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February 2009Creating a Naturalistic Garden
The Leonard J. Buck Garden, Far Hills, NJ The Leonard J. Buck Garden has endured decades of weeding, grooming, pruning, planting, building and patience to become a naturalistic garden. The garden lies in a woodland stream valley where natural rock outcroppings have been uncovered. Collections of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns, and rock loving plants thrive in this deep gorge formed millions of years ago by glacial waters and volcanic activity. Many devoted, and talented stewards have supported the garden and more will labor to ensure its place in the future. Having a naturalistic garden does not mean you let nature take its course; even a meadow must be cut once a year in order to remain a meadow. The goal is to create a natural, uninterrupted scene that flows from plant to plant and garden space to garden space to emulate nature. When planning a naturalistic garden, first become familiar with the plants already growing on the property. This gives an idea of the types of plants that thrive in a particular location. New plantings must flourish and complement the surrounding landscape without overwhelming or obscuring the garden’s natural design. Naturalistic gardening is the most labor intensive style there is. One must constantly weed to prevent the natural from becoming too wild, yet not over-groomed either. The hardest part is striking a balance between cultivated and wild. At Buck, the surrounding woodland is home to the native white wood aster, but we don’t want armies of this self-sowing perennial around every turn. Editing must be done. Also at Buck, a pond adds to the garden’s naturalistic beauty. If you are lucky enough to have a pond, stream or bog, you know what this means. Ponds are havens for plants and wildlife where the true harbinger of spring, skunk cabbage, emerges through frozen soil; where Japanese primroses create a thick carpet of color in swampy areas, the lovely forget-me-nots thrive at edges, and the summer straggler, cardinal flower, adds brilliant color and nectar for hummingbirds. Water is essential for wildlife and will increase the number of species who visit and live in your garden. This provides you with a great opportunity to observe the wildlife in your location. To experience the fullness of a naturalistic garden you need structural elements as well. Paths and bridges are essential to experiencing a garden; they keep your feet dry as they lead you through the garden. Paths also minimize impact on what can be a fragile environment. Buck Garden has over a mile of paths bringing you to another destination and five bridges providing safe passage over its pond and stream. Benches throughout the garden invite you to pause, look around, and relax. The rustic shelter in the Azalea Field, formed from Osage orange and red cedar, gives a pleasant sensory experience and comfort from unpredictable weather. A naturalistic garden should also encourage bird watching. Songbirds add another dimension to the garden with variety of color, continual motion and melodic song. Five unique bird houses exist throughout Buck Garden. Improving the soil is essential to encourage lavish growth. We compost year round and furnish the garden with this enriching material. Leaves are one of the main ingredients. They are raked, shredded, and used for mulch, adding to the garden’s natural appearance. This type of garden may appear to be untouched by human hands but the illusion belies a lot of work. Many hours are spent pulling, pruning, and cutting back, plus digging, planting, transplanting and watering, especially during summer droughts. If you want to create a naturalistic garden, begin with knowing your site and observe what plants do well in your area. Let established plants creep into tended areas in order to avoid a sudden division but don’t let them take over. Construct paths to lead you through the garden and benches to invite you to a garden scene. Be patient, expect to make mistakes and prepare to do a lot of editing. - Tricia Scibilia, interpretive gardener **All photos by Tricia Scibilia unless credited otherwise Leonard J. Buck Garden, Somerset County Park System: www.somersetcountyparks.org/ |
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