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<\/p>\nGarden designer Nigel Dunnett uses two contrasting slogans in his work: \u201cplanting design is an art form\u201d and \u201cplanting design is essential.\u201d\u00a0 The former captures the impact a successful design has on our emotions.\u00a0 The latter expresses the necessity to create healthy human environments, especially in cities.\u00a0 His book \u201cNaturalistic Planting Design: The Essential Guide is an excellent introduction to these creative principles.<\/p>\n
He defines naturalistic planting design as inspired by nature, but not a recreation of a particular ecosystem.\u00a0 The book goes deeply into the historical development of this practice, while also providing pragmatic step-by-step guides.\u00a0 Examples are shown in all stages from planting \u2013 often a mix of seeding and starts \u2013 to the succession of the gardens through the seasons and subsequent years.<\/p>\n
Dunnett\u2019s gardens won\u2019t appeal to everyone.\u00a0 He\u2019s very limited in his use of woody plants and his herbaceous plantings are mingled rather than in solid blocks.\u00a0 Imitating nature, his projects grow and change, meaning there is no single climax or season when everything is in bloom.\u00a0 Instead, he aims to have something of interest year-round, using a general rule that no more than three plants need to be at a peak at any one time.<\/p>\n
I recommended enjoying the exuberance of the photographs first, and then read the text.\u00a0 To Dunnett, \u201cthe future is all about planting that\u2019s exciting, uplifting, dramatic, beautiful, breath-taking, bold and adventurous.\u00a0 Wild too, and not just in the sense of it being natural but wild because it has an edge to it, it\u2019s challenging, it\u2019s not safe, and it\u2019s not always tasteful.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society<\/em>, Winter 2020<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Garden designer Nigel Dunnett uses two contrasting slogans in his work: \u201cplanting design is an art form\u201d and \u201cplanting design is essential.\u201d\u00a0 The former captures the impact a successful design has on our emotions.\u00a0 The latter expresses the necessity to create healthy human environments, especially in cities.\u00a0 His book \u201cNaturalistic Planting Design: The Essential Guide is an excellent introduction to these creative principles. He defines naturalistic planting design as inspired by nature, but not a recreation of a particular ecosystem.\u00a0…<\/p>\n