Desire lines in landscaping

I have highlighted the use of odd numbers in gardening and landscaping in a previous posting tips on container planting and it is one of the fundamental considerations when learning landscape design.

One other very important consideration if you are designing a garden is the 'desire line'

A desire line is much more apparent in an existing garden, especially a commercial landscape. It is usually exposed by a mistake in the design, when a rut or worn mark is created on a lawn or open space, because people, who are notoriously lazy, take the shortest route from A to B rather than stick to pathways that have were intended for use.

It very much draws attention to a designing faux pas and should be considered when re-designing to avoid any unsightly return of the 'blot on the landscape'

Watching or anticipating human behaviour is the key to letting a landscape flow. If you have an angle in a pathway that is intended to take you around the lawn but have a shed just across the lawn, it is often the case that the desire line dictates a short cut.

To remedy this you need to create a direct pathway or an interruption that is not easily navigated that causes the pedestrian to adopt the intended path.

Obviously an impermeable barrier is one such interruption and that can take the form of a fence, a tree or pond. A border or planting scheme, including pots does the same trick.

However, and I have learned this from experience, if you have a big area like a campus at college or a supermarket, use the desire line effect to your advantage to herd your subjects to the right places.

Edited 8th January 2008.