Sarah Price's guide to naturalistic planting for your garden There were a few people who took one look at the naturalistic meadow plantings of my Chelsea garden earlier this year and quipped "well, that's what happens if I let my lawn go." However, the reality is that creating the rich tapestry of naturalistic planting requires a lot of planning as well as a new set of compositional rules. Sarah Price's gold medal winning Chelsea garden (MARTIN POPE) It begins with the careful study of natural habitats. I love to do this on walking holidays, but if that's not possible I find myself spending long hours on the internet looking at amazing photographs of wild plant communities. I am looking for plants that like to grow together, and in what conditions. I also look at the pattern and distribution of different species in their natural setting. A good garden designer needs to be a visual sponge. When it comes to selecting plants, there are a few basic rules to consider. Ecological compatibility is vital, which means choosing plants that suit the conditions but will also work well as a community. Again, the easiest way to make the right decisions is to take cues from what you observe growing in nature. Then I draw cross-sections of my planting schemes. Simple squiggles will do, representing a simplification of the main plant forms: umbels, spires, button-like dots and low, mounded hummocks. Use tracing paper or layers of greaseproof paper for this. Always draw to the same scale so you can see how different layers will combine and interact visually. Refer to a nursery catalogue for information on the height and spread of the plants when they reach maturity. The purpose of these sketches is to test your planting scheme to make sure you have enough variety in contrasting plant forms. This is the key to an interesting composition. A strong rhythm To simplify things, I build up my planting schemes in three vertical layers, starting with the lowest. Short plants (less than 12in/30cm) should form the base of the planting scheme (around 40-50 per cent of the mix), and I tend to choose plants that naturally form low hummocks. The middle layer (approximately 12in-40in/30cm-100cm, around 40 per cent of the mix) often contains plants with a long flowering season. Finally, I choose two to three species that will emerge through this tapestry, the taller the better (40in/100cm or more, approximately 10 per cent or less of the mix). I rely on these plants to bring a strong rhythm to the scheme and so I usually place these first so that I can see their distribution clearly. The lower two layers are planted at random among them. Random doesn't mean the distribution lacks any kind of pattern or regularity: there will be clumps of certain species, just as there are in nature. A planting scheme like this is a radical departure from the classic, hierarchical scheme that gives each plant its own place in the sun. Intermingled plantings require more careful plant selection to ensure enough sunlight can penetrate to the lowest levels. This means choosing plants for the middle and upper layers that have near-leafless stems (see Tips, right), avoiding taller plants with a thick canopy of leaves. If you want to achieve a really natural effect you have to embrace the dynamic nature of plant communities. The balance of species will change from year to year, just as it does in a grassland meadow. Beautiful wild places If all this seems like three-dimensional chess, the best thing to do is to pay a visit to a garden where you can see this kind of planting for yourself. The Phoenix Garden in London's West End (reopening early in 2013) is a small garden that champions ecological principles on a small scale with plenty of colours and habitat-rich plantings. James Hitchmough's exotic meadow at RHS Wisley is a long-flowering spectacle of colour. Keith Wiley is another daring plantsman I admire for his work at the Garden House in north Devon and his new Wildside nursery is just down the road. Cassian Schmidt's gardens at Hermannshof in south-west Germany were important influences on our planting strategy for the Olympic Park. It was pouring with rain when I visited, yet the rich golden yellows of Solidago caesia 'Goldbandrute," Helianthus occidentalis and the purple aster novi-belgii, as well as the towering scale of the planting, created a lasting impression. This approach to planting design isn't for everyone, nor is it right for every garden. There's still a place for the more traditional approach. But if what you want from your garden is a reconnection with beautiful wild places, you have to take on a different approach to design. It may require some experimentation, but you can rest assured that you'll be joining a small but growing number of pioneers in this new wave of "gardening in the round." How to use plants in three vertical layers Use plants with low hummock forms for the lowest layer. Heuchera villosa is shade-tolerant, making it particularly useful as a ground-layer plant that won't mind a little shading from the taller plants. It is very architectural, with long- lasting, creamy flower spikes. In the Olympic Park's North American garden it has been planted to spectacular effect in among the bright yellow flowers of the low-growing Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb. Aster divaricatus would work equally well. Primula veris and Primula vulgaris are other shade-tolerant options, perfect for a hedgerow or woodland-edge-inspired area of planting. If you're looking to create a scheme inspired by dry meadow or steppes, Dianthus carthusianorum would be perfect as a low-layer species. It is very long-flowering and its low mound of grassy foliage is evergreen. Try it alongside Pulsatilla vulgaris. For the middle layer, use plants with a long season of interest that have a relatively upright form. Sanguisorbas are invaluable for their airy structure and elongated tassel or button-like flowers. For a scheme inspired by British moist meadows, try Sanguisorba officinalis, Lythrum virgatum 'Dropmore Purple," Succisa pratensis and Centaurea nigra (otherwise known as devil's bit scabious and common knapweed). If you have a free-draining soil in a sunny situation, Achillea 'Credo," Achnatherum calamagrostis, Liatris spicata 'Alba," Eryngium bourgatii, Perovskia 'Blue Spire" and Salvia nemorosa would all suit. For the upper layer, use tall upright species with near leafless stems. Rudbeckia maxima creates a vibrant composition when planted with Verbena bonariensis and/or the less well known Verbena hastata. Coreopsis tripteris is equally tall and airy with single yellow daisies on a profusion of wiry stems. The molinia grasses are well known for their upright, near transparent flower stems; try Molinia caerulea 'Karl Foerster" or the even taller 'Skyracer." Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster" always stands upright, as does the less well known North American prairie grass Andropogon gerardii. Top tips Lack of leaves This is important for the middle and tallest emergent layers. Sunlight needs to penetrate through the different layers of planting. A transparent form does not mean that it lacks vigour; look at the towering clear stems of Silphium terebinthinaceum, or at the plumes of Molinia caerulea 'Transparent" and the persistence of our native meadow buttercup, Ranunculus acris. Ecological compatibility Take the lead from a plant community that you are familiar with, for example what you see along a woodland edge in Britain in spring. Consider growth rates - will one plant become dominant and eliminate the slower-growing species? Match the chosen plant palette to your soil and to the growing conditions. Variety of shapes Contrasting plant shapes create an interesting composition (and also promotes a richer habitat). Long season Select mainstay theme plants that will carry the scheme through the seasons and choose plants that have interesting seed heads after flowering. Planting density Increasing the planting density reduces the likelihood of weed invasion. If you were to plant nine 1 litre plants per square metre in spring, by early summer there would be no bare soil showing, allowing little opportunity for airborne seeds to take hold. Look at wild plants Plantlife (plantlife.org.uk) is a charity that speaks up for the nation's wild plants and which has 23 nature reserves across Britain. In spring and summer, all of their reserves are open to the public. Here you can find a rich source of inspiration in important wild plant habitats such as hay meadows, chalk grassland, limestone pavement and culm grassland. Reader offer Buy six 9cm (3.5in) pots of the tall, airy perennial Verbena bonariensis for half price - only £14.97. Visit gardenshop.telegraph.co.uk/offers