Natural and fresh with that ‘homegrown’ vibe. A prairie style garden is great for attracting those all-important pollinators and satisfies our urge as humans to be closer to nature and the simple life. A garden that evolves, prairie style planting has taken off globally over the lasty few years. Outside the US, it is particularly popular in Australia (see Ralph Bristow Garden Design as a great example), The Netherlands (Piet Oudolf is the master of this style), Scandinavia and here in the UK due to its drought resistant nature.
You may have heard of Xeriscaping, the practice of landscaping with slow-growing, drought tolerant plants to conserve water and reduce garden waste.
The Benefits
- Drought resistant
- Low maintenance
- A garden for all seasons
- Appeals to the senses
- Attractive to pollinators
- Autumn seedheads provide a source of food for native birds
- Creates a habitat for small mammals, frogs and toads
Using the right plant selection and structure you can create your own ‘Little House on the Prairie’.
A Brief History
In 1894, the prairie style was pioneered by American architect and designer, Frank Lloyd Wright. He referred to this emerging style as ‘organic architecture’ – the primary principle of which being that the building should look like it belongs to the site and evolved there naturally. Whilst this style has been around for many years, there has been a resurgence over the last three years or so.
Key Concepts
Think of the overall landscape, the key is to create a drift effect as would happen in nature. You can do this by staggering the planting, keeping taller grasses at the back.
- Create vertical and horizontal layers with a repeating pattern of plants.
- When setting out, space plants so that once they reach maturity they will be touching each other. You want to create one large mass that ebbs and flows as one.
- Repeat colour and texture to create distinct and recognisable patterns.
Plants to use
A mixtures of grasses and flowering perennials. Most effective in larger areas, the relaxed, naturalistic feel can also be achieved in smaller gardens.
Herbaceous Perennials
- Achillea
- Allium
- Camassia
- Crocosmia
- Echinacea purpurea
- Echinops
- Eremurus (Foxtails)
- Erigeron karvinskianus
- Eryngium (Sea holly)
- Geum
- Helenium
- Helianthus
- Leucanthemum vulgare
- Phlomis russeliana (Turkish sage)
- Rudbeckia
- Salvia
- Stachys officinalis ‘Hummelo’
- Stachys lanata byzantine
- Stachys ‘Silver Carpet’
Ornamental Grasses
Tall
Short
- Anamanthele lessonia
- Carex testacea ‘Prairie Fire’
- Cortaderia selloana
- Hakonechola macra
- Stipa tenuissima ‘Pony Tails’
Shrubs
- Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’ (Russian sage)
Where to see prairie style planting
- The Barbican garden by Nigel Dunnett
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park by Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough
- The Savill Garden
- Piet Oudolf’s garden at Hauser & Wirth, Somerset
- Sussex Prairie Garden
- The Merton Borders at Oxford Botanic Gardens
- Ralph Bristow’s “Barwite Garden” (take a virtual visit to Victoria, Australia)
Feature image by Ralph Bristow Garden Design