Artfully planned decay

'the real test of a well-composed garden is not how nicely it blooms but how beautifully it decomposes' Piet Oudolf

The man has a good point...

I admit I have long been a disciple of Piet's approach to planting design. When composing a new scheme, I start with a backbone of plants that will give structure to scheme throughout the year, even in the dead of winter - such as hedges, grasses and evergreens

I then begin to add in smaller shrubs and decidous plants, before finally adding the wow plants, the ephermeral layers of flowering perennials - the icing on the cake.

Read the full article in the New York Times