A Top Garden Design Expert Shares His Tips

Fernando Wong designs some of the world's most beautiful high-end gardens, many of them formal, symmetrical gardens in Florida. Get the HGTV Clipped star's garden design tips for how to make your own garden design a cut above.

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July 19, 2021

By: Kamron Sanders

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Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Photo By: Carmel Brantley

Photo By: Nick Sargent

Meet High-End Garden Designer Fernando Wong

In 2001, Fernando Wong emigrated from Panama to the United States, arriving in Miami with only $400 and a suitcase. “I learned English by watching television, and my first job in the industry was working on a landscape crew. I moved up to drawing in the office and was eventually able to start my own firm in 2005, acting as both the owner and only employee,” he reminisces. Today, Fernando is responsible for some of the most breathtaking garden and landscape designs in the world and has become a respected authority on the subject.

Use Landscaping to Highlight and Enhance the Home's Architecture

Plants and other landscape elements should highlight the architecture and its nuances rather than steal the show. Fernando illustrates this point, saying, "My main principle is that the architecture is the picture and the landscape is the frame. The garden should enhance the architecture, not overpower it."

Find Inspiration for Garden Design in a Variety of Places

Having trouble finding inspiration for your garden design? Fernando believes that inspiration for garden design can truly come from anything, saying he finds inspiration everywhere -- "My extensive landscape library, Netflix, travel, photos from clients, design magazines and, most of all, nature."

Cuban Laurels Are Perfect for Creating Shaped Perimeter Walls Around Gardens

One thing Fernando credits his success to is his "photographic memory," explaining that he can see images of plants, learn what they are and remember them forever. This has created an extensive resource in his mind that he constantly pulls from in each of his designs. As for his go-to plants, he says, "Cuban laurel and coconuts — The Cuban laurel (seen in the hedge above) is very easy to shape and create perimeter walls for my gardens, and coconuts because they are a universal reminder that it is time to relax and decompress."

Trim and Shape Hedges Monthly to Varying Heights for a Layered Look

Cuban laurels and similar hedge-friendly plants can be arranged in rows and trimmed to varying heights. This is a classic way to give formal, symmetrical gardens depth and movement, preventing them from feeling stagnant and stiff. "Straight lines/hedges are easy to maintain, which is why you see that element in all of our gardens. The best way is to keep them clipped and tidy by trimming them once or twice a month," says Fernando.

Once Established, Shape Shrubs Over Time for the Best Results

Many homeowners wrestle with when to start shaping young shrubs and hedges, and Fernando is here to give the final word on the matter. He says, "You have to let plants and trees grow in before you start trimming them. They need to get over the shock of being moved and to root before you start cutting them. The best way is to be patient and slowly shape the plant over months and even years. Gardens are meant to evolve over time. That requires patience!"

Looking to Other Garden Designers for Inspiration Can Yield Stunning Results

Looking to and learning from other brilliant design minds is part of Fernando’s method for creating stunning gardens, as he did in his “Secret Garden” property with a quaint lawn surrounded by potted trees and a fountain. "This garden was inspired by a French designer, Nicole De Vésian. My client came to me with a book of her work and said, 'this is what I want.' Those elements were in her garden. I used Calamondin citrus and key limes in pots surrounded by topiary globes and extensive hedges."

Keeping Things Symmetrical in a Design's Beginning Allows Greater Freedom Later On

To recreate this look in your own garden, Fernando's advice is to "Create a perimeter background with hedging because it gives you an enormous amount of freedom for what you can do inside. Then you can layer in a fountain — the sound really activates the space. Keep things symmetrical in the beginning to allow elements of surprise and whimsy to be added later." In addition to Calomondin and key limes, he recommends a topal holly for this type of installation.

A Stainless-Steel Wire Grid Allows Vines to Grow in a Pattern Around a Pool

At his "Beach Bungalow" property, Fernando installed a gridded stainless-steel wire system to encourage patterned growth of star jasmine on the walls surrounding the pool. Once the plants mature and are properly shaped and maintained, the result is living walls.

Starting With a Young Vine Allows for Easier Shaping and Maintaining Over Time

To pull off this trellis look, Fernando says, "The key is to start with a young plant (3-7 gallons) before it gets too rigid. This technique requires the branches to be more tender so they can follow the wire. A 3- to 7-gallon plant will have enough to cover 2 linear feet. But now you need to keep investing." As the plant grows, continue to direct and train it along the grid.

Star Jasmine is a Great Option for All Sorts of Climbing Vine Installations

Fernando encourages the use of star jasmine for other climbing installations, even less-structured ones like the columns at his "Island House" property. "I use it on many projects because it is super reliable, has beautiful green leaves, and smells divine," he says.

Contrast Lush Gardens With Large Grassy Areas for a Balanced Look

Many of Fernando's clients have a few acres to work with, and when there is adequate space, he loves to contrast his lush, formal gardens with larger grassy areas, as seen at the John Volk Estate. A stunning example of simplistic design, a sprawling lawn creates a balanced look and allows the design to breathe. He recommends zoysia for inland installations and seashore paspalum for oceanfront properties.

