How to design natural gardens with a more formal look

How to bridge the gap between formal, traditional landscaping and naturalistic designs using native plants.

I love what you’re doing with native plants, but I don’t want a wilderness right outside my front door.

That’s a comment which might come from a potential new client. Nature, while providing ecological services, doesn’t always look as neat as we are accustomed to with traditional gardens. And native plants, which have evolved to serve the rest of the ecosystem, don’t necessarily have the large blooms and reliable structure we’ve bred into their cultivated cousins.

So how can we bridge the gap between formal, traditional landscaping and naturalistic designs using native plants?

First, location matters. A design in a prominent position near the cottage could be different from one further away. We can use “cues to care” in areas we see everyday. Paths, neat edges, and signs of maintenance all indicate some degree of intentionality.

At this stage, it’s wise to have a reality check about garden maintenance. Studies in Germany show how some designs require more management than others, so we need to consider whether we have the time and expertise to maintain the formal landscape we’re installing.

For example, a traditional formal border – the kind you would see in an English country garden – might look wonderful near your cottage, but to keep it looking good requires a lot of time and expertise. The German study shows that this kind of design takes about five times as much effort to maintain as the two designs I’m going to show you next.

The question is, do you have the time and expertise to maintain it, or the budget to hire someone to do it for you?

Instead, here are two designs I think bridge the gap between formal and low maintenance: block plantings, and matrix plus accents.

Block by block

Block plantings are large areas of a single species, as the name suggests. These blocks are repeated across the design. The rhythm and repetition create a sense of coherence. The design makes management easier, because you know what to do with each element in the design. For example, you would cut back dead grasses in spring. And unlike a monoculture (such as a lawn), the design still includes a variety of plants to keep wildlife happy.

Into the matrix

The matrix plus accents design uses a selection of perhaps three groundcover species to anchor the layout. Then, the design is punctuated by plants that serve as focal points. In a sunny garden, you might choose a grass such as Little Bluestem as the matrix, then add blocks of plants such as Lanceleaf Coreopsis as focal points. A shaded area might use one or two sedges or violets as the matrix, with some shrubs as focal points. Maintenance would revolve around keeping the matrix neat and tidy – a job that doesn’t require much time or expertise.

Plant choice matters, too. Stress-tolerant plants, which establish slowly and don’t try to take over, will make it easier to keep the design looking coherent. While you might not get instant results, you won’t be fighting a battle to keep your landscape looking neat.

I like to think of these areas as gateways. They’re not only gateways to your cottage, but they’re also gateways to naturalistic design. Maybe for your next project you’ll have a layout with a more natural feel, helping to integrate your landscape with the wider world.

The rules to all this are simple. Show intentionality through cues to care. Select a simple palette of plants and repeat them throughout the design. Make sure your plants play nicely with each other.

Then you’ll have a landscape that looks like you want it to look without giving yourself a maintenance headache.