Wasn't it two days ago that I looked at the duplicate place names? Last night I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, ON and heard a speaker from Burlington, Wisconsin.
He is Roy Diblik, a garden writer with a garden design vision that focuses on modern design using native plants and creating 'native landscapes'. One of his areas of expertise is understanding plants as members of a living community. He is not amongst those people who view a plant as a potted possession.
He made it clear that we garden selfishly and without consideration for the plants and their needs and requirements. Roy's method of gardening is to create communities of plants that are 'companions' - meant to grow with each other. They cover the soil, keep out weeds, and create naturalistic gardens that can live on for decades. They maintain themselves without the need for mulch or fertilizers. This is possible when we give them their natural conditions.
Roy worked with Piet Oudolf and is best known as the plantsman behind Oudolf's midwestern garden designs. He designs and creates award-winning public gardens in the Chicago and surrounding area. Best known is Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago.
This is a bit of a wake-up call for someone like me who loves to go to the garden centre and purchase the latest new hybrids. Roy can create a stunning garden with about 20 plants. There's a great deal to learn from the simplicity and discipline he espouses. Here's Roy's website, Northwind Perennial Farm.
Today's pictures show the Toronto Botanical Garden's front walk way garden. It was designed by Piet Oudolf, and gives you a sense of the style of garden that is the subject of Roy's designs. Our pictures show scenes through the seasons.
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