Book Review: New Naturalism

This clever book by award-winning Kelly D. Norris posits that home gardeners should be planting differently, namely with a focus on “plant communities." He encourages readers to plant on the “wild side" by combining plants based on their ecological role, i.e., their appeal to pollinators, ability to trap carbon, and interaction with other plants in the garden. While Norris does not ignore the aesthetics of garden design, he does emphasize that choosing plants based on appearance is like building a house based on interior paint colors.

Norris leads the reader through the New Naturalism philosophy by breaking his message down into two parts: “The Nature of Planting" and “Planting Palettes." In “Section 1: The Nature of Planting," the author covers some basic, yet valuable, concepts about plant biology—including the important relationship between soil and plants—as well as how to select the best location for plants and employ practices that support thriving plant communities. In “Section 2: Planting Palettes," Norris provides useful advice for handling an array of home gardening situations and lists plant species that he recommends for various scenarios.

A foundational technique in Norris’s vision of New Naturalism is the application of a three-tiered system for planning a wild garden. He instructs the reader to select plants that fit in the “matrix," “vignette," or “structure" layer of each planted area, a method that to this reviewer seems reminiscent of the traditional thriller-filler-spiller design rule for container gardening. A major difference, of course, is that Norris advocates for this approach because of the interaction between plants more so than for visual appeal.

One of the key points the author makes in New Naturalism is that there should be no gaps between plants. Instead, Norris encourages the reader to use a greater quantity of plants than expected. Then, the various species selected for the matrix layer should fill all of the spaces left by plants in the vignette and structure layers, allowing no room for unwanted weeds. In order to strategically combine plants in these various layers, the gardener must understand the seasonal behavior of the species as well as their competitive natures.

Throughout the book, Norris offers somewhat surprising guidance, such as placing a greater emphasis on plant diversity than on selection of natives, as well as the previously-mentioned crowding of plants (although Norris does briefly suggest that diseases caused by overcrowding can be mitigated through careful species selection). He also discourages over-tending the garden and even, in some cases, allowing less aggressive weeds to stay in place, perhaps welcome news to weary gardeners.

Despite the strong scientific sense of the book, Norris writes for the educated non-expert, using brilliant analogies, accessible language, and a wealth of inspiring and clarifying photographs.

According to the “About the Author" section of the book, Norris has been recognized in a number of publications and with several awards, and in 2015 was a fellow at the Chanticleer Foundation.