Prof. Nigel Dunnett, Dr. Noel Kingsbury, Prof. Cassian Schmidt

Prof. Nigel Dunnett, Dr. Noel Kingsbury and Prof. Cassian Schmidt will run a ten session webinar course on naturalistic planting. Nigel and Noel will give a comprehensive overview of the art and science of naturalistic planting, combining their extensive experience in both theory and practice, together with an additional two presentations by leading German researcher Cassian Schmidt.

Naturalistic planting is vibrant, sustainable, low-maintenance and bio-diverse, combining a beautiful aesthetic with multiple human, environmental and social benefits. The course explains how plants and plant communities work in natural and designed environments, and how we can harness these ecological principles to ensure long-term success of garden and landscape plantings in any given situation. Noel, Nigel and Cassian will outline clear and straight-forward principles and methods for designing and setting out naturalistic plantings that can be applied in small and larger spaces, in private and public settings, urban-rural, and using all native or mixed native/non-native species. The course is particularly focused on temperate and dry season climate zones, but the principles have widespread application.

How it works.

We are next running the course between September 30 and March 10, with 10 presentations being delivered live, with recordings being sent out immediately afterwards and three live Q&A sessions; each being approx. one hour at 18.00 London time. There will also be additional studio classes with assignments for a limited number of attendees. You can still join now!

Attendees will have lifetime access to all course material.

The course is £250+VAT, Book here if UK based or paying in ££ or here if outside the UK or paying in other currencies.

Istnieje także możliwość prowadzenia kursu w języku polskim!

Sister organisations are running this separately in Spanish and in German!

Plant Ecology for Designed Landscapes

1.  Why a naturalistic approach? What is it and how does it differ from other forms of planting design?  Overview of where we are now, looking at key strands in contemporary naturalistic planting design – similarities and differences. A very brief history. Some personal influences. 30 September

2. Succession. Processes of change over time and the relationship between plants, lifespans, habitat, resources and ongoing development. The roles of native and non-native plants and the debates about this; the relevance of the balance of native/non-native in different situations. NK. 14 October

3. Plant community development over time. Basics of Competition/Stress-tolerant/Ruderal theory (CSR). Competition in resource-rich and resource-poor environments. Succession in Mediterranean and other dry habitat climates. Differences in plant use, long-term performance and planting aesthetics from one climate zone to another. NK. 28 October

4.  Understanding perennials, shrubs and everything in-between. Plant lifespans, vegetative strategies, clonality, plant architecture, structuring of natural plant communties in cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean climate zones. NK. 11 November

Designing Naturalistic Planting

5. Reading Nature. 10 principles for planting design taken from studies of natural plant communities. CSR theory translated for designers. Referencing natural systems:  annuals/ruderals/disturbance; perennial systems, grasslands, tall herb habitats; shrub-rich systems & scrub; woodland and forest systems. ND. 9 December

6.  A planting design method 1: making spaces vs filling spaces. Site analysis, planting strategies and planting typologies.  Plant spatial arrangements and plant structural types.  Random planting vs structured planting. ND. 16 December

7.  A planting design method II. Dynamics, layering, change over time. The role of form, colour, texture and plant association in naturalistic planting design. Communicating naturalistic design. ND. 6 January

8.  Practical considerations and maintenance. Some specific applications: making meadows, roof gardens, rain gardens.  Small-scale, domestic applications. Key trends and insights into future directions. ND. 20 January

9. Planning strategies for planting: the implications of different spatial arrangement for aesthetics and management. Mixed and matrix planting, the concept of sociability. with a focus on the design and management of mixed plantings. CS. 17 February

10. Patterns within mixed plantings, their maintenance, examples of mixed plantings. CS 3 March