Paperback Return to top of page Garden Design Naturalistic Gardening by Ann Lovejoy Naturalistic gardening is horticulturally hot right now and its popularity shows no signs of diminishing. Generally, this involves planting in layers or ruffled tiers that echo the tiers of native plant habitats. These mixed communities can be scaled up or down according to the size and site of each garden, but even in miniature, the essential relationships will provide pleasing definition without geometry. Rather than defining the garden with a hard-edged wall or hedge, naturalistic gardeners use soft curves and simple but irregular lines to disguise its actual size and shape.
Many naturalistic gardens are very small indeed, and all are intensely personal.
These are not sweeping estates or great parcels of habitat, nor are they large parks maintained by a staff. Some have had the benefit of professional guidance and assistance, but the essential flavor in each is that of the pleasurable relationship between the gardener and the plants, the gardener and the created environment. Looked at dispassionately, most of these gardens are really quite stiff and contrived, reflecting more about human intervention than about the character and spirit of the plants themselves. In North America, where I live, a less control-oriented kind of garden is rapidly gaining popularity. On this side of the water, where trained staff is uncommon, we favor easygoing combinations of plants that don't need a whole lot of care.