In the early days of designing my garden to qualify for the front yard recognition in Richmond Hill, I came across the idea of planting “what was meant to be”.
I loved native plants, their elegant, dainty style, but I was competitive, I needed them to perform. In my search for creating the perfect colourful meadow, I fell in love with Piet Oudolf’s work because of the show-stopping wow factor, which truly pushed the boundaries of how amazing a meadow can look – the meadow of dreams.
Piet’s designs place a large emphasis on structure and using plants that look good in all seasons to create dramatic, colourful meadows and woodlands. I scraped through his books and design sketches to compile a list of North American native plants with these characteristics.
Most plants are linked for your convenience to my favourite tool, the Missouri Botanical database – please note the sun and water requirements, and toxicity when placing plants in your designs. For plants listed as “spp.”, multiple species are recommended.
Plants marked with a “♥” are Piet’s favourites, and are seen in most of his installations.
Now you can install your very own Piet Oudolf-tier garden that is also native, promotes biodiversity, and replenishes the local seed bank.
Use can-plant.ca to find local native plant nurseries!
Palettes:
“It may look wild, but it shouldn’t be wild. This is what you’d like to see in nature.”
Piet Oudolf
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How is the COVID situation over there?
Still going. Although they are removing mask requirements in stores, restaurants, and theaters, healthcare settings will continue to require them.