[Your Name]
And it is glorious.
Then I watched Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf . five seasons
So, this weekend, when you look out your window at the gray sky and the brown mud, don't reach for the pruning shears. Pour a cup of coffee. Look closer. You aren’t looking at a mess.
Here is the most radical thing I learned from the film. Oudolf doesn't design for peak bloom. He designs for transition . [Your Name] And it is glorious
He wants the moment when the Monarda (bee balm) is turning black and crispy next to the fresh green shoots of the Sedum. He wants the rust on the leaves. He wants the "mess."
I have a confession to make. For most of my life, I thought a garden was supposed to look like a fireworks show. You know the drill: Explosive color in June, deadheading in July, and by October, you cut everything down to the nub so the "neat" brown mulch can sleep under the snow. Pour a cup of coffee
We all know Spring, Summer, and Fall. Garden centers make a fortune off them. But Piet Oudolf, the rockstar of the "New Perennial" movement, argues for a fourth and fifth season.