Planting the Natural Garden by Piet Oudolf

“If the world of gardening has rock stars, Piet Oudolf qualifies as Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Prince rolled into one.” —Gardenista The original publication of Planting the Natural Garden ushered in a revolution in landscape design: the New Perennial Movement. Spearheaded by internationally renowned designer Piet Oudolf, and incisively articulated by the late plantsman and designer Henk Gerritsen, it transformed private and public spaces with its emotionally resonant, naturalistic use of hardy perennials and grasses. Now this classic has been expanded and updated to include scores of new plants and combinations. Packed with practical information and visual inspiration, Planting the Natural Garden zeroes in on the New Perennial Movement’s power to move us, making its distinctive plant palette available to all. For enthusiasts of these vibrant landscapes, it is an essential text; for gardeners who love the dreamy moods and colors that Oudolf and Gerritsen celebrate, it’s the key to a magic kingdom of garden beauty.

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From the Publisher A Gardening Classic Fans of Piet Oudolf will revel in this updated edition of the book that helped launch his career. 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. Echinops bannaticus Echinops, Asteraceae, globe thistle Stately plants with deeply cut, more or less prickly leaves and large spherical flower heads at the top of a single, or a lightly branched, stem. Bees, bumblebees and butterflies avidly visit the flowers. The plants thrive easily on dry or wet, poor or rich soil. E. bannaticus Height: 160cm Flowering: July – August A sturdy plant with purple-blue flower heads that can reach up to 8 cm. Monarda bradburiana Monarda, Lamiaceae, wild bergamot, bee balm Without doubt one of the most important of garden plant genera. Everything about the plants is attractive. The stems are sturdy and do not collapse. The leaves smell delightful, and the flowers are plentiful and last for a long time. As a finishing touch, swarms of butterflies descend on the plant when in flower. M. bradburiana Height: 60 cm Flowering: May – June Pale pink flowers on a relatively compact plant. This species is more tightly clump forming than the traditional varieties and flowers earlier. Tranquility Most people long for tranquility in their lives, or in their own garden at any rate. Besides the familiar blue/lilac/pink combination, many other extremely tranquil color combinations are possibly more original. Pale yellow has a subtle and tranquil effect and can be used with lilac or pink. Yellow with blue is a welltried and very beautiful combination, but it does not exactly exude tranquility. Very attractive and perhaps not so obvious are combinations with green. Green with blue, for instance, is a very cool but also very charming combination. Unusual (and tranquil) is the combination of green, pink, and widow’s purple. Finally, there is the totally green garden, in which the nuances are sought in the shape and color of the foliage. Tranquil combinations Achillea ‘Credo’ Foeniculum vulgare ‘Giant Bronze’ Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ Lunaria rediviva Nepeta govaniana Perovskia abrotanoides ‘Little Spire’ Salvia nemerosa ‘Crystal Blue’ Teucrium hircanicum Thalictrum delavayi Planting Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden Grasses for Gardens and Landscapes The Complete Book of Groundcovers Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Customer Reviews 600 28 25 57 Price $18 32 $16 01 $24 97 $17 53 More garden design books from Timber Press The first book to share Piet Oudolf’s original planting plans and the only book to explicitly guide gardeners through how his iconic landscapes are made. 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.