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GARDENING
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| Garden Design |
 Naturalistic
Gardening
by Ann Lovejoy
Naturalistic gardening is horticulturally hot right now and its popularity shows no signs of diminishing. The basic
idea is simple: make gardens that reflect the planting patterns found in natural settings, using cooperative plants
that readily form communities.Generally, this involves planting in layers or ruffled tiers that echo the tiers
of native plant habitats. The treeline (what we see against the sky) is underplanted with middle-sized shrubs,
under which perennials and ground covers are punctuated by bulbs and laced together by vines.
These mixed communities can be scaled up or down according to the size and site of each garden, but even in miniature,
the essential relationships will provide pleasing definition without geometry. Rather than defining the garden
with a hard-edged wall or hedge, naturalistic gardeners use soft curves and simple but irregular lines to disguise
its actual size and shape. Such disguise provides an enticing sense of mystery; even in a small space, we can't
see what lies around the corner. Mystery is always more intriguing than the obvious, and potential--what might
be--has the thrill of unwrapped presents beneath a holiday tree.
Many naturalistic gardens are very small indeed, and all are intensely personal. These are not sweeping estates
or great parcels of habitat, nor are they large parks maintained by a staff. Some have had the benefit of professional
guidance and assistance, but the essential flavor in each is that of the pleasurable relationship between the gardener
and the plants, the gardener and the created environment.
Gardening naturalistically is not natural--indeed, no kind of gardening can be truthfully called natural--yet the
concept fascinates modern gardeners. In Europe and England, the idea of "natural" gardening has led to
the development of a variety of styles, none of them precisely the same as North American naturalistic, and all
of them more deeply wedded to the formal. The eye so trained requires the comfort of familiarity, and even in the
so-called natural English gardens, you will still see those "natural" borders surrounded by flat lawns
like billiard tables and precisely clipped hedges or walls that are felt necessary to balance the less structured
plantings.
Looked at dispassionately, most of these gardens are really quite stiff and contrived, reflecting more about human
intervention than about the character and spirit of the plants themselves. There is nothing wrong with all that
control, except when the unconscious assumption that this pattern is "right" causes its advocates to
see less formally framed styles and settings as "wrong." In North America, where I live, a less control-oriented
kind of garden is rapidly gaining popularity. On this side of the water, where trained staff is uncommon, we favor
easygoing combinations of plants that don't need a whole lot of care.
Because we have small gardens that must serve our needs all year-round, we tend toward plant design that relies
on the inherent architecture of the plants themselves, rather than making florally driven, summery borders. Since
we don't have many Elizabethan stone walls, and even small castles are hard to come by, we use living garden bones:
trees and shrubs that offer character and lovely, potent lines in every season.
The concept is still taking form, and naturalistic gardens are as varied as their makers. As the idea ripens and
matures, these gardens will present intriguing alternatives to the traditional templates that served other times
and other places. If these new naturalistic gardens reflect natural planting patterns, they also reflect new and
still changing ideas about our relationship to plants and our place in the natural world. |
 The
Ultimate Garden Planner: The Definitive Guide to Designing and Planting a Beautiful Garden
by Peter McHoy |
 The
Garden Design Book
by Cheryl Merser, Garden Design Magazine (Editor)
Hardcover |
 The
Feng Shui Garden: Design Your Garden for Health, Wealth, and Happiness
by Gill Hale, Sue Minter
Paperback |
 Feng
Shui in Your Garden: How to Create Harmony in Your Garden
by Roni Jay, Richard Craze
Hardcover |
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| Herb Gardening |
 Your
Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts,
Companion Planting, and More
by Miranda Smith
Hardcover |
 Beautiful
Easy Herbs: How to Get the Most from Herbs - In Your Garden and in Your Home
by Laurence Sombke
Hardcover |
 Little
Herb Gardens: Simple Secrets for Glorious Gardens--Indoors and Out (A Garden Style Book)
by Georgeanne Brennan, Mimi Luebbermann (Contributor)
Paperback |
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| Water Features |
 The
Natural Water Garden: Pools, Ponds, Marshes & Bogs for Backyards Everywhere
by C. Colston Burrell (Editor), Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Paperback |
 Garden
Pools: Fountains & Waterfalls
Sunset
Paperback |
 Water
in the Garden: A Complete Guide to the Design and Installation of Ponds, Fountains, Streams, and Waterfalls
by James Allison
Hardcover |
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