The New Perennialist 2.0 Redesigned to Feed your Mind

Welcome back to the very new New Perennialist.

I’m thrilled to unveil the latest version of this blog, freshly redesigned over Summer 2021 to gear up for the next round of explorations in naturalistic planting design.

The awe-inspiring drone shot of the new Piet Oudolf-designed garden at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany helps to set the tone.

What started out as a blog based on my outsider’s fascination with naturalistic planting design has grown over the course of nearly ten years into a useful archive of original content. I’ve been truly gratified by how it’s come to be enjoyed as a resource by like-minded garden friends from around the world.

The blog has done so well, I gave it the summer off while I looked at ways to freshen up the overall design.

So, what’s new?

For starters, we cleaned up the site interface, weeded out all the clutter. We bumped up the font sizes to make it easier and more elegant to read from whatever device you happen to be on. There is now a whole new focus on photography with a letterbox format designed to make the most of widescreen panoramic images.

The site is now more streamlined with a navigation system that makes it super easy to search and explore.

If you look up to the menu bar, the main gateway to content is now Archives – with all posts, profiles, and stories, organized by category around the theme of naturalistic planting and garden design. Every post leads to more and more wormholes if you click on the tags.

Resources is now a dedicated page, featuring hyperlinked lists of leading contemporary naturalistic designers, gardens, trustworthy plant resources, and other favourites.

The New Perennialist Talks

The most exciting new section is still a work in progress, so patience please while we get it right.

Talks is the future home of The New Perennialist Talks. I launched this new webinar series earlier this summer with a presentation by visionary English designer, Dan Pearson and his gardener counterpart Midori Shintani, in Japan. This was followed up by a talk in June by planting design innovator Nigel Dunnett, from University of Sheffield (whose work you can read all about in this post from the archives).

My idea is to elevate the webinar to a higher level experience, and allow more time for in-depth discussion and conversation. These events are hosted and moderated by yours truly with my producer running the show behind the scenes. The response to date has been phenomenal – the two initial talks attracted nearly 500 people: landscape designers, architects, keen gardeners and horticulturalists, tuning in from all over the planet. Registrants had the option to either watch the presentation live, or view the recording later.

I am so thankful to everyone who stepped up to support this new venture.

Topping the list is our series sponsor, the Piet Oudolf Collection whose presence alone gives it the gold stamp of approval.

My intent is that Talks are accessible to anybody/anywhere who has an internet connection and interest in the material – you don’t have to be a member of an official design organization, garden club, or whatever to attend. You do have to register and some Talks will be ticketed with a modest fee, while others will be free.

The Talks section on the site here will house an archive of the recorded presentations, offered on a pay per view basis. Other video content will also be available and like the blog itself, much of that will be free content.

So, what’s next?

We’re still working out the kinks on the new site. Please let me know what you think of the new blog experience and if you run into any tech difficulties, comment below.

In the meantime, keep digging. Explore the archives for inspiration to transform the nature of whatever space you call home.

Here’s a a recent moment from our own pond garden here at home in Mono to help send you on your way.

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Special thanks: The New Perennialist 2.0 would not be possible without the design brilliance of Thorne Branding and programmer, Valerio Gallippi.
Special thanks to my writerly wife, Troy McClure who gives all my drafts a final read before they ever see the light of day.