Prairie Gardening

Popular style, ambiguous terminology?

Authors

  • Katherine Taylor

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2012.65

Abstract

The paper attempts to unpick the real meaning of the term ‘prairie gardening’ and to explore its popularity in a European context. Establishment and maintenance techniques are also considered. The term is, however, applied without discrimination to a wide range of styles, from large-scale traditional prairie restoration or re-creation projects through to highly stylised prairie interpretations. Research included a literature review to assess the main ecological features of, and threats to, native North American Prairie and an examination of the origins of contemporary ‘prairie gardening’ in both the USA and Europe. Primary data was gathered from eight UK gardens associated with this planting style. The evidence suggests that the spectrum of styles encompassed by this term is broad even within the UK, a clear indication that its usage is over-simplistic and potentially ambiguous. The author offers her own classification of the genre under the umbrella term ‘prairie-style gardening’ in the hope of further clarification. The paper is a summary of a project which was carried out as part of the second-year project of the HND in Horticulture with Plantsmanship at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Author Biography

Katherine Taylor

Head Gardener Wormistoune House

References

BBC (2009) Gardeners’ World. Television programme (25 September). BBC.

BBC (2010) Gardeners’ World. Television programme (26 April). BBC.

Blue Planet Biomes (2010). Available online:http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie.htm (accessed 11 January 2010).

Buckland, L. (2001). Call of the wild. Gardeners’ World Magazine. BBC Worldwide Ltd.

Bush Brown, J. & Bush Brown, L. (1980). America’s Garden Book. Revised edition published by The New York Botanical Garden. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.

Checketts, I. (2010). A garden renewal. The Professional Gardener, 27, 30–34.

Dunnett, N. & Kingsbury, N. (2004). Blending nature with nurture. The Garden, 129(3), 208–215.

Hansen, R. & Stahl, F. (1993). Perennials and their Garden Habitats. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (First published in German in 1981).

Hermannshof (2009). Available online: http://www.sichtungsgarten-hermannshof.de/ (accessed April 2010).

Hitchmough, J. (2000). Establishment of cultivated herbaceous perennials in purpose-sown native wildflower meadows in south-west Scotland. Landscape and Urban Planning, 51, 37–51.

Hitchmough, J. (2004). Naturalistic herbaceous vegetation for urban landscapes. In: Dunnett, N. and Hitchmough, J. The Dynamic Landscape. Spon Press, London.

Hitchmough, J. (2005). Why value exotic plant species? Ecos, 26(3–4), 28–32.

Hitchmough, J. (2010). Available online: http://www.shef.ac.uk/landscape/staff_minisites/james/index.html (accessed April 2010).

Hitchmough, J. & De La Fleur, M. (2006). Establishing North American prairie vegetation in urban parks in northern England: Effect of management and soil type on longterm community development. Landscape and Urban Planning, 78, 386–397.

Hitchmough, J., De La Fleur, M. & Findlay, C. (2004). Establishing North American prairie vegetation in urban parks in northern England. Part 1. Effect of sowing season, sowing rate and soil type. Landscape and Urban Planning, 66, 75–90.

Hitchmough, J. & Dunnett, N. (2004). Introduction to naturalistic planting in urban landscapes. In: Dunnett, N. & Hitchmough, J. (eds). The Dynamic Landscape. Spon Press, London.

Hitchmough, J. & Woudstra, J. (1999). The ecology of exotic herbaceous perennials grown in managed native grassy vegetation in urban landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 45, 107–121.

Hobhouse, P. (1997). Penelope Hobhouse’s Natural Planting. Pavilion Books Ltd, London.

Hobhouse, P. (2002). The Story of Gardening. Dorling Kindersley, London.

Kingsbury, N. (2004). Contemporary overview of naturalistic planting design. In: Dunnett, N. & Hitchmough, J. (eds). The Dynamic Landscape. Spon Press, London.

Kingsbury, N. (2009a). So why do we all love prairie? Available online: http://noels– garden.blogspot.com (accessed April 2010).

Kingsbury, N. (2009b). Natural Garden Style. Merrell Publishers Ltd, London.

Lloyd, C. (2004). Meadows. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Oudolf, P. and Kingsbury, N. (2005). Planting Design. Gardens in Time and Space. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Prairie Enthusiasts (2010). Available online: http://theprairieenthusiasts.org (accessed January 2010).

Swift, J. (2008). Designing with Plants: Prairie Planting. Gardeners’ World Magazine.

Trentham (2010). Available online: http://www.trenthamleisure.co.uk/gardens.html (accessed April 2010).

University of Wisconsin–MADISON (2010). Available online: http://uwarboretum.org/about/communities_collections/ (accessed April 2010).

Wasowski, S. (2002). Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.

Wilson, A. (2002). Influential Gardeners: The Designers who shaped Twentieth Century Garden Style. Mitchell Beazley, London.

Wilson, A. (2009). An urban prairie. Gardens Illustrated, May 2009, 96–98.

Woudstra, J. (2004). The changing nature of ecology: a history of ecological planting (1800–1980). In: Dunnett, N. & Hitchmough, J. (eds). The Dynamic Landscape. Spon Press, London.

Woudstra, J. and Hitchmough, J.D. (2000). The enamelled mead: History and practice of exotic perennials grown in grassy swards. Landscape Research, 25,1, 29–47.

Downloads

Published

2012-10-31

How to Cite

Taylor, K. (2012). Prairie Gardening: Popular style, ambiguous terminology?. Sibbaldia: The International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, (10), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2012.65

Issue

Section

Articles

Categories