Finding Piet

CREATE YOUR OWN OUDOLF GARDEN

Piet Oudolf transports the magic of the meadow to the heart of the city.

My first exposure to his work was accidental.  Headed to Grant Park from our downtown Chicago hotel, we passed through an inconspicuous gateway into the Lurie Garden.

Oudolf's creation was in full bloom.  Children padded through the trickling stream-like fountains. Tourists cooled their dangling feet--a respite from the scorching pavement.

High Line Park New York City

In August the garden was a riot of purples and red.  The sturdy Lake Michigan winds oscillated the dancing grasses. 

Later, walks along the High Line near the Chelsea district of New York offered another view of Piet's creative work.  An abandoned railway overpass was transformed into a pathway strewn with calming native plants with trees swaying in the Hudson River breeze. Thousands fill the walkways each day.

Soon Detroit will host a natural Oudolf wonder on Belle Isle--capitalizing on the force of the prevailing winds from the Detroit River at the mouth of Lake St. Clair. 

High Line walkway

How to emulate the master? 

The grounds around my home are (loosely) patterned after English gardens both formal and cottage in deference to the style of the home and the heritage of my beloved.  No place for a pasture.  But, like most gardeners, the plots expanded rather than contracted. 

Two years ago a cottage garden replaced a tumble of ground cover at the base of a stone retaining wall.  It was the perfect landing place for orphan plants, but filled out quickly,  The addition of a gravel border path should have sealed the boundary, leaving the ramble weed hillside below untouched.

High Line in summer

Trouble is, gardeners know no borders.  A year later, the scruffy hillside became the host to a newborn Piet-inspired meadow.

Piet Oudolf'design concepts are simple:

1.  Use noninvasive native plants that will reseed freely and provide winter interest.  No cutting back is required.

2.  Follow the 70/30 rule.  Seventy percent of the plants should be "fillers."  Fillers such as grasses provide volume, height and movement.  They are planted to provide the signature "haze" or "blur" that is the trademark of an Oudolf garden.  Thirty percent of the plants should provide seasonal color through blooms or berries.  Favored colors deeper hues of purple, red and gold. 

Winter Interest High Line New York

3.  Plant in drifts and swaths, the opposite of the riot of plants found in a cottage garden.  Frame the edges with the blur of tassels of grass or big-headed blooms like Joe Pye weed. 

4.  Plant in volume. 

5.  Repeat themes. 

6.  Plant in layers.


before

7.  Plant for all seasons but be aware of the sun or shade requirements of sprouts.

At the end of season, vendors at the county farmer's market sell  plants at a deep discount.  The initial inhabitants of a pasture garden need not be pretty, only healthy.  Thus the cranky vendor occupying the last stall nearly smiled at the offer of two dollars each for a couple dozen of astilbes and pampas grasses.

Clearing the area was the most labor intensive part of the project.  The largest and deepest taproot weeds were dug out by hand.  Those with shallow roots required a stirrup or rake.

The plants were arranged,  to best emulate the Oudolf grid.  We planted using our "patented" wedge method.  We finalized the plantings, then generously sprinkled free wood chips to reduce the occurrence of weeds. 

after

Our little pasture is shaded so we chose astilbe and pampas grass for the fillers then catmint (nepeta) and variegated hosta as thrillers.  More plants will be added in the fall as other plots are thinned.



FOUND GARDENS:

FREDERIK MEIJER SCULPTURE GARDEN



LAFAYETTE GREENS DETROIT

 

Hydrangea Die-Back

Winter got me like ..

WILL MY HYDRANGEA COME BACK?

The long cold winter is a not so fond memory. Souvenirs of protracted cold  are showing up in the garden

This spring some hardy hydrangea are missing the early vitality of prior years.



The year, the Midwest suffered through several days of continuous cold.  Some weeks never saw the thermometer rise above twenty degrees Fahrenheit.

While the seemingly endless snow cover might have offered  insulation for below-ground plants, the living stalks of many hydrangea varietals could not survive the sustained onslaught of icy temps.  Rather than remain dormant, the upper eighty percent of many hydrangea appear lifeless. But that's not fatal for the entire plant.

My lace cap hydrangea hedge, which rounded out above three feet, is only green at the bottom quarter.


Forever and Ever look like lettuce plants.

Annabelle hydrangea, on the other hand, never missed a beat.  It's not yet Memorial Day and these beauties are right on track.  Healthy globes of green.

Annabelles are indigenous to Zones Five and Six.  Many of the newer hydrangea introductions are dubbed "marginally hardy."

For the struggling plant, it's best to stand by.  Don't remove the shrubs so long as they show signs of growth at the base. 

Defer trimming back the brown stalks poking out from the plant base.  But, if the branches were not trimmed back in the fall, cut back by one-third.  Hopefully the remaining stalks will act as plant supports to  new growth.  If they're still protruding by late June, then cut back those that poke out. 

Will there be hydrangea blooms this year?  Yes, but maybe not as robust as past years.

Gardeners are experts in the art of patience.  By next year, if there's fewer troughs of cold, blooms should return to normal.

Annabelle in May

My husband likes to point out how eager I was to pull out a seemingly dead Annabelle hydrangea a few years ago.  Uncharacteristically I agreed to wait.

That Annabelle is a repeat showstopper.


Ignore the funky looking hydrangea until summer is in full swing. 

The vagrancies of nature can be accommodated if anticipated.

More mopheads:

The Incrediball Hydrangea ~ From Annabelle to Forever and Ever

Hydrangea Hedgerows

Garden Gates

GATES ARE THE OPENING ACT

A fence is not required.  Garden gates stand alone, unite hedges or define a pathway. 

The gate can be made of any material, wood, willow, iron or copper.

A gate can be functional, keeping intruders out,
or occupants in.  Or it can be purely decorative.  From simple creations to elaborate works of art.

Gates know no language, they are impervious to cultural or political influences. They can be shabby or grand.  Always charming.

Gates are the cherry on top of a lovely sundae of a garden.

They may creak, or lean, but gates always add an element of interest, whether open or closed.

They  offer mystery and inquiry.  Doorways to the beauty within.





Single or double the message is the same.  While fences create boundaries, gates are an open nvitation.


In my travels, I've paused in front of innumerable entryways, wondering about the gardens they protects, and the gardeners therein.









Sometimes the latch opens easily. 

Curtain's raised!

And the magic begins...

 

Beyond the gates:

The Garden Potting Bench

Cottage Garden Design