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Tell us why you’re fascinated by the meadow gardens Meadow is a stigmatized term because abused by a group of gardeners that we would describe as “ upper middle class “. It is often used improperly or to show off one of the many trendy words of the moment. The term is so hated by the garden vanguards, that I ended up being pointed out as a vain person after using it in a long article in my blog. Oudolf created a style called neo -prairie, with grasses and autumn flowers with showy seed capsules. Meadow and prairie are very
fashionable, just look at the High Line in New York. In Italy we use various terms, like “ rustic lawn “, “ flowers field “, etc. which, however, have not the same exact meaning. The meadow is a congregation of plants that live in an open environment, with few trees and that are subject to periodic fires or mowing. It is a biological laboratory; the grasses and other pioneer plants literally prepare the ground for herbaceous perennials and shrubs. It has extremely interesting dynamics, however the reason why I like it is because it is open.
In Calabria we have very few open plains. A meadow or prairie, especially if natural, gives a sense of infinity, creates an aura of freedom, of happiness, of communion with heaven and with any deity passing through. I got there zigzagging, not through elite or popular garden culture, but through literature. I was encouraged by Prairie, by William Least Heat -Moon, and I can reply to those who object that Prairie is an out of fashion cult -book for middle and upper class, by saying that having it on the shelves is one thing, but reading it seriously is something else.
However it has been out of print for a long time now: nobody buys it. I am terribly fascinated by the prairie, with its vastness, the stories of Indians, and the pantheistic mysticism. Finally I like the prairie because I have a tiny fragment of it behind my house, a piece of country I love deeply because of the feelings I experienced there as a girl.