Below are a few crude drawings where I'm trying to illustrate why I prefer an 'unnatural' smooth curve to the wavy edges:

Top left: at a bed shape that mirrors the 90 degree corner is not ideal, in large part because it is awkward to mow around that corner.

Top right: But if you round out that corner with a big, smooth curve, you get a number of advantages:
- It's easier maintain/mow adjacent grass because here are no complicated mowing lines,
- there is a shorter distance to edge and, if you want a brick or stone mowing edge, it is easier/cheaper to install,
- your eyes sweep smoothly down the line into the distance, making the space look longer - and wider since the focus is no longer drawn to the front edge.

Bottom left: my attempt to show the curvy bed option - OK, I'm sure you can make a nicer one...:-)

Bottom right: a smoth curve superimposed on the wavy edge. You gain planting space by the smooth line since the ins and out of the wavy edge is essentially wasted space - it's not available to plant and is not particularly useful as lawn space.

In a very large (e.g. acres of space) garden, the differences between the two are less obvious but in ordinary, smaller gardens these days, I think one should think carefully whether the wavy 'natural' edge is actually the best option.

I know I'm wildy out of step with the preferred 'look' but I think there are atvantages to keeping the lines simple that are too often ignored or dismissed. So think about it before you follow the crowd...

My front bed is ruler-straight, defined by the stepping stones that lead to the front door. The ends are curved--one ends at the driveway, and the other is curved out to the end of a wall.

That said, I blush to mention my large front lawn bed. It is where it is because the part of the lawn by the street was the only place in the front yard that got any amount of sun, and I wanted to plant sun-loving flowers. The bed is set back from the street because of state highway regulations, also because there's a fairly steep slope down a couple of feet from the road.

As for curves, the bed frankly wiggles -- think of a snake with a large head.

The tail of the snake bends to fit inside the property line (that whole corner of "my" front lawn belongs to the next-door driveway, so they'll have clear sight-lines).

Then the bed curves toward the house a few feet to encompass the trunk of a smallish maple (because it would have looked weird if the tree was next to but outside the flowerbed).

And then the bed curves toward where the road and the driveway meet, and widens into something resembling a circle. That's the welcome-to-my-house part of the bed; in a few weeks I'll plant a flowering shrub in the middle of the circle.

Missingtheobvious had it right. Whatever you do in shaping your bed should fit what is in and around it. Most of the time it is more important to determine what is in the bed and what it is doing for your landscape than to plan a bed shape.

A small fenced in back yard can intensify the importance of bed shape for a number of reasons. One is that you have very limited smace left over after the planting, so economy of space comes into play. Another is that the limitation of space minimizes what affect the planting will have on the overall space as the existing built work has a greater influence on the overall landscape.

Last winter I had a small project on a very small lot with an enclosed back yard. The newly built deck was leaving a bowling alley effect because the previous design maximised open space by minimizing bed width. Since the deck changed the whole context of the landscape, the directional visual pull from that hallway feeling needed to be changed.

You want to feel centered and comfortable on a deck and not drawn in an odd direction. Building that centered feeling comes from altering the space to support the context. It was obvious to me that the bed shape would reflect a pushing out of the space away from the deck and more planting to contain the space to either side as you looked out from the deck. I had a rough idea of bed shape at that point, but that is not because I started with bed shape. I, in fact, started with a conceptual understanding of what the plantings would need to be like and the bed shape followed.

The next step was to actually plan the planting to support the concept. In the end, the bed shape was drawn around the planting.

Plan your space. Then plan your planting to support that space. Then plan your bed shape to support both the space and the planting. These are not separate things and should not be treated separately. A garden can be a piece of art within itself, but it should be supporting the greater landscape.

The same holds true with bed shape. It can be a piece of art, but it must support the planting. The planting must support the needs of the space that it is in. That space must support the greater landscape around it.

This is what was existing when I entered the project just ater a renovation of the house, a new deck, and new hardscaping. My job was a planting plan to largely re-use the existing plants from a four year old landscape.

This was the proposed landscape. It is a mix of straight and curve. Bed shape is important because it is a reflection of the shape of the lawn which is a strong space defining psychological element in this very small space. The landscape is designed to make the deck feel like the heart of the space all else is designed to support that while working for its own smaller context as well.

laag - the 'before' image you posted is a good example of how 'busy' I find gardens with a lot of curvy edges. The 'after' has a nice, clean simplicity that appeals to me.

I'm not sure what next year's projects here will be. We're at the point where we've run out of space to do new things without ripping out something already there. Actually, this year we started changing the herb bed on the south bank of the driveway into a place for warmer colors; I think that area will be a focus for next year. I want it to shade from pink to apricot/peachy colors through shades of orange to rusty reds at the house end. It needs more work and a better rock wall at thae base, so that will likely be where we start next year....

But first I need my right foot functional again!

I love curves but when I saw a straight bed, I was "hmmmm, that works! I guess, I should try it". :)

Is it possible perhaps you have a misconception about a properly executed curved-edge bed? Your example drawing shows a super-narrow bed with a very strange, extremely wiggly line as the front edge. I've never seen a professional advise or implement a bed like that. What is advised, instead, is to use a long, gradual curve that is easy to mow, edge and maintain. Ideasshare is actually...right. A long, gradual curve is pleasing to the eye. Any bed or path shape that you can't easily follow with a mower has too tight a curve.

Here is the land of bermuda grass, I feel edges have to be maintained. Edging then killing the grass that intruded in the prior two weeks is necessary. Softness can be accomplished, just not where the beds meet the lawn. All of you who don't have bermuda count your blessings.

Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA

Yes, my drawings are a bit exaggerated re the curvy edges and reflect more of what I see as examples in the neighbourhod - and in pictures on various garden forums. While more professional gardens tend to use more open curves, I've certainly seen designed gardens with uncomfortably tight curves and busy lines. But, as I said, I know I'm wildly out of step with current fashion on this issue. I prefer more classic/formal lines - combined with dense plantings to provide the balance of both order and variety that I find pleasing.

timbu - I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of yoyr garden. The ones I remember seeing before were very nice!

The whole thing could maybe have been done with straight lines and right angles though. But I'm betting that bed shape is not what you'd notice when you were in the space.

KarinL

The shape of the dirt is not always the shape of the plants in the dirt.

Here is the new curving path I've just completed (excuse the mess and rough condition):

Another angle to try to see more of the shape:

I'm so much happier with the new curved path. Very soft, gradual curves, but they make such a difference and look so much more interesting to me. And, as was mentioned above, it was so easy to do, the yard and house practically defined the curves for themselves. The path/bed curves out at the front for a nice, wide planting area by the front porch, then curves in closer to the house right next to the hose and gutter where I'm about to put in a rain barrel, to allow for access. Then the path/bed curves out wide again where the boxed window sticks out of the house, to mirror that shape and allow easier planting without having to duck under the window or have plants growing into it. The path then curves back to end right where there is a gate in the back fence.

I plan to leave a strip of grass, and then form a bed on the right hand side of the yard that mirrors the curve in the path. I really feel like the end result will be a much more cohesive and sophisticated aesthetic than I ever could have pulled off if I'd have just stuck to straight lines.

Karin - From the deck, or in the space, the lines of the first of laag's drawings would still be what pleases me most. That gently rounded quasi-rectangular lawn is a shape I like (you might remember I have a rather larger version of that in my backyard!) and I can 'feel' myself moving easily along the path around the tree and to the front yard. I just think that flows better...

v1rtu0s1ty - when I mean straight lines when there are planting beds, that what I 'see' - i.e. the edges are naturally softened by plants spilling over during the growing season. But the clear lines are still there guiding you deep into the garden and will still be making a strong statement in the off-seasons when the plants are not visible or less showy.

sleepy - sorry, but I prefer the straight path version :-) If I'm going from point A to point B, I prefer to get there along the shortest path (which is a straight line). If there's no reason for a wiggle, it annoys me to have to follow that longer path. With a nice planting, a straight path doesn't have to be unattractive. I've posted this picture here before - straght path along the north side of our house - June 2009:

Wow: a purple foot. I'm glad they gave you a color you could coordinate with. Hang in there!

Like I said, the curves are there for a reason; to allow me to have nice wide beds, but still have access to the water. That is the natural path I follow when working in that part of the yard; come around the corner from the front yard, get some water, swing over to the other side to water the plants in the bed on the right, zig back over to the back gate. Not only that, but the side yard looks infinitely wider than it did.

I will believe you if you say you like the old, straight path, but I'll also tell you that you're the only one who's said that so far. :)

Here is another straight bed. I took this shot at Olbrich Gardens in Madison. Ignore the leaves that are breaking up the straight line. We're talking about the bed being straight.

WoodyOak,

I don't like straight beds before but after seeing straight beds, I should consider them as well. It will actually depend on the area. Like what you said, it's personal preference. :)

Go for it!

(Purple was the best cast alternative - choices were lime green, hot pink, purple or black! - I'm a purple sort of gal :-) I'm crossing my fingers that I will be released to a brace at the fracture clinic tomorrow!

sleepy - I don't think we'll ever be on the same wavelength on this so there's no point in me responding to your response...:-)

The same is true for some curves that soften a right-angle. Those with a larger radius generally look better. (There must be some way to quantify how small is too small, and how large is too large.)

And in some cases, the curves fail because too much of the circle sticks out (or in) from the line of the bed. For instance, a bed that curved out in a half-circle would probably look weird.
That's the best I can figure it out.

Maybe the guy who analyzed the plantings in front of Michigan Avenue stores could work on the problem.

I'm not a purple gal, and I would be hard put to choose a cast from those colors if I needed one. It would be between lime green and hot pink, though ... unless maybe I chose black with the idea of painting my own designs on it.

'Let pain be your guide' re walking on it... If pain is greater that 3 on a 1-10 scale, stop....

The first thing I need to do is go get a haircut!

As for straight lines vs. curves, I like both, depending on the type of garden. My kitchen garden is all straight lines (or so I hope) because the veggies, fruit, herbs and flowers need that structure, or it would be chaos...at least IMHO.

The fairy garden has a bit more curve, as does the bed under the trees, but they're gentle curves. These beds are more for roses and companion plants, so the slight curve on the edges of the bed make it a little less formal. It's hard to be taken too seriously, when you have a small castle under the rose bush and a ceramic toad on a lily pad, hanging out under the bee balm. LOL

I think the curves in Laag's 'after' look good, especially the way they wrap around the pear tree in the back yard, on the right. It kind of shelters the tree and brings more interest to the design.