How to Design a Native Matrix Planting
Matrix planting is a style of gardening that’s gained great popularity in the last two decades. Dutch designer Piet Oudolf and others in the New Perennialist movement created matrix plantings in public gardens around the world, with waves of grasses and sedges providing a base for drifts and masses of flowers. Famous examples of matrix plantings include the High Line in New York City and the Lurie Garden in Chicago. These spotlighted examples have made many people curious about matrix plantings and how they might incorporate matrices in their gardens.
Matrix plantings make fantastic bases for experimentation. The shapes of the landscape change over time and according to the seasons, creating continuous visual interest. They can be easily edited and the density of groundcover plants helps suppress weed growth.
Matrix plantings can be designed strictly with native plants, or with a combination of native and non-native ornamental plants. In this post, I’ll focus on designing native matrix plantings for a variety of sun and soil conditions.
20’ x 10’ native matrix planting for full sun and mesic (average moisture) soil
What is a matrix planting?
Matrix refers to a structure for growth. In garden design, a matrix planting means a planting that has an evenly spaced grid of groundcover plants, like grasses, sedges, and ferns. Flowering plants, and sometimes shrubs, are planted throughout the matrix using three major design techniques: scattering, drifting, and massing.
Scattering is when plants are scattered individually throughout the design, usually in no order. Scattering works well for plants that add pops of color in bloom, such as golden alexanders (Zizia aurea), prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa), and red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). This scattering technique also works for shrubs in a larger landscape, adding varied height and structure to sightlines.
Drifting is planting in oblong lines and shapes. Drifts can take on random shapes, or be used to follow the contours of a landscape. For example, bright purple drifts of ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) can define wetland and rain garden edges. In a dry prairie garden, blue sage (Salvia azurea) adds waves of vivid color contrasting with the late summer yellows of goldenrods.
Massing means planting in close clusters and works well with species that naturally form colonies. For example, woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are most attractive planted in clumps that can change shape over time. Big-leaf aster (Eurybia macrophylla) grows large colonies if massed, and spreads as a groundcover if scattered.
20’ x 10’ native matrix planting for full shade and mesic soil
When should you use matrix plantings?
Matrix plantings are versatile and can be used in almost any situation. The living groundcover of sedges or grasses creates a thatch that shades out pioneering weