Wild, Whimsical Meadow Gardens Are the Landscape Trend to Watch


Native plants usually work best. “They will be the most self-sustaining,” Jaccard explains. “And they’ll attract local wildlife. It’s also good to have a mix of grasses and wildflowers ranging in height.” In Southern California, where she is based, plants such as milkweed, native sedges, meadow lupine, California coneflower, California poppy, deer grass, and yarrow lend themselves to the meadow format.

Once plants are selected, there’s a bit of heavy lifting up front. “It can be intensive at first, ensuring invasive weeds don’t overtake the desired plants and that everything establishes properly,” Volk says. “Once that happens, though, it really comes down to mowing at the right times and monitoring the meadow to see what plants are functioning well and what aren’t.”

For Tory Burch’s Antigua home, which once belonged to Bunny Mellon, the fashion designer hired landscape architect Miranda Brooks to bring the gardens back to life, including this golden wild-grass meadow, enclosed by traditional wattle fencing. 

Photo: Francois Halard 

But get it right and you’ll be rewarded with a thriving new ecosystem. One of the biggest appeals of meadow gardens is the way they enhance the wildlife in the area, upping the dreamy factor with butterflies, bees, birds, and more. “Done properly, meadow gardens create a habitat for insects, birds, mammals, and pollinators. They’ll all be there,” Volk explains. “They also require far less resources to maintain than a classic ornamental garden—less water, less chemicals, less manpower spent weeding, pruning, and fussing.”

AD100 architect and interior designer Daniel Romualdez enlisted landscape designer Miranda Brooks to tame and transform the overgrown acres surrounding his beloved Connecticut retreat. 

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo

In a moment where landscape designers and home gardeners alike are thinking more about their ecological footprint, the meadow garden comes as an aesthetically pleasing solution.

“Meadows are safe havens for all types of wildlife and a place that we can also enjoy,” says Jaccard, who points to the ways meadow gardens were preserved, maintained, and used by Native Americans—yarrow could be used on wounds, for example, and grasses for weaving baskets, mats, and clothing. “I think we as a society will and should find our way back to the ways and knowledge of the native people of the lands we now live on.”

Shop the Style

Garden Pruner by Barebones

Ace Handwoven Bird House Basket

Clara Wide Brim Straw Hat

Heritage Garden Hose, 50 ft

Set of Japanese Heirloom Vegetable Seeds

Gardener’s Tool Bag & Seat

Niwaki Mini Kenzan, Set of 4



Source link

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *