PLANTING in a post-wild world

Over time, with industrialization and urban sprawl, we have driven nature out of our neighborhoods and cities. But we can invite it back by designing landscapes that look and function more like they do in the wild: robust, diverse, and visually harmonious. Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is an inspiring call to action dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can flourish in our cities and suburbs. This is both a post-wild manifesto and practical guide that describes how to incorporate and layer plants into plant communities to create an environment that is reflective of natural systems and thrives within our built world. Book is available on Amazon (click here) or wherever books are sold.

“This is the universal how-to guide to sustainable landscaping we have all been waiting for. A masterful accomplishment!” —Doug Tallamy, author of The Living Landscape 

“As practical as it is poetic. . . . an optimistic call to action.” —CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"It feels to me as if this book is not just another entry in the overcrowded gardening category, but a manifestation of a something needed, something important, something that’s been waiting to come into the world for a long while." Root Simple

A HYBRID OF ECOLOGY AND HORTICULTURE

Designing with plant communities can not only link nature to our landscapes, but it can also bring together ecological planting and traditional horticulture. It offers a middle way. Whether your goals are ornamental or functional, this book offers a method of combining plants that gives you more out of your planting: more diversity, color, seasonal interest, and reslience. 

Related populations, not isolated individuals

Moving from the idea of traditional planting to a designed plant community starts with letting go of the idea of plants as objects to be placed, like pieces of furniture. Instead, think about plants as groups of compatible species that interact with each other and the site.