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Trending: Meadow Garden Designs in Australia

Meadow Park
A current international trend in landscape design is the Meadow Garden’’. This style of garden is neither strictly cultivated nor purely natural but rather, aesthetically, and functionally, a balance of both. As such it requires less maintenance than a traditional garden while retaining the appeal of an intentional design. Meadow style gardens can take their inspiration from different environmental contexts such forest or woody meadows but are most often associated with the ‘prairie’ look of sweeping grasslands and limited canopy.

Meadow gardens use plant colour, texture and form in repetitious drifts to create a flowing, naturalistic effect. While some trees or hedging may be included to create structure, focal points or separate garden spaces, the main theme is the lower story of grasses, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials.

An adaptable style

This style of garden can be applied in residential, commercial, or public contexts. Oudolf’s NYC Highline project and Lurie Gardens in Chicago are prime examples of the latter, bringing a feel of the wild back to public urban spaces. Meadow gardens are also highly suited to rooftops as they thrive in full sun and move beautifully in prevailing winds.

In Australia, the Woody Meadow project in Melbourne’s Birrarung Marr and Capital City Trail have demonstrated how successfully Australian natives can be used to create meadow gardens. A departure from the usual foliage plants in mulched beds typical of many public spaces, these gardens are more diverse in species selection and more densely planted, reducing the need for regular mulching.

Meadow Park
On a smaller scale, such as residential projects, meadow gardens provide a contemporary alternative to the traditional cottage garden. While still informal in their aesthetic they use a reduced planting palette with more repetition. They also use a higher proportion of grasses to flowers, typically around 60:40. With solar availability a must for meadow gardens, many people are converting unused patches of lawn to meadow gardens, both to reduce mowing requirements and to embrace all the benefits that Meadow gardens bring.

Benefits

Aside from a Meadow garden’s aesthetic appeal other benefits include:

  • High drought tolerance through plant choice and dense planting patterns
  • Lower maintenance requirements (reduced pruning, weeding, watering)
  • Wildlife support by providing habitat, pollen, nectar and seeds.
  • Increased soil health through dense soil coverage (which protects soil biota) and reduced need for pesticides and herbicides.

Plant selection for a Meadow Garden Design

Whether planting a native meadow an exotic meadow, or a combination of the two, grasses play an integral role, composing up to 60-70% of the planting palette. Grasses are the backbone of a meadow garden lending texture and movement as you would experience in the wild. They also provide contrasting form, height and structure to flowering plants.

Australian Native grasses to consider:

1. Themeda triandra: With reddish-brown seed heads and fine, arching foliage it is highly adaptable and thrives in a variety of soil types.

2. Poa labillardierei: Densely clumping blue-green foliage produces delicate, feathery flower heads. It is well-suited to moist, well-drained soils and tolerates both full sun and partial shade.

3. Lomandra species and cultivars: With a range of foliage types and shades now available all feature soft yellow to cream cylindrical flower spikes. The species L. longifolia is very low maintenance, will tolerate a range of soil conditions and is particularly useful for erosion control.

4. Austrostipa ramosissima: A tall, graceful grass featuring upright stems and airy flower heads that sway gently in the breeze. It is drought-tolerant and can thrive in poor, sandy soils, making it an excellent choice for dry conditions.

5. Microlaena stipoides: A softer textured grass forming lush, green mats which is often used as a low-maintenance lawn alternative or to stabilise disturbed areas. It’s high tolerance of wet soils makes it popular for wetland restoration projects.

6. Dianella species and cultivars: Versatile native strappy leafed plants that thrive in a variety of conditions. Foliage varies from rich green to burgundy tinged depending on the cultivar. All feature panicles of delicate, blue flowers with prominent yellow stamens, held high above the foliage and which mature to purple berries extending their visual interest.

7. Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Nafray’: A cultivar of the popular native grass that has a finer texture, is more compact and has better winter colour but still features the feathery plumes which start as mauve and mature to beige. Highly tolerant of wet conditions, frost, drought and humidity.

Non-native options

1. Stipa gigantea: Tidy clumps of fine leaves support 2m stems topped by large glossy seed heads that start silver then age to copper-gold. Prefers full sun in free-draining soil, preferably of moderate fertility and is drought-tolerant once established

2. Miscanthus sinensis cultivars such as ‘Adagio’, ‘Gracillimus’, ‘Flamingo’ and ‘Zebrinus’: These graceful, rounded clumps have fine textured foliage and range in height with Gracillimus to 1.8m and Adagio to 1m. Zebrinus is variegated with yellow, horizontal stripes. All tolerate a range of soil types, from sandy to clay and are moderately drought tolerant once established. They prefer full sun but can tolerate some shade.

3. Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’: This tall-growing upright grass brings a strong vertical accent to the perennial garden. Flower panicles age from bronze to beige. It prefers full to part sun in well-drained, fertile soils with sufficient moisture but is somewhat drought tolerant once established. It is also tolerant of clay soils.

4. Pennisetum advena ‘Rubrum’: This non-native, sterile cultivar has plumes of mushroom-pink flowers arching over burgundy foliage. Grow in full sun for maximum foliage colour and contrast. Extremely drought tolerant, preferring a well-drained soil.

5. Festuca glauca: Well known for its striking glaucus foliage and neat low clumping habit to 25cm. It thrives in full sun, in poor to moderately fertile and well-drained soils. It does not like wet soils.

6. Lagurus ovatus: Tufted grass to 50cm with fine grey-green leaves and flower heads like short tails hence the common name Hare’s Tail. Prefers full sun and well-drained soils but will tolerate full sun, part shade, salt, drought, frost and low nutrient soils.

Top Tip

An essential consideration when planning a meadow garden design is combining plants that will thrive in similar conditions and not out compete with each other.

For Australian native grasses and an array of additional greenlife options, visit the Alpine Trademart or contact your local Alpine sales representative: sales@alpinenurseries.com.au

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