Piet Oudolf

Celebrated by gardeners for his liberating designs, by ecologists for his significant contributions to bio-diversity, by horticulturalists and botanists for his unrivaled knowledge of plants and by the art, design and fashion worlds for his innovative aesthetics, Piet Oudolf has achieved a level of influence and cultural relevance rarely, if ever, attained. Oudolf chooses plants more for shape and texture than for their blooms. Stripped bare, stalks, stems, and seed pods become architectural elements in the garden. The secret: embrace decay instead of rushing into the garden with your pruners at the first sign of wilting. Life is a cycle, the garden reminds us, and every phase of it is beautiful. “Gone are the days when brown and yellow foliage was seen as compost material to be cleared away as quickly as possible,” says Oudolf.