beds, patios, or other landscape features what we are left behind is a lot of negative space. The flower beds might be curvy while a vegetable garden may be a rectangle. We make these beds out of different shapes. Then we start adding more beds to create more privacy and perhaps grow some of our favorite plants and flowers. Adding to a garden by cutting out the space from the grass. So we add beds of curving shapes in which we place shrubs to block the view of a neighbor or help to define our property lines. We may have noticed most garden beds are shaped from curved lines. They may be square, circles or rectangles. We are in essence cutting out of our grass, different spaces in different shapes. From this we usually subtract out of that a walk from the driveway to the front door and rectangular patio off the back door.

Most yards usually start with a default material of grass. How does the typical garden layout start? To do this, let’s consider the use of positive and negative space in garden. We can do this by altering it’s shape and size. I’ve written about eliminating the lawn before ( Tyranny of the turf), but maybe you just want to make it a little less of a burden.