A few weeks ago, I attended a site visit to a meadow project in Western Connecticut. It was beautiful! I loved seeing the diversity of the plant life and the incredible massings of plants. After being on the prairie in June, I could really feel the hand of the designer in the distribution of the plantings at the site in Connecticut. Instead of an evenly integrated matrix of plant life, specific species dominated – forming thickets. There’s no value judgement there on my part, both places have such particular feelings that they are amazing in their own regards. That said though, it raises an intriguing question for me about what does “natural” mean for the ecological designer – especially with ecological restoration work? And how hard should one strive towards “natural” when the concept of nature changes from person to person.
