Naturalistic Planting Design Course

Monday 29 September 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 13 October 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 27 October 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 10 November 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 8 December 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 15 December 2025, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 5 January 2026, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 19 January 2026, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 16 February 2026, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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.

Monday 9 March 2026, 6.00pm – 7.00pm

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