Planting: A New Perspective by Piet Oudolf

“Indispensable.” —The New York Times Book Review Piet Oudolf’s gardens—unique combinations of long-lived perennials and woody plants that are rich in texture and sophisticated in color—are breathtaking and have deep emotional resonance. With Planting, designers and home gardeners can recreate these plant-rich, beautiful gardens that support biodiversity and nourish the human spirit. An intimate knowledge of plants is essential to the success of modern landscape design, and Planting shares Oudolf’s considerable understanding of plant ecology, explaining how plants behave in different situations, what goes on underground, and which species make good neighbors. Extensive plant charts and planting plans will help you choose plants for their structure, color, and texture. A detailed directory shares details like each plant’s life expectancy, the persistence of its seedheads, and its propensity to self-seed.

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From the Publisher A New Perspective With the help of Piet Oudolf’s original plans, this book is the first to show gardeners and professionals how his gardens and landscapes are made. Piet Oudolf is among the world’s most innovative garden designers and a leading exponent of naturalistic planting, a style that takes inspiration from nature but employs artistic skill in creating planting schemes. Oudolf's extensive work over 30 years of practice includes public and private gardens all over the world. He is best known for his work on the High Line and Battery Park in New York, the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park, and Potters Fields in London. The Big Picture Traditionally, the way plants were organized in parks and gardens reflected a culture that liked to order and discipline nature. Contemporary planting design is not only freer, but also seeks to reflect nature. It also addresses our concerns about how we garden sustainably and in partnership with nature. Grouping Plants How plants are grouped plays a major role in how they are seen and appreciated. It makes sense to start with what happens in nature, and then look at how plants have been grouped historically in gardens. Finally, we will consider the plant grouping systems which Piet Oudolf has used in his work since the mid-2000s. Combining Plants Combinations are the basic building blocks of planting design. To make effective combinations, we have to understand the visual character of the plants we work with. Color has been analyzed many times, but structure is more fundamental as it is with us over a longer season – so this will be our main focus. Long-Term Plant Performance Plants have evolved a whole series of strategies for survival in nature – not just of individuals, but more fundamentally of their genes. These survival strategies influence how plants grow in gardens and other designed landscapes. Understanding them is key to appreciating, and making the most of, the long-term performance of our plants. Mingling Currents in Planting Design Inspired by nature, planting designers are creating intermingled combinations using either plants or seed. Here we look at some of the most exciting and clearly articulated of these approaches currently being applied by colleagues across three continents. Planting the Natural Garden Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden Grasses for Gardens and Landscapes The Complete Book of Ground Covers Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Customer Reviews 531 28 25 57 Price $23 74 $16 01 $24 97 $17 53 Fans of Piet Oudolf will revel in this updated edition of the book that helped launch his career Innovative techniques for combining bulbs and perennials in every season. This design-forward guide profiles the best ornamental grasses for use in landscapes and gardens—along with advice for successful cultivation. No matter what kinds of conditions you’re facing—shade, dry soil, heavy clay, excess moisture—there’s a ground cover that will thrive and beautify your garden.