Substitute Prefabricated Concrete to Imitate Coral Stone Without Mildew Issues

A structured garden perimeter like this can be created using a variety of limestone called coral stone, but Fernando has a clever alternative that maintains the look but forgoes the common issues associated with the natural variety. The answer? Prefabricated concrete that has been poured in a mold to imitate the look of coral stone. "It’s a perfect alternative for clients who don’t like how natural keystone or coral stone can get mildew and turn black," he says.

Embedding Concrete Pavers in Grass Beautifies Utilitarian Hardscapes

Concrete is often a necessity in modern design, but Fernando does an impressive job of beautifying utilitarian things like driveways, walkways and other hardscapes by swapping out large concrete pads with smaller concrete pavers embedded in grass. With this method, the design possibilities are endless and the visual that is created adds a wow factor to any style of home.

Opt for Synthetic Grass Alternatives When Embedding Pavers in Shady Areas

While the embedded paver look is easily achieved in sunny areas that promote effortless thick grass growth, the same can't be said for shadier areas. In this situation, Fernando recommends opting for a synthetic alternative.

Use Your Home for Inspiration When Choosing Garden Decor Elements

When it comes to successfully implementing elements such as fountains, obelisks, vases, statues and more, Fernando suggests homeowners look to their homes for inspiration. He then suggests they "get online to find things that are similar or representative of their house and gardens." This will create continuity throughout the entire property.

Don't Be Afraid to Reflect Your Personality In Your Choices

These "hard" landscape elements are a great way to infuse your personality into your home's exterior. But, just like plants, it's important to know when enough is enough.

Keep Landscape Lighting to a Minimum to Create the Perfect Ambiance

Fernando's "do's and don'ts" of landscape lighting are simple:

Do: "Keep it to a minimum."

Don't: "Over-light! It’s better to start with less. Las Vegas lighting is only appropriate for Las Vegas. If it happens there it should stay there. If it is bright enough to operate you have gone too far."

Embrace Existing Trees or Bring in New Ones for a Mature Look

Creating a mature-looking garden from nothing is a difficult task, but one Fernando is familiar with. To add maturity in a new garden, he advises, "If you are dealing with existing trees, embrace them!" However, if your budget allows, he says, "We also love bringing in large trees to give a garden instant gravitas. The largest so far was a 90-foot-tall kapok. We also often bring in massive oak trees."

Surround Trees With Small-Leaf Shrubs to Create Depth

Adding depth to a garden design is as easy as surrounding your trees with a small manicured hedge. In this setting, Fernando recommends "scaling appropriately with a planting that has a smaller leaf and sits close to the lawn. You can always scale up elsewhere with different plants for more layers and shades of green."

Ground Covering Plants Like Jasmine Minima Create a Nice Border Around Shrubs

To add even more depth, shrubs can be surrounded with a short ground cover. Though he says there are so many that he loves, Fernando's go-to ground cover is an evergreen variety called Jasmine minima, seen above in this geometric display.

Make Sure Colors Work Together and Keep Them Simple

When combining plants within a single installation, Fernando says that it's less important which plants you choose, as nearly all plants play well together, and more important that you choose plants with complementary colors. "Our joke in our office is that we have a color palette of two colors – one of them is green and the other one is usually white."

Don't Be Afraid of Color as Long as it Complements the Home

However, even Fernando's simplistic approach leaves room for a little pop here and there. This is when he opts for bougainvillea, a plant he calls "the gift that keeps on giving," in reference to its lengthy blooming season. His approach to color is much like his approach to garden design in general. Decisions are based mainly on the home's architecture. In this case, he notes, "The house is a white Mediterranean Revival, so it allows me to invite other colors. I typically choose only one, or make sure that I am using colors in the same family."

Contrasting Symmetry and Asymmetry Helps to Beautify and Create Balance

Fernando creates visual interest and balance in his designs by contrasting symmetry and asymmetry. This balance, like every other design decision he makes, is completely dependent on the project. From the architecture of the home to the way the home is positioned on the property, unique, asymmetrical elements can be further beautified with a symmetrical garden design and vice versa. In the "Beach Bungalow" property, he counters the asymmetrical home with a straight, symmetrical walkway and perimeter hedge that frames the front door.

Clever Landscape and Garden Design Should Capture Something Ephemeral

When approaching a project, Fernando looks to the property and its surroundings for inspiration. "I use my design to capture things that are very ephemeral: the sunset and how it reflects in the water of a pool or the way the sunlight trickles through the canopy of a tree. It can even capture a moment in time when breezes of the fragrant things I have planted bring back a fond memory," he says.

Simplicity in Landscape Design Allows the Surrounding Evironment to Be Noticed

When it comes to landscape design, Fernando advocates for simplicity, describing his signature aesthetic as “simplicity and not a lot of color.” He adds, “green is very soothing. If I design something that is very simple and pared-down, people notice the surrounding environment.”

Come Up With a Vision For Your Garden and Stick to it Until the End

After years in the outdoor living design arena, his recommended recipe for success is to come up with a plan and see it through, as it's the best way to turn a vision into a reality. "I prefer to have a strong plan and stick to it. In this line of work, surprises can happen that require us to work around things and be nimble. However, I would much rather follow a plan as closely as possible rather than have something that disrupts the symmetry of the design," he says.

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