Their designs were not necessarily new or American, but they were using massings of grasses and perennials to create blocks of color and texture in a way that was novel and gained attention. About half the plants were of American origin, although some had been given legitimacy in Europe.

How to Wow with Native Plants
I think there are great lessons for the eco-conscious home gardener in the success of this new garden, with its use of plants native to the Northeast, according to its website. Actually, Brady and her team avoided a strict definition of native, and instead drew on plants native to a huge chunk of the U.S. from Virginia to Southern Maine and as far west as the Great Plains.

And perhaps more importantly, the garden was designed to be beautiful, rather than to replicate how things would look without human intervention. Again Ill quite Higgins:

The garden rejects a conventional idea of presenting native flora as replicated eco-systems and instead gathers American plants with a gardeners eye for color, texture, combinations, seasonal peaks and other aesthetic ambitions. The planting schemes are complex, and besides the mind-boggling number of plants involved 90,000 perennials, grasses, bulbs, shrubs and trees in a 3¹/₂-acre area Brady and her collaborators have used varieties bred for improved garden performance.

So, the third tip for choosing native plants that wow is to include cultivated varieties because theyve been cultivated for improved garden performance. I know that stricter adherence to whats native wouldnt allow cultivars but this garden, with its public role and $15 million price tag, needed to look terrific and it sure does. I sa w it this month, in its first season, and it wowed me.

Goldenrod and Little Bluestem in the dry meadow.

The 3.5-acre Native Plant Garden includes a large water feature, wet and dry meadows, small groves, and over 400 species and cultivars.

The Split Rock above is a glacial erratic meaning its not found where its believed to have originated. The split was caused by hundreds of freeze-thaw cycles. Next to it and elsewhere throughout the garden is Milkweed in bloom.

This style of native-plant garden seems to be spreading to oth er public gardens. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden recently opened its expanded Native Flora Garden with a more designed and garden-like look than it had originally, when its design goal was to exactly replicate what was there hundreds of years ago. I saw it a couple of years ago and agree that it wasnt exactly pretty.

Wild turkeys love these Highbush blueberries.

In conclusion, I think this native plant garden will go a long way to promoting the use of native plants. Well done, Sheila Brady and the NYBG!