Wild: The Naturalistic Garden

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The season of interest is extended by a “hands off' maintenance regime, leaving seed heads and plant silhouettes in place through winter. 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. 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. Our new book, Wild: The Naturalistic Garden pays tribute to this savage trend by surveying over 40 of the finest wild and naturalistic horticultural creations from across the world. In this book, standing alongside Wakelin plantings is legendary Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf’s perennial meadow at Hauser & Wirth in Somerset, and his equally impressive beds atop the High Line in Manhattan. These all lie alongside a diverse range of works by likeminded horticulturalists, including a stunning coastal garden in Devon, a drought-resistant private garden in the south of France and Australia, the Native Plant Garden at New York’s botanical garden and a private prairie garden in Connecticut.

create a wild, naturalistic style garden | Total How to create a wild, naturalistic style garden | Total

This book showcases gardens across the globe, that when viewed together form an inspirational picture of ‘wild’, ecologically informed gardening ‘now’. What’s different and special about this compilation is that there is consistency in both vision and voice. Each location has its own unique take on the wild gardening aesthetic, yet the eye of the photographer, Claire Takacs, and insightful description and commentary by writer Noel Kingsbury is consistent. It’s about setting aside our desire for control to instead work in partnership with nature. This is essentially the guiding principle behind the naturalistic garden, a plant-driven approach to landscape design that has been around in one form or another since Englishman William Robinson first published his first edition of The Wild Garden in 1870. I don’t dig up dahlias to store them at the end of the summer. And before you dig your dahlias up, it’s important to know the pros and cons. You… Crucially this not only makes the book but also helps the reader draw links and comparisons between the different gardens. Takacs is an artist who can intuitively predict the transitions of sunlight. Yet it is the consistency of her eye that is important. You could have a compilation featuring many different accomplished photographers and writers and it would inevitably be disjointed in voice and view. Jo Wakelin’s garden in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island is not the most hospitable plot in the world. Ringed by mountains, strafed by winds and receiving very little rainfall, temperatures can rise above 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit) here in the summer, and drop to minus 10° C (14° F) in the winter.That’s because pattern and repetition are so important in this style of planting. And in a smaller space, there’s less opportunity for pattern and repetition. (That’s why it’s important to use fewer types of plants – so you can repeat them!) But hard landscaping is less important Does a plant grow upright and leafy? Does it have a basal rosette or a long, wiry stalk? Whatever the shape and the look, these traits give us clues about how plants function in the world around them, Kelly says. “They’ve evolved over a very, very long period of time in the wild world to adapt and to survive and to perpetuate themselves.”

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Kelly’s advice is to just keep planting, thoughtfully and intentionally. Your garden may be your art, but it’s art that is alive and part of the world.

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At the start of my career, I went on a gardening tour of Europe, armed with a list of recommended gardens to visit drawn from a blog written by Noel Kingsbury. These gardens – Piet Oudolf’s Hummelo, Cassian Schmidt’s plantings at Hermannshof, and the Dutch ‘Heem’ or habitat parks – had a profound influence on my development as a designer. Diversity is key to naturalistic planting. 'Avoid over-bred cultivars, and choose long lived, ideally native, best performing plants that will adore the soil and aspect of the bed and happily self seed, increasing the natural feel. Don’t just think about the flower, but also the plant's transformation throughout the seasons,’ advises landscape designer Michelle Brandon . Kelly’s front yard meadow (which he calls Meadow Nord) at Three Oaks Garden in late August 2019. (photo: Kelly Norris) joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting : Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out. 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.”