Dream Plants for the Natural Garden

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0881924938, Hardcover)

Timber Press has earlier published two critically acclaimed and bestselling books by Piet Oudolf, the influential Dutch landscape designer: Gardening with Grasses (with Michael King) and Designing with Plants (with Noel Kingsbury).

This new collaboration with fellow Dutch plantsman Henk Gerritsen deals with a selection of some 1200 plants most suitable for Oudolf’s New Wave naturalism, which emphasizes the importance of plant structures in providing all-season interest, for after all, plants are out of flower for longer than they are in bloom. The gardener can prune back plants after flowering to create a perpetual spring – at least until the onset of winter – but the authors prefer to follow nature’s example and let plants finish flowering, not only to please the birds and butterflies, but for the beauty well-chosen plant groupings offer as they reach the end of their life cycle.

Many illustrations in this (and Oudolf’s other books) demonstrate the striking effects of his favorite plants in fall and winter. These “dream” plants – perennials, bulbs, grasses, and ferns, as well as biennials and annuals – have been selected because they perform reliably with few demands on soil or gardener. Some worthy plants that may present problems – invasiveness, unpredictability, fussiness – are treated in a special section for adventurous gardeners willing to expend the extra efforts they will require. All of the plants are knowledgeably described, and many are illustrated with superb color photos. In the authors’ view, all are suitable both for low-maintenance public gardens and for dramatic naturalistic home gardens.