Sustainable Landscapes —
Notes from Chanticleer:
Native Plants in the Formal Landscape
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by Heather Prince
When we think of public gardens,
largeestates with formal plantings often come to mind. Places like Longwood Gardens or the English gardens at the Chicago Botanic Garden can be top of mind. Chanticleer, a pleasure garden, in Wayne, Pennsylvania is one of the country’s premier public gardens. It is the 50-acre former home of the Rosengarten family, of which 35 acres are devoted to beautiful garden spaces, some formal and some creatively naturalistic. According to Chanticleer, it is “a garden of pleasure and learning, relaxing yet filled with ideas to take home.” Widely considered to be one of the most innovative and intriguing gardens in the U.S., it frequently sets the trends for landscape design. We were fortunate to have the Executive Director and Head Gardener, Bill Thomas, as one of the speakers at the 2022 iLandscape. Thomas has been involved with Chanticleer for the past 19 years. We had a wonderful conversation about
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gardens and landscapes and have developed a three-part series around a few of the design ideas employed by Chanticleer that are at the forefront of landscaping today. One of those design trends is naturalistic landscapes utilizing a great many native plant species. As the public has become more aware of the important role native plants play for pollinators, especially butterflies, demand for these species in home gardens and public spaces has dramatically increased. How do we marry the crisp formality desired by clients with the oftentimes casual habits of Midwestern native plants? What species of plants translate easily into a more regimented planting design? How do we think about adding a diversity of species? As in many landscape designs, let’s start with trees, the plants that often grow the largest. Some native favorites from Bill Thomas include, “I’m a Midwesterner by birth, so (continued on page 20)
The Landscape Contractor July 2022
