Naturalistic Landscape Gardens

Serious gardeners belong to a “school” of gardening/design; mine is Naturalistic.

The Naturalistic Garden is a designed plant community that is multi-layered, plant dominant, sometimes flower intensive, biologically diverse and has multiple seasons of interest. While it draws heavily from native flora (70% or more) and local habitats, it may incorporate regionally adaptive plants to enhance biodiversity and seasonality. In the past, garden design has been expressed by individual plants, isolated in a sea of wood mulch. The naturalistic gardener plants communities of compatible species that cover the ground in interlocking layers. These designs support abundant wildlife, provide pollination corridors for a long season and protect the soil. They are high impact, low input wildscapes, providing many ecological services.

As a naturalistic garden designer, I’m interested in moving planting design and landscape horticulture from a largely cosmetic and decorative role to a position that considers the problems of climate change and a sustainable future. Our gardens can be beautiful and vibrant ecological habitats. Yours could be the beginning of an interlocking neighborhood ecoscape, reconnecting backyards, front yards and street slopes to the wilder nature beyond the garden fence.