: a garden laid out with complete regularity on formal lines and in accord with the methods of classic design, the plantings being in symmetrically arranged rows or geometrical figures.

Historically, formal gardens were designed on a grand scale. Some of the most famous landscapes and planting schemes are the formal gardens of the estate gardens at Hampton court in London, the Palace gardens at the palace of Versailles and the Sabatini gardens in Madrid.

The French formal garden, also called the jardin à la française (French for 'garden in the French manner'), is a style of "landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature.

Informal simply means that the garden follows much looser lines, and curves and usually takes its design from the lay of the land. You may follow the curves of your land boundary, driveway, house walls, a stream, set of trees or where the sun casts its warming rays.