Prairie Gardens and Perennials

Lauren's home garden near Ft Collins, Colorado.

Lately, I am thinking about creating a new large garden in a semi-shady location in front of our house.  The current garden's design is more formal and utilizes both Feng Shui and Asian plant forms.  It is a lovely garden, but it is time to make a change.  I am intrigued by prairie gardens and working with native plants.

Another Lauren Springer garden

I reconnected to this idea after seeing a talk by one of my favorite landscape/garden designers, Lauren Springer Ogden.

Since then, I have gathered more inspiration from plantsman  Roy Diblik and landscape designer Piet Oudolf.  The idea of a more natural garden feels fresh and {water} smart and spontaneous.  

Piet Oudolf garden in West Cork Ireland

Another photo of Piet Oudolf's garden in West Cork

Roy Diblik's garden at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Photo Courtesy of Tina Koral

I heard a recent interview with Roy Diblik where he discussed mowing one of his garden creations as a method of care.  What a concept.  I went to Amazon and immediately ordered his new book.

Adam Woodruff's design

This morning I was visiting Houzz and noticed the gardens created by landscape designer Adam Woodruff.

Adam Woodruff's design