From the earliest crop plantings to the most elaborate formal gardens, humans have cultivated gardens for millennia. Recently there has been a shift away from clean lines and perfectly trimmed hedges to more naturalistic plantings: the new natural garden is considered and curated, taking its cues from the surrounding landscape. Plants are laid out asymmetrically, but still are balanced, random in appearance, as though seeds have blown in and germinated where they fell.

Garden designer Richard Unsworth offers advice on how to select landscape materials that sit effortlessly in the landscape, planting combinations that thrive in different settings, and discusses principles of bush regeneration and restoration. Whether large or small, urban or rural, every garden and every gardener can benefit from wildening their surroundings to reconnect with nature.