Product Description

Timber Press has earlier published two critically acclaimed and bestselling books by Piet Oudolf, the influential Dutch landscape designer: Gardening with Grasses (with Michael King) and Designing with Plants (with Noel Kingsbury).

This new collaboration with fellow Dutch plantsman Henk Gerritsen deals with a selection of some 1200 plants most suitable for Oudolf’s New Wave naturalism, which emphasizes the importance of plant structures in providing all-season interest, for after all, plants are out of flower for longer than they are in bloom. The gardener can prune back plants after flowering to create a perpetual spring – at least until the onset of winter – but the authors prefer to follow nature’s example and let plants finish flowering, not only to please the birds and butterflies, but for the beauty well-chosen plant groupings offer as they reach the end of their life cycle.

Many illustrations in this (and Oudolf’s other books) demonstrate the striking effects of his favorite plants in fall and winter. These “dream” plants – perennials, bulbs, grasses, and ferns, as well as biennials and annuals – have been selected because they perform reliably with few demands on soil or gardener. Some worthy plants that may present problems – invasiveness, unpredictability, fussiness – are treated in a special section for adventurous gardeners willing to expend the extra efforts they will require. All of the plants are knowledgeably described, and many are illustrated with superb color photos. In the authors’ view, all are suitable both for low-maintenance public gardens and for dramatic naturalistic home gardens.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #890001 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: Dutch
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Dream Book for Earthbound Gardeners
In concert with Piet Oudolf's previous two books on ornamental grasses and on design, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden expands the vision of an already exceptional garden personality. As a dutch designer and nurseryman, Oudolf offers us his emperical advice about hardy plant selection from an earthbound perspective. Paired here with his fellow garden designer, Henk Gerritsen, Oudolf makes a bold case for the natural style advocated by an international group of landscapers. Instead of conventional groupings by color, Oudolf and Gerritsen communicate both their aesthetic and practical choices here under the headings of "Tough," "Playful," and "Troublesome." They espouse plants that grow easily without pesticides & fertilizers while providing year-round beauty. Oudolf has been renowned for his masterful use of perennials as players in gardens of four-season interest. This volume describes 1200 plants he and Gerritsen have chosen on the basis of behavior, strengths and usage. The combined results of their long experience, provide us with details hard to find in one place before now. Many of these plants are cutting edge (especially in the US) and thus, not widely written about in popular horticultural literature. As everywhere, the Netherlands have their own climatic conditions; thus, gardeners from other countries will need to extrapolate a bit. Luckily, the authors provide enough information on zone, soil and sun conditions to make this possible. The photographs maintain the high-quality of previous Oudolf books. However, since plant descriptions outnumber pictures, it helps to have some familiarity with the specific genera and species mentioned. The clean presentation of format, text and illustration make this eminently readable. As a landscape professional, I cannot more enthusiastically recommend such a distinct and useful publication.

You need to know plants to benefit from this book
Dutchmen Gerritsen and Oudolf label Boltonia a "troublesome, demanding plant." The same with our common wildflower Monkshood. They say that Knipofia won't survive winter. Lobelia hybrids are "only for people with green fingers." "Tierella wherryi is quite reliable when you look after it properly..." All of these plants are favorites in US gardens.

And the crowning insult to American readers -- Echniacea (Purple Coneflower) is labeled "troublesome." This is one of the most popular perennials in the US!

While I appreciate the design ideas of Oudolf's earlier books, this one is a bust as far as plant advice for US readers goes -- and the plant descriptions take up most of the book.

A beautiful book, a guide worthy of owning and studying...
This volume, taken together with Oudolf's "Designing With Plants" -- an invaluable companion -- gives the gardener an inspiring and comprehensive approach to stylish landscape design and plant selection. Taken by itself, "Dream Plants" is a not necessarily helpful guide. It's hard to make sense of it as different from any other plant selection book, as it has no context. But in consort with "Designing With Plants," the design context comes clear: one has both the key and the lock in one place -- the design guide, and the plant selection menu. With both in hand -- and the photographs are lush and suggestive, and the plans bold and clearly illuminated -- there remains plenty of obscurity throughout. But there are not many mistakes here of continuity, and so one has confidence that it is as full and reliable a depiction of natural, early 21st century garden and landscape design principles and practice one can get between two covers.

Contrast this with the dreary corporate planting schemes of van Sweeden and Oehme -- not an inspiration anywhere in their so-called "Bold Romantic Gardens". With Oudolf, the reader discovers as much about the the secrets of his design pallet as can be revealed without actually having him standing over your shoulder. This book is full of mystery, which is as it should be, with detailed clues and hints in the variety of plants discussed in detail, the photographs of combinations that demonstrate his views on plant structure, appearance and sequencing, and the useful back-and-forth between the principles of garden design he favors, and the selection of plants he uses to bring it to life.

I would not purchase "Dream Plants" without also purchasing "Designing With Plants." Together, they are a fabulous combination.