Wild: The Naturalistic Garden

Product Information

Particular attention is also paid to how each plant grows from the roots on down—whether it clumps or runs, and how well it responds to stress and competition. Every detail of a given plant’s habit provides a clue into how well it plays with others and what ecological niches it can fill. The New Perennial approach is about opening your mind’s eye to see plants for more than simply the beauty of their flowers. Philosophically, it’s about embracing change in the garden and the interplay of textures and foliage from birth to bloom and from decay to death. This quietly revolutionary aesthetic underpins a four-dimensional approach to design with the plantings composed like a living art form, designed to evolve in space and time. Using naturalistic planting design is a perfect way to increase habitats and food for insects, bees, birds and small mammals. These habitats can be rich in diversity, beautiful and easy to look after,' explains garden designer Jennie Herrington. The level of fertility for annual crops is unsustainable for many plants, he points out. The artificial circumstances engineered by gardeners to produce food are not part of the genetic wiring of plants. That means what works for a crop of tomatoes doesn’t work for a perennial garden. Dandelions are one of those weeds that love disturbed ground, and Kelly says he’s tempted to write a book all about them. They are one of those plants that, the more we learn about them, the more of a mystery they become. Where they originate from is unclear, though we do know that they follow humans and are found on every continent. Their presence has more to do with what we do to the earth than what we refrain from doing.

Wild: The Naturalistic Garden by Noel Kingsbury | Goodreads

In public plantings, what may appear to be spontaneous is, in fact, highly orchestrated, planned and considered as part of the designer’s vision. In your own garden, there are no such rules: Feel free to experiment. The joy of working with perennials and grasses is that once planted, you can always tweak, edit and revise your designs over time. We learn by looking. And in many ways, the best teacher is the garden itself. Rooted in plant selection Look to the natural world for inspiration: The key way to make a natural garden is to look at how plant communities occur in the natural world, studying the forms and textures. A stunning exploration of one of the hottest trends in garden design, nature-based planting with an eco-aware approach, featuring the work of leading designers such as Sean Hogan, Piet Oudolf, and Dan Pearson If plants are happy where they are placed then they will also require less intervention, helping to create a more eco-friendly garden. Revel in the the beauty of the untamed world in this survey of the wilder side of contemporary gardeningIt’s also important to consider which grasses look better planted as individuals and which ones work best as a clump. Stipa gigantea needs some space around it to show off its vase-shaped stems. But Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ is very upright, so it looks good in groups. Yucca gloriosa– the Spanish dagger is one of the key plants in the Dry Garden, providing a strong structural element and spectacular flower spikes in late summer. Softly rounded mounds of Miscanthus transmorrisonensis surround a pot. The use of repetition is so simple – but so effective. Use a very limited palette of plants in a smaller garden This key principle of multiple layers—where plants are grouped by common habitat in proportionate layers to create a dynamic plant community—is essential to the design process, as shown in this diagram from the book Planting in a Post-Wild World. Layers in a Designed Plant Community: Source ‘Planting in a Post-Wild World’ by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West More structural plants can persist for the entire growing season, and grasses ,such as stipa and deschampsia are great options,' says Jonathan Woolfenden – so it is worth researching how to grow ornamental grasses.

Wild by Noel Kingsbury, Claire Takacs | Waterstones

Forget the mild, manicured gardens of the past: planting today is undergoing a revolutionin taste and aesthetics. This is the first comprehensive overview of a new planting approach that is wild and natural by nature, reflecting the global turn towards sustainability and the current zeitgeist in garden design. Featuring over 40 gardens - from a perennial meadow in East Sussex, England to a private, drought-resistant garden in Australia - each garden in this stunning book is brought to life with beautiful photography and insightful text. Specifications: This style of planting is a wonderful addition to wildlife garden ideas, which also creates a beautiful scheme. Naturalistic gardens are resistant to stresses such as pests, diseases and weeds, and they perpetuate life with a mix of short-lived plants that self-sow and long-lived plants. Your garden, your neighbor’s garden, the park down the road and the botanic garden are little green stitches that knit together to form the world, Kelly says, and gardeners want to be a functional part of that cohort — for the insects and the birds.

I think in terms of triplets of plants,’ says Michael. He advises you to think about three main plant shapes when planning naturalistic planting. Transform your garden with these easy DIY tips and creative ideas. From a bare yard to a flower-filled space – all on a budget! This approach to design can work in virtually any kind of garden context or style, whether the hardscape is formal, cottage or contemporary. In fact, juxtaposition is your friend. Or, as Mien Ruys, the late mother of modern Dutch garden design, put it: “Wild planting in a strong design.” Naturalistic planting design is both aesthetically pleasing, with a lovely softness to the planting, but also benefits the soil and encourages wildlife and biodiversity in the garden, which is so important today,' says landscape designer Libby Russell. Narcissus – although avoid the blousy variety, which would not look right – there are numerous varieties to choose from when you learn how to plant daffodils