AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW PERENNIAL MOVEMENT
I can remember arriving at the ‘design’ phase of my gardening life.
After stumbling into the ‘have a go’ chapter, I graduated to the ‘education’ stage, which segued into the ‘collector’ period, resulting in a garden that resembled a living library of all my favourite plants in a somewhat chaotic but lovable mish-mash. Then, I turned toward the hunt for atmosphere.
My passion for growing has led me to visit many fantastic New Zealand gardens, vastly different from each other but with a feeling of cohesiveness and intention that I began to recognise was missing from my own patch. I’ve come to appreciate that experienced gardeners reflect their personal style with plant curation to achieve atmospheres that might be considered traditional, structured, wild or whimsical – an approach that is also achieved with architecture and interior decoration. Varying use of hard landscaping, trees, shrubs, seasonal flowering plants and layout builds on this style, providing endless opportunities to present the viewer with a sense of occasion, whether it be formal, casual or somewhere in between.
Words and (some) photography by Julia Atkinson-Dunn
The naturalistic area at Penny Zino’s Flaxmere garden in North Canterbury, New Zealand. Planted with an aim for experimentation with this concept of planting in a New Zealand environment after a workshop with Piet Oudolf.
Inspired by some specific gardens and the fabulous central-city planting in Christchurch, I found a particular design movement that really attracted me. The New Perennial Movement, with its naturalistic planting style, has a foot in ecology, site-specific planting and celebrating plants as features throughout each stage of their lifeline. Overall, it is an effort to create gardens that both mimic and are in unity with nature. Interpretations of this concept are wide and varied, allowing ideas to evolve as factors such as climate change and the needs of local ecosystems are drawn into question.
Northern Hemisphere examples (where the style has had a long foothold in Europe, the UK and North America) commonly weave soft grasses through drifts of flowering perennials, chosen to deliver interest as the seasons progress. Points of focus are provided by introducing a variety of form and colour through blooms, seedheads and foliage resulting in a kind of large-scale, artful, living tapestry. There is an emphasis on appreciating a changing garden-scape throughout the year, with no rush to chop and tidy in autumn; instead, a New Perennial or ‘naturalistic’ garden encourages the onlooker to find beauty in the skeletal, textural and muted scene the planting finds in the seasonal cooling. A thorough cutback then usually occurs in late winter.
Beyond the initial visual results, principles of value for those designing these gardens are in mixing together plants that respond well to their specific environment and ground conditions, planting tightly to reduce opportunities for weeds, and providing a living habitat to support insects, pollinators and birds. While everything is planted with intention, the aim is to offer an impression that this space has occurred ‘naturally’ – which is almost never the case, given that the plants used are often interesting exotics mixed with natives of the region.
“Robyn rightfully points out that a New Zealand example of a naturalistic garden ‘would more likely be a garden of native trees and shrubs as we see in our native bush, where most species are unique and endemic to New Zealand and nowhere else.’
We have very few native flowering perennials and most of those that do flower tend toward white, so this presents a challenge in creating the attractive blend that is a hallmark of this style. Therefore, mixing our natives with exotic plants reveals great creative potential. ”
As garden designer and writer Robyn Kilty shared with me: ‘Naturalistic gardens are those that look as though they have just appeared in a natural landscape. However, a garden, whether it is called naturalistic or not, by the mere fact of being a garden is always moulded by humankind and not nature. It is actually a style designed by people to look natural, even though it has not evolved naturally.’
Intrigued by this fresh style of planting, six years ago Robyn, along with fellow celebrated gardener Penny Zino, set off for The Netherlands and a workshop with the designer best known for spotlighting and expanding the concept in recent times, Piet Oudolf. His name is the first that springs to mind for many when discussing the New Perennial Movement, and he is the creator of world-famous examples that include The High Line in New York, Hauser and Wirth in England and his own garden of forty-plus years at Hummelo in The Netherlands.
Piet Oudolf’s own garden Hummelo, Netherlands.
Image source
Piet Oudolf’s own garden Hummelo, Netherlands.
Image source
“It is a way of gardening that can be so individual and therefore can be suited to a range of conditions. I love the way it moves in the wind, the grasses coming into their flowering season add so much, and later with seedheads forming, it is magical. All this can be done using our native grasses, which is another reason it appeals as these gardens will take on a different look to what you see in Europe or other places. It can feel as if it belongs here. I love the individuality of the different colours of the perennials winding their way across an area.”
The pair sought to understand the principles of the approach, which differed greatly from the traditional European styles that arrived in New Zealand with colonialism, and how these might be translated into their South Island spaces. Robyn has a very compact urban garden in Christchurch, and Penny a 3.4 hectare rural garden in North Canterbury.
Penny says: ‘I love the softness and the etherealness of naturalistic gardens. The naturalistic approach seemed so much more flexible and suitable to our conditions. In my case, nothing over a metre was the general rule, otherwise, it would be flattened in the winds we have. It is a way of gardening that can be so individual and therefore can be suited to a range of conditions. I love the way it moves in the wind, the grasses coming into their flowering season add so much, and later with seedheads forming, it is magical. All this can be done using our native grasses, which is another reason it appeals as these gardens will take on a different look to what you see in Europe or other places. It can feel as if it belongs here. I love the individuality of the different colours of the perennials winding their way across an area.’
The Lurie Garden by Piet Oudolf in Chicago, USA.
Hauser and Wirth garden by Piet Oudolf in spring
Photo by Penny Zino.
The High Line in spring
The High Line in winter
She has encountered challenges along the way as she tweaks and experiments with her naturalistic beds.
There’s been problematic self-seeding of some plants, versus the shorter lifespan of others, and the need to combine plants that have the same water requirements in the interests of using as little water as possible, which is also a top priority of the concept. Even, on reflection, realising that her initial planting wasn’t tight enough to work against weeds. As she admitted, this is all part of the spontaneous nature of the approach and the constant balancing act of exploring gardening.
While some of the Northern Hemisphere interpretations are a closer reflection of naturally occurring wild areas of those regions, Robyn rightfully points out that a New Zealand example of a naturalistic garden ‘would more likely be a garden of native trees and shrubs as we see in our native bush, where most species are unique and endemic to New Zealand and nowhere else.’
We have very few native flowering perennials and most of those that do flower tend toward white, so this presents a challenge in creating the attractive blend that is a hallmark of this style. Therefore, mixing our natives with exotic plants reveals great creative potential. Exploring the principles of the New Perennial Movement allows me to fully embrace the idea that I can use my garden to reflect my personal style and vision. As always, it will be a matter of keeping up the research of plants, accepting the volatile and experimental nature of working with living things, and remembering that the process is as creative and rewarding as the eventual results.
Something we should all relish.