Naturalistic Gardening: Reflecting the Planting Patterns of Nature (Paperback)

by Ann Lovejoy (Author), Allan Mandell (Photographer) "Though the idea of gardening with layered plantings may sound new, it is at heart an extension or amplification of what many gardeners already do..." (more)
Key Phrases: naturalistic borders, naturalistic gardening, naturalistic gardens, British Columbia, Bainbridge Island, Michael Schultz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"Gardening is by definition interference with nature," begins Ann Lovejoy cheerfully. That said, gardeners will save themselves no end of trouble by cooperating with nature insofar as possible. Thus naturalistic gardening, which has made real inroads into the more formal, traditional American gardens over the past few years. But naturalistic gardening doesn't mean just throwing a lot of seeds on the ground, or letting the weeds take over. Lovejoy's practiced advice helps gardeners get a handle on constructing a garden that is like nature, but with an element of art. Allow plants to follow their own natures by judicious placement, she counsels, and you will minimize their care as well as reveal their essential beauty.

Lovejoy includes enough practical instructions to allow anyone with a reasonable amount of gardening experience to create a successful naturalistic garden, and the inspiring patterns of the example gardens, beautifully photographed by Allan Mandell, are nicely explained. Lovejoy even gives a chapter to the hotly debated tropicalismo school of naturalistic design. The emphasis is very much on gardening in the northwestern United States, but anyone who yearns for a more natural look in the garden will benefit from the principles outlined here.

From Publishers Weekly
Lovejoy (Cascadia; The Garden in Bloom) differentiates the undeveloped style of natural, ecologically correct gardens ("more earnest than beautiful") from the high art of naturalistic gardens (which combine "habitat with artful, expressive gardens in an eco-sensitive manner"). While imitating nature's planting patterns, naturalistic gardeners appropriate a rich palette of shape, mass, textures and negative space to create soft-edged layers and "tapestry hedges" (mixed evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, for example). Theoretically, site-appropriate plant selection and placement cut down on garden maintenance and labor, but this is debatable even in Lovejoy's examples. Although this book focuses on the Pacific Northwest woodlands and only briefly illustrates the mixing of garden plants in other wild habitats, its concentration on design will benefit gardeners in diverse areas of the country. It should be noted that this book speaks best to experienced gardeners, for substantial horticultural knowledge is required, including a full grasp of each plant's character, culture, seasonal phases and mature mass. With considerable aid from Mandell's luminous photographs, Lovejoy's articulation heralds an important evolution in American garden design.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (January 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570611203
• ISBN-13: 978-1570611209
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #278,016 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

Ann Lovejoy is inspiring and fun to read. This book seeks to help the gardener embrace her natural surroundings in creating a garden that mimics natural forms and "layers". Ms. Lovejoy shares insightful design information in a flowing and exuberant style of writing that sparks the imagination. I have so many great ideas for my wooded yard garnered from this book. Where I would have cut down trees, I clearly see gloriously shaded possibilities. And Mr. Mandell's photographs are so beautiful. You will love this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Interesting Book, December 23, 2001

By	Thomas L. Ogren (San Luis Obispo, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Naturalistic Gardening, by Ann Lovejoy, is an excellent book, especially for anyone with woodlands on their property. But the book is useful too for those who just want to fashion gardens that retain that wild feel, that natural look.
The photographs from Allan Mandell are exceptional and capture well the spirit of this fine book. For those gardeners who have never read any of the many gardening books by Ann Lovejoy, this will be a treat. Ms. Lovejoy writes in a way that is always clear and easily understandable, and her writing has a voice that is fun, energetic, full of life.
All of the books by Ms. Lovejoy are quite good, as is Naturalistic Gardening. No mention is made of my own specialty, allergy-free gardening, and some of that component would be welcome here, but still, this is a book to provoke some real thinking--a book to inspire different, less rigid, less formal gardening. I enjoyed it very much.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nature, plus., May 22, 2003

By	Valerie Adolph (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

The subtitle "Reflecting the Planting Patterns of Nature" clearly expresses the focus of this book, as do the first words of the Introduction "Natural gardening is not natural".

The writer, who has earned the American Horticulture Society Writing Award, has authored numerous gardening books and her approach is comfortably informal. She is knowledgeable about the topic, expanding the idea of using native plants and placing them where nature would have them to include the relationships between plant communities and inter-layering canopy trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers. Each of these may be native or non-native but they echo natural plant patterns of the area and accentuate the features of each plant and its place.

After reading the book I felt I had begun to understand that the look of a natural garden is uncluttered, well proportioned and, large or small, makes a statement about both the gardener and the place.

Based in the Pacific Northwest the writer uses gardens of Washington State, Oregon and British Columbia to illustrate her theme. The many color photographs of Allan Mandell beautifully illustrate the text. (Wonder of wonders these days when many book illustrations are pretty, but quite meaningless on the page.)

This is one of the most practical and yet most lyrical books I have encountered on the topic of natural gardening. It's an art that is not nearly as simple as it appears to be. The writer shows that it can be done with flair and style, even in a small garden and on a limited budget.