BY MARY AND CARL HENSLEY

Planting the Natural Garden
By Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen

In recent years, many JCMGs Hortline inquiries have involved native plants, prairie gardening, and natural-looking landscapes. The interest in these topics has driven an increase in seminars and continuing education on these and related topics.

An inspiring book for individuals enthused by these topics is Planting the Natural Garden, by Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen, both pioneers renowned for their exceptional garden designs as well as their use of plants with excellent reliability, ease of maintenance, and beauty. Based in the Netherlands, both have authored other books you may find and enjoy.

You may have visited public parks with garden designs by Oudolf, including New York’s High Line and Chicago’s Lurie Garden in Millenium Park. In the United Kingdom, he designed Hauser & Wirth’s prairie garden in Somerset, England. These gardens have been designed taking inspiration from nature.

Oudolf and his wife Anja have not only widely collected but also bred many plants. One of their earliest successes was the Salvia verticillata cultivar ‘Purple Rain.’ Their goal was to develop plants that retain natural wild beauty but behave in a way that they could be successfully grown in any garden. A demonstration of their efforts can be seen at their nursery in Hummelo, in the Netherlands.

Henk Gerritsen created the Priora gardens in the Netherlands, with a goal to achieve gardens that are as wild and natural as possible, yet sustainable. Thus, he has found that cultivars used by the Oudolfs also worked well in his garden designs. In the “Introduction” to this book, Gerritsen briefly describes the Dutch Wave that began in the 1970s. This movement reflected excitement among Dutch gardeners regarding new plant assortments and the style of garden design developed and used by the Oudolfs, himself and several others. This book has been translated into English by Susanne Tonkens-Hart.

We have found Planting the Natural Garden an inspirational book that is also practical and informative, providing ideas for designs and suggestions for plant selections and combinations. The “Plant Descriptions” section focuses on selected perennials and ornamental grasses, with details of species and cultivars that over time have proven to be reliable choices for this type of gardening. Throughout the book are beautiful photographs illustrating the featured plants and concepts, many of them taken by Anton Schlepers.

There is a useful section called “Good Neighbors,” showing plant groupings that do well together, along with a few basic garden designs. There is also a valuable section discussing “Exceptional Properties of Plants” (for example, short-lived plants, weavers and climbers, as well as butterfly plants) plus a reference section providing practical guidance on “Plants per Square Meter.”

In the “Uses” section, plantings are suggested to bring a certain characteristic or emotional feeling to the garden or landscape—with themes such as lush, airy, tranquility, exuberant, silvery, wonderful, or even gloomy. Should any of those themes or concepts capture your imagination, the authors provide lists of suggested plants.

The grassy theme was inspiring to us, as we have added a number of ornamental grasses to our garden over the years and been pleased with the results. There is year-round interest with these grass plantings: from light and airy inflorescences, to movement in the breeze, plus appealing architectural elements in winter. Color is also a factor: for example, Eupatorium maculatum (Joe Pye weed) is among those forbs noted for beautiful autumn colors. We especially appreciate this plant as it attracts many butterflies, bees and other pollinators to our garden.

Planting the Natural Garden is available at the Iowa City Public Library. We hope you will enjoy this book, and perhaps you will consider visiting these authors’ gardens in your travels!