As you design with a layered approach, it helps to have a sense of what your options are. Here are some examples of the types of plants that can create each layer.

Planting plan details 1. Design layer: Structural plants These plants are the bones of the design, ensuring year-round presence. 2. Design layer: Seasonal theme plants Using a wide variety of plants with peaks at different times of the year ensures continued waves of interest. 3. Functional layer: Ground cover and filler plants This layer functions as a living mulch—one you don’t have to replenish yearly.

Structural plants

• Autumn Sun black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’, Zones 5–9)
• Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii and cvs., Zones 3–8)
• Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis and cvs., Zones 4–9)
• Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana, Zones 2–9)
• Ironweed (Vernonia spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9)

Seasonal theme plants

• Bluebells (Mertensia spp. and cvs., Zones 3–8)
• Bluestar (Amsonia spp. and cvs., Zones 4–9)
• Coneflower (Echinacea spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis cvs., Zones 3–9)
• Goldenrod (Solidago spp. and cvs., Zones 3–8)

Filler plants

• California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, Zones 7–10)
• Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis, Zones 3–9)
• Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis and cvs., Zones 3–9)
• Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri and cvs., Zones 5–9)
• Red campion (Silene dioica, Zones 5–9)

Ground cover plants

• Foam flower (Tiarella spp. and cvs., Zones 4–9)
• Golden groundsel (Packera spp., Zones 3–8)
• Meehan’s mint (Meehania cordata, Zones 4–8)
• Moor grass (Seslaria spp., Zones 4–9)
• Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis, Zones 3–9)

More on naturalistic gardens:

• A Naturalistic Garden Is Better for the Environment and Requires Less Work
• Plants for a Matrix-Style Garden
• Thomas Rainer and Piet Oudolf on Naturalistic Gardens

Steve Aitken is editor at large.

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