Naturalizing the Garden — A Way Back Home

 

This is truly a remarkable time for landscape design.

The shift from highly manicured gardens to a more naturalized landscape has brought about a gentler approach to working with nature.  An approach that is centered on managing processes vs maintaining them.

The garden is after all alive, and all living things must change — and the real beauty is in embracing change over time.

The shift from dominating the landscape to working with nature stems from a deep seated need to connect with something other than ourselves. To connect with nature, is to truly come home.

The desire to improve the integrity of own personal spaces, is one of the most impactful changes we have seen in the gardening industry.

Perhaps the greatest catalyst for change is the research illustrating that many habitats and ecosystems are under threat of collapse. The insidious use of pesticides,

fertilizers and fossil fuels have completely decimated the organisms that support our very existence. As a result the amount of pollinators has significantly decreased over the past few years.

As a result, new approaches to gardening are emerging — inspired by the beauty and systems found in nature.

More and more homeowners are implementing sustainable design into their properties — fueled by the need to make change at the personal level — one by one these natural gardens, connect and weave through the urban fabric, creating pollinator corridors, and attracting birds and wildlife.

We must support what supports us.

The desire to change, often begs the question — where do I start?

Here are some small ways to embark on your journey:

1. Add water

2. Let the grass grow

3. Increase Shrubs

4. Add native plants

5. Divert rain spouts into gardens

Taking our cue from nature encourages a softer, gentler approach to the earth,

It truly is a way back home.

 

Winter Design — A Time to Reflect and Plan

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If you mourn the end of the gardening season, rest easy, the plants may be dormant, but you don’t have to be. In fact winter is the best time to reflect on the garden, planning ahead, so that you are ready to go at the first sign of spring. With winter, comes perspective. We are given the opportunity to sit back and gaze through the window at the landscape. The structure of the garden becomes evident and it is easier to see how the garden is thriving and what is out of balance.

Having a landscape plan down on paper is super helpful when it comes to realizing your vision. What I like to call a client’s “dream plan” helps to inform decisions, keeping clients on budget and on track. The idea of the dream plan is to think large and scale back as necessary. There is no need to complete an entire design in one season. In many cases it is better to tackle a landscape design over time and with well thought out phases. This way the garden grows with the client and small changes can be made here and there to ensure the best outcome.

In Northwestern Ontario, winter is our longest season, and I am a firm believer in embracing the cold, snow and awesome landscape that winter offers us. As the lake freezes, out come the ski’s, snow mobiles and long winter walks. But rarely do we garden for the winter months. With a few smart decisions, your yard can easily become a four season paradise. Tree’s can provide shade in the summer and a wind block in the winter. Plants that were vibrant hues of green, drop their leaves to expose bright red bark. Berries are left high on branches to encourage birds to stay, eat and in the spring, start a family. Planning the garden is the only way to ensure that you will have four beautiful season’s to enjoy outside.

Perspective on the garden is easier sought in the midst of winter, the landscape is exposed and we are left with the bones of the garden. With a plan in hand you will be better prepared to break ground– as soon as it thaws._0040064

About the author

Kathryn Strachan is the founder and owner of Stay Wild. Kathryn holds a Master’s of Landscape Architecture and has won several awards, most notably the TD Go Green Challenge, a national competition that promotes sustainable design. Kathryn has a combined 7 years of educational and work experience, working at a reputable Landscape Architecture firm. Kathryn has also held numerous Teaching Assistant positions at the University of Manitoba. Kathryn has guided students towards their design goals and has also taught GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and 3D modeling at the graduate level.

Learn more about Stay Wild here.