A pink and red flower, likely a lily, hanging downward, with a blurred background of trees and greenery.
A garden with a stone pathway, green grass, purple flowering plants, trees, and a house with red shutters in the background, under a partly sunny sky.
Close-up of pink gladiolus flowers growing in a garden with a house in the background and green foliage around.
Various plants including orange lilies, pink flowers, and green foliage in a garden.
A backyard garden with pink flowering trees and bushes, a red Adirondack chair, a black dog on a leash, and a house with a gabled roof in the background.
A colorful garden with yellow, purple, and pink flowers, a large pink-leafed tree, and green trees in the background under a cloudy sky.
A backyard garden filled with yellow and purple flowers, a large red-leafed tree, and a house with a brown shingled roof in the background.
A lush garden filled with various colorful flowers and green foliage, including pink coneflowers, white globe thistles, and orange lilies, with tall trees in the background.
Lush garden with purple wildflowers, green foliage, and a large red-leafed tree in the background.
A lush garden with various colorful flowers and green plants, a wooden deck with red Adirondack chairs, and tall trees in the background.
Cluster of pink and yellow lilies with spotted orange and yellow patterns, set against a green leafy background.
A garden with various flowers including purple, pink, and white blooms, adjacent to a white brick house with a window lit from inside.
A lush garden with a variety of colorful flowers and green plants next to a white brick house with window planters. Tall trees are in the background.
A lush garden filled with various blooming flowers and green plants, with a white house featuring windows and a red-tiled roof in the background.
A red and pink flower with multiple blossoms on a tall stem in a backyard garden, with green grass, trees, and a white house in the background.
A backyard deck with red chairs, a black fence, colorful flowers including pink, yellow, and red, a white shed, tall trees in the background, and a street lamp post.
A front porch with yellow siding, white rocking chairs, and outdoor decor. A garden with various plants and flowers borders the porch. There are pumpkins and a potted plant near the stairs.
Front porch with wooden rocking chair, plants, and garden flowers.

Residential

Naturalistic gardening is all the rage these days - and for good reason. We’ve finally recognized that by mimicking nature, our gardens are more resilient, more dynamic, more interesting, more beautiful, and more helpful than they’ve ever been before. Even people who do garden tend to plant for a single season of interest. Naturalistic gardens are highly layered and change significantly over the course of a year. They erupt electric green in early spring and grow taller so that by midsummer flowers weave their way into a matrix of grasses like color on a quilt. By fall saturated tones match the changing of the season. And yet in winter if chosen carefully the right dead plants remain as sculptural stalwarts.

Chances are you have a great space for a naturalistic garden. It may be a shaded area reminiscent of an ancient woodland or perhaps a roadside ditch similar to a natural floodplain. Then there is of course the unmistakable area of hardpan clay where nothing will grow. Oh, but it will. With the right plants in the right area with the right care, nature teaches us how to garden successfully.