Philip’s Garden Blog

In this environmentally friendly roof garden, drought tolerant perennials are placed in drifts of complimentary colors. White yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and ornamental grasses add texture.

In this garden designed by Tom Stuart Smith, russet colored drifts of grasses are  startling in a field studded with clipped topiary standards. There is an evocation of time here; one is reminded of the classic ruins of Rome clothed in verdure so beloved of the 19th century Romantics.  It is as though a once formal garden, now “gone to seed”, has achieved a new kind of splendor.

In this striking border,  Noel Kingsbury,  author of Planting Design: Gardens in Time and Space  and Seedheads, combines spiky perennials with a backdrop of dramatic grasses. The contrast of the formal elements such as the classic urn, bench, and gravelled path with the naturalistic plantings in a blue and grey colorway with emphasis on texture is key.  You can create a similar effect with the following plants:

Piet Oudolf creates a delicious composition with drifts of perennials knitted by tall grass. The strong colors are particularly effective against the green of the meadow.  To reproduce this effect in your own garden you’ll need some amount of space; a certain depth . A tremendous amount of plants are used. For cost reasons alone, seeds are the way to go, with the perennials started in seed trays and then transplanted, and the grass self-sown.

Piet Oudolf’s wife Anja has a nursery on the premises, but the intrepid gardener can achieve this with some preparation and effort.

Liatrus spicata: 

Echinacea  sp. “merlot“

Festuca rubra