Matrix Gardening for Simpler Design

Modular Matrix Design

1/8/2019

I posted an image to Instagram that got some folks asking good questions. It's a 15x15 foot garden plan, a draft for a section of a much larger garden area that's several thousand square feet. The curve ball is that this section will be repeated until the entire garden area is covered; this is modular planting. Not only does it simplify the drafting process, but it helps installers move along while providing visual repetition for onlookers -- that last point is important when a wilder garden might otherwise be brushed aside as weedy or messy.

As you can see from the plan (and my chicken scratch handwriting), there's a plant list to the left; let me type that out for you:

Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) SO
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) AT
Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) AH
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) SS
Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) CI
Rough Blazingstar (Liatris aspera) LA
Pale Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) EP
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) EY
White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida) DC
Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) ZA
Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata) CP
Blue Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) AF
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) RH

On the bottom are seasonal bloom lists, and on the right some percentages I was trying to work out. The latter is key and site specific; since I anticipate weed competition on a dry slope, our goal is to cover the site quickly with plants and seed, then to manage for weeds the first year when their pressure will be the greatest. Some of the plants are aggressive spreaders, by runners or seeding, while others are behaved clumpers. I'm trying to find the right balance between clumpers and spreaders -- the former will give us more formal definition, appealing to a traditional expectation of what a garden looks like (think anchor or architectural plants), and the latter will help us replace mulch while providing seasonal color. How the roots compete with and support surrounding plants was also part of the thinking. I'm still playing around and have several iterations of the grid.

You could take this plan and make a 15x15 foot garden. Or you could treat it as a test plot for future expansion, repeating the plan in the years ahead around the initial plot. The key here is lots of plants. Under and around the forbs will be sown 1-2 short grasses (sideoats grama, prairie dropseed, etc), which in a year will fill in creating the matrix, base layer, or groundcover which will replace the need for wood mulch. The plant density -- on one foot centers or less -- will provide multiple environmental benefits: competing against weeds above and below the soil line, providing pollinator habitat year round, amending soil, slowing runoff, and providing seasonal color for us to enjoy. What do you think?

15 Comments

Jon

1/9/2019 02:36:24 pm

Thank you! This is very helpful. I am in the process of designing a native plant "plan" for the 4x40 foot hellstrip in front of our house. Am I right to assume that the blank parts of the grid are where the grasses will go?

Benjamin Vogt

1/10/2019 08:43:58 am

Yes, exactly right. We'll seed grasses in the open areas.

lbte

1/12/2019 05:13:06 am

love this! I've been reading more about Piet Oudolf's work after seeing his movie, "Five Seasons" this winter and am so happy to see you explore some of his ideas on a more reasonable scale. now I'm trying to determine what can grow in hot and humid central North Carolina and will be watching to see how you do in Nebraska-thank you!

Benjamin Vogt

1/16/2019 09:51:50 am

A more reasonable scale. We'll see. I'm not an Oudolf devotee but there's a lot to learn and extrapolate from on a regional level. Then there's also the added focus on wildlife support beyond the ornamental for humans only....

James McGee

2/3/2019 08:24:26 am

I am not sure from the draft which side of the garden is the edge from which it will be viewed. This is important because you would not want shorter plants further away from the viewing area than taller plants.

I would prefer the plants be more dispersed and in bands that radiate from the viewing area depending on height, as opposed to being in small groups.

Finally, I would save my money for more of the long-lived-slower-growing plants by introducing species like black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and golden alexander (Zizia aurea) from seed.

Benjamin

2/3/2019 08:49:29 am

It's a modular design, so don't necessarily think of it as its own space; since it will be linking up to its replicated self there is not particular viewing area -- think meadow. As for plant arrangement, yes, you can certainly do it how you like, just keep in mind the plant will move. When I was thinking abotu Rudbeckia and Zizia I was considering where I wanted them to move out from and head toward, since they will self so at least moderately depending on environmental factors. But you are right -- if this were simply a large meadow of 1/4 acre or more, I'd probably go with seed for species like them, as well. Perhaps I'd also seed 75% of the area to cut down costs, depending on how visible the space would be for viewers and how "gardeny" it needs to appear.

James McGee

2/3/2019 11:49:36 am

Yes, plants do move. How this is dealt with is the difference between gardening and ecosystem reconstruction. In ecosystem reconstruction we want plants to form drifts according to the location in the landscape they would have naturally occupied. Whereas in gardening we constantly edit so plants are in the areas we want them and certain species do not take over everything else. This editing is a great chance to give neighbors plants so they can get something started at their own homes.

Instead of thinking about where the Rudbeckia and Zizia would spread out from, try thinking about it from a succession stand point. If you plant these species they would bloom, set seed, spread out a little, and repeat. Whereas, if the entire area was lightly seeded with these species then you would have a reassuring pop of color for your client in year two giving them reassurance while the species that take longer developed enough to put on a show.

Benjamin

2/3/2019 11:54:14 am

Trust me, I am thinking about succession, which is why I anticipate Rudbeckia vanishing within three years. And which is why I'll also be seeding in some mexican hat coneflower and a few annuals; these plants will help with weed competition the first 1-2 years until the perennials come on. I don't think this is an either or -- gardening vs. ecosystem reconstruction -- but meeting somewhere in the middle. Where on the scale this slides is dependent on the site and client goals.

James McGee

2/3/2019 12:28:40 pm

I trust you. :)

Jake Rayson link

1/13/2020 04:20:59 pm

This may be totally simples question but do you measure out the grid with string, with markers on the boundaries or are you doing it by eye? I’m really keen to try this out on a UK site :)

Benjamin

1/14/2020 08:06:56 am

Some use string. I use a stake at each corner then paint out has marks -- say every two feet. Along the way I might change things -- add more plants, move things a little, etc; it always feels different on site the day of.

Jake Rayson

2/2/2020 05:12:11 pm

I’m using this as a basis for planting UK native wildflowers, really as a fun experiment to learn about flowers from both sides of the Atlantic (flowers haven’t been my thing). I made a CAD file, mostly because I had a tax return to fill in, and put some notes online, which might be of interest: http://simp.ly/p/kcXBf3

I'll slowly be filling up the "UK equivalents" section as I find out more.

Thanks for the ideas :)

Nancy Field

4/4/2020 01:56:33 pm

I'd like to find Pacific Northwest equivalent plants. Am a native plant steward and could eventually get there but wonder if there is a simpler way to assemble an equivalent list. Thanks for this!

Benjamin

4/4/2020 02:01:53 pm

You'll have to find someone up there to help you, or take the time to do the admittedly tedious research. I'm sorry I can't provide a specific plant list for you, just the general idea.

Amy Call

9/9/2020 10:56:16 pm

Thanks for the ideas, esp using the grasses as "spacers" btw forbs. I'm designing a rain garden in NE IL, so totally different plants but this plan gets my wheels turning. Clumping sedges and blue flag can be my spacers.

About

Benjamin Vogt's thoughts on prairie gardening in Nebraska. With a healthy dose of landscape ethics, ecophilosophy, climate change, and social justice.