Beauty of the Wild: A Life Designing Landscapes Inspired by Nature

In a sense, all of our yards and gardens, no matter how old, represent an obliteration of the wild plant communities that once marked the land, none more poignantly lost than the American prairie. The prairie's demise is linked more to agriculture than urbanization, but still, we are trying in our limited and stumbling way to make up for the loss by planting perennials and grasses of native origin. We'd do well, then, to seek guidance from Darrel Morrison, who has spent a fruitful life designing with native flora and teaching others how to do the same.
Some gardeners react to any mention of ecological landscaping -- the merging of environmental science and art -- as if it were a compromise or concession meant to limit their creativity. Darrel Morrison, a landscape architect who has been practicing and teaching this philosophy for some five decades, begs to differ.
Although they are generally an articulate lot, garden and landscape people rarely write their autobiographies. So it is a pleasure to read this one by Darrel Morrison, one of the key people in what has been one of the greatest developments in our field for decades - the American native plant movement. This book is an insight into the changes that are being made in the way that landscapes are being planted in the USA.