While larger areas of naturalistic planting can look good with very little flower colour, Michael thinks that ‘floral glamour’ is more important in smaller spaces. I think in terms of triplets of plants,’ says Michael. He advises you to think about three main plant shapes when planning naturalistic planting. This planting model requires a sheer abundance of plants that is different than gardeners have been used to working with. Instead of one of this, three of that and five of those, Kelly designs with seven, nine, 11 or 13 of each plant. That’s because, in nature, plants of the same species are often found in groupings, and there often needs to be many of them for them to perform ecosystem services effectively.

Wild by Noel Kingsbury, Claire Takacs | Waterstones

Followers of prominent garden designers will love this book, as it features the work of key figures such as Great Britain’s Dan Pearson, France’s Olivier Filippi and Sean Hogan from the US. Anyone with a general interest in gardening, botany, design or the applied arts will find much to admire in the great beauty and variety contained within Wild, featuring as it does small urban spaces in the antipodes through to private gardens in continental Europe, as well as wide-open, meadowy gardens in the UK and US.Naturalistic planting can offer year round interest, looking good through the seasons, and also provides home to hosts of wildlife. The garden featured here is an approximate oval and is about 100ft/30m in diameter. So it’s not a huge space. Michael has created this effect by using a surprisingly small palette of plants, repeated around the garden. New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden” by Kelly Norris There’s no lawn or hard landscaping in this ‘naturalistic garden’– just winding paths and slightly larger areas where there may be a chair and tables or a single pot. Plant densely in a naturalistic planting

Wild: The Naturalistic Garden by Noel Kingsbury, Hardcover Wild: The Naturalistic Garden by Noel Kingsbury, Hardcover

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. Kelly’s front yard meadow (which he calls Meadow Nord) at Three Oaks Garden in late August 2019. (photo: Kelly Norris) 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. Structure is important: 'A strong underlying structure gives meaning and a sense of place to naturalistic plantings, without which they can look just messy, particularly in winter,' explains Libby Russell.Allow me to share some ideas to help guide you on the path less manicured. Inspired by nature. Attuned to ecology. Do try this at home. Have patience and give it time. When your home garden starts to appear as if it has grown all by itself, you’re definitely on the right (less manicured) path. While most of the focus on plant architecture in “New Naturalism” is on the above-ground part of plants, it also touches on the underground parts — the roots, bulbs, tubers or rhizomes. For instance, Kelly says it’s important for gardeners to understand that a plant with a taproot can’t be divided, while a plant with fibrous roots can be divided easily. 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.

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

The goal is to free the mind to think in the abstract when combining plants and to aim for a variety of shapes and effects in the course of one planting area. It may also gently steer the gardener away from the temptation to plant one of this and one of that with no sense of connection.Noel Kingsbury is a planting-design consultant and a prolific writer on gardens and naturalistic planting, with over 20 books to his name. He is based in Portugal, where he is developing an experimental garden. So I caught up with him in his own garden and in a garden he created for a client. He has some very interesting tips for making the look work in a small or middlesized garden. I use a lot of perennials and grasses in planting schemes that soften the hard edges of materials, particularly when large, bold geometry is used,' she explains.

Wild by Noel Kingsbury, Claire Takacs | Waterstones Wild by Noel Kingsbury, Claire Takacs | Waterstones

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. The aim is to select proven, long-lived, robust plants capable of performing strongly in various garden conditions. Extra marks are awarded for persistence in form and seed head, or, as Oudolf says, “Plants that die elegantly.” Indeed, a whole other colour palette comes into play in fall and winter with straw, brown, charcoal and rust. Kelly refers to the ground layer as the matrix layer. The structure layer is up top, above our heads, and the part we’re always looking at, in the middle, is called the vignette layer. The vignette is the layer that may be more for us than for nature — but it still contributes to nature when it’s done right.New Naturalism,” released this month, is a well-written and beautifully illustrated book on naturalistic garden design and how to achieve a garden that is both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically functional. In it, Kelly shares how to mimic wild spaces in a stylish way that does not require the high maintenance often associated with formal gardens. He explains the basics of botany and what gardeners can learn from nature’s own plant layering and palettes. Through naturalistic design, gardeners can increase biodiversity on the land they steward and support wildlife. 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.