Select plant species and locate individual plants within community-like groupings
Once the spatial framework for a designed landscape is clearly identified in the mass/space plan, the very specific task of selecting appropriate plant species for each zone within the site …
Match plant communities to the mass-space plan
Once the zones of mass and space have been identified, a list of potential plant community types that match the desired characteristics of those various zones can be generated. The …
Develop a mass/space plan
The site analysis will have identified the ‘given’ masses (e. g. buildings and existing vegetation masses), as well as open spaces (e. g. paved surfaces, rock outcroppings, open water and …
Inventory and analyse the site to be designed
A critical step early in the process is to do a thorough inventory/analysis of the site to be designed, just as it is in any landscape design or planning process. …
A process for abstracting native communities in design
The use of somewhat simplified abstractions of natural communities of plants in designed situations combines some of the methods of traditional landscape design with others that depart from those methods. …
Stylisation/abstraction of native plant communities
The next step along the continuum of design activity using native plant species is to incorporate stylised or abstracted versions of native communities as design elements. Whilst the design of …
Diversification of ground layer plantings
A next logical step along the continuum of using native plants or native plant communities in the designed landscape is to depart from single-species ground-cover plantings by planting a diversity …
Alternatives to current practice
A variety of approaches to the use of ecologically-informed vegetation and plant communities may be taken when designing landscapes. Along a continuum, which goes from the most conservative (i. e. …
Landscape maintenance/management
Once a landscape planting is installed, the subsequent management has traditionally had the effect of ‘freezing’ the composition, minimising change over time. Whilst the natural growth of trees is permitted, …
Plant placement
Just as plant species diversity is vastly simpler in the traditionally designed environment than in the naturally evolved landscape, so are distribution patterns. Plantings may be geometric, reflecting either the …
Current practices
Planting design, or composition with plants, has two basic components: plant selection and plant placement. A discussion of these two activities, as they are most often practiced in traditional landscape …
A methodology for ecological landscape. and planting design—site planning and. spatial design
Darrel Morrison The native landscape of the United States is richly diverse, both botanically and aesthetically. Tall-grass prairies with billowing waves of grasses and colourful wildflowers once covered millions of …
Succession
Succession is one of the fundamental concepts in ecology that is highly relevant to landscape design and management; indeed, it could be argued that a large proportion of landscape management …
Cycles and fluctuations
There have been surprisingly few long-term studies that have monitored changes in the composition of plant communities over more than three to five years. As can be seen from Figure …
Dynamic change in time and space
Even the seemingly most stable types of ‘natural’ vegetation will be subject to change. Whilst most people will assume that most of the wild vegetation they see around them (for …
Phenology
The concept of the ecological niche has already been mentioned as one means by which greater biodiversity is achieved, with species co-existing as close neighbours but not directly conflicting because …
Patterns
We have seen how diversity can be maintained, through the promotion of the coexistence of species within a given area of space, but how does this actually work out on …
Competition between plants and promoting diversity in landscape vegetation
Promoting diversity in vegetation is primarily about reducing the vigour of potential dominant species—it is simply not enough to include a larger number of species in a mix—that greater diversity …
Why is biodiversity and species richness important?
The intrinsic value of biodiversity is a fundamental tenet of nature conservation. At a basic level, because a range of co-existing species can exploit more resources than can a single …
Competition and co-existence—how plants interact
The successful combination of different plant species is one of the main functions of planting design and landscape management. In traditional, horticultural-based planting design, aesthetic and functional considerations predominate: how …
The dynamic nature of plant communities
Any acceptance of an ecologically-informed approach to planting must fully embrace the concept of change. The common perception that plant communities in the wild are relatively static, with little alteration …
The dynamic nature of plant. communities—pattern and process in. designed plant communities
Nigel Dunnett All planting design, if it is to be successful, must to some extent be a compromise between what is desirable (artistic or creative vision) and what is possible …
Conclusions
It is clear from this survey that ‘ecological design’ covers a very wide range of practices. There is a need for practitioners to appreciate that this range and the flexibility …
Evoking nature
Two practices exemplify and highlight the problems we have in defining ecological planting design. Piet Oudolf in the Netherlands and Oehme/van Sweden in the USA have achieved high public-profiles for …
Informal naturalistic planting
Native flora as an artistic medium It is possible to use locally native flora in a way that is entirely conventional in its design aesthetic, and with no intention of …
British approaches
The Lebensbereich style has had some influence over practitioners outside Germany, and this could well grow as knowledge of Hansen’s work and the spectacular park plantings becomes more widespread. Additionally, …
Steppe planting
The most successful Lebensbereich plantings, in terms of their public impact, have been those for dry habitats, the so-called ‘steppe’ plantings. Their inspiration is the highly distinctive, species-rich, and attractive …
Mixed perennial planting
Dr Walter Korb, at the Bavarian Institute for Viniculture and Horticulture (Bayerische Landesanstalt fur Weinbau and Gartenbau at Veitshochheim), has begun to develop a simplified version of the Lebensbereich perennial …
The Lebensbereich style
Of all the ecological planting styles, the work that has been done in Germany by Professor Richard Hansen and his followers represents perhaps the most sophisticated balancing point between nature …
Stylised nature—German Lebensbereich plantings and others
One of the most varied planting styles that fulfils our criteria of being ecological involves the use of plants that are not necessarily native to the area but are chosen …
Annuals
Ecologically inspired annual plantings have a more recent history than those that use perennials. Yet they have enormous potential and, ironically, largescale projects may sometimes give better value for money …
Flowering meadows
Building upon the ideas espoused by Robinson (1870), James Hitchmough started a programme of research in 1994 aimed at assessing the feasibility of establishing mixed native-exotic meadows, i. e. a …
The ‘marginal garden’
One of the most inspired and determined efforts at creating a garden that relies on a matrix of native vegetation and exotics is the ‘marginal garden’ of Professor Geoffrey Dutton …
Woodland edges
Woodland edge habitats offer a variety of ecological niches both spatially and over time. The addition of flowering perennials to the strip that abuts woodland is a feature that adds …
Woodland gardens
British woodland gardens are often extensive and largely feature flowering shrubs beneath a canopy of native trees, with oak (Quercus robur, Q. petraea) being favoured for its compatability with a …
