• A rose hedge acts as a border between lawn and driveway.FLOWER GARDEN image by brelsbil from Fotolia.com
  
  Country landscapes can be whimsical or traditional, formal or casual. Country home landscaping can evoke European style or echo the untamed feel of a cottage garden near the beach. Finding the best plan for your home depends on how you intend to utilize your out door space, climate, size, budget and personal preferences. A good landscape plan also adds to the value of your home by kicking up its functionality and curb appeal.
  
  

Styles

• The word "country" in decorating covers a broad spectrum. Cottage-style landscaping highlights free-form flower gardens, climbing vines and creeping groundcovers, while French country landscaping is more formal and functional, and incorporates fragrant herbs, flowers and fountains. English country touches on the wild flourishes of cottage style but tames them in manicured beds. A country-style landscape plan can be limited to one specific style or a combination of all country designs.
  
  

Gardens

• If you are looking for a traditional manicured garden, you'll want to plant separate beds, perhaps separated by brick, gravel, or slate walkways. Incorporate green shrubbery as well as flowering bushes but keep them neatly trimmed. Include trees that are conducive to your climate and place them to provide shade for stone terraces. A more casual garden design appears to have no organization but that look is deceiving. Choose a mix of flowers that bloom at different times so that there is color in your garden all season long. Plant them from tall in the back to groundcover in the front--perhaps bordering a curved walkway of natural material like brick or field stone. Choose trees and bushes that compliment the flowers but don't overwhelm them. Widen the path at some points to make room for flagstone or brick patios just large enough to accommodate an intimate seating area. Train climbing plants like certain species of roses, trumpet vines and wisteria to wind around arbors, doorways, pergolas and outbuildings giving them a lush, romantic feel. Both traditional and casual gardens should include herbs as much for their scent as their culinary uses. Lavender and lemon balm are two fragrant herbal varieties.
  
  

Water Features

• For a formal look, arrange the landscaping around a large fountain. Have the gardens radiate outward like spokes on a wheel, always keeping the large water feature in sight. Buy a fountain with built in seating or provide it with curved stone or marble benches. Achieve a more casual look with small ponds and water falls stocked with colorful fish and water plants. Build a fountain into the stone wall surrounding a terrace for privacy.
  
  

Outdoor Rooms

• If you live in a moderate climate and would like your indoor rooms to flow into the outdoors, think about an outdoor room. In the center of a garden or close to the house, build a large terrace, patio or deck in materials that compliment the style of the rest of the landscaping. Provide overhead shelter with a pergola or awning. Include a fire pit or fireplace. Roll out a weather resistant area rug. Furnish the space to your taste with weather resistant outdoor pieces. If money is no object you might consider and outdoor kitchen. Gazebos can function as free standing rooms to use for dining and socializing. They are also the perfect place to house a hot tub.