The natural planting style

Style elements:

• A palette of hardy, long-lived and non-invasive perennial planting material
• A combination of forms and textures, from umbrella-shaped Joe Pye weed and spires of bugbane to prickly sea hollies and frothy meadow rues 
• Ornamental grasses to set a mood: big, bold blocks of a single specimen to make a powerful impact or loosely planted drifts woven through the landscape to impart a more casual feeling 
• Double-duty plants that also have seedheads and pods to sustain interest through autumn and winter 
• Formal, clipped hedges with informal, herbaceous planting

Plant picks:

Piet Oudolf relies on a palette of long-lived and sustainable plants. Here are some that form the core of his designs.

Perennials

• Aster (Aster spp.) From Zone 2*
• Masterwort (Astrantia major) Zone 3
• Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) Zone 3 
• Perennial sage (Salvia spp. and cvs.) From Zone 3*
• Burnet (Sanguisorba spp.) From Zone 2*
• Stonecrop (Sedum spp.) Zone 2
• Betony (Stachys officinalis) Zone 5 
• Speedwell (Veronica spp.) From Zone 2*
• Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) Zone 3

Ornamental grasses

• Reed grass (Calamagrostis spp. and hybrids) Zone 3
• Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis cvs.) Zone 3
• Purple Moor grass (Molinia caerulea cvs.) From Zone 3*
• Autumn moor grass (Sesleria autumnalis) Zone 4
• Dropseed (Sporobolus spp.) Zone 3

*depending on cultivar

Photo at top: The Toronto Botanical Gardens in December by Janet Davis – beautifulbotany.com

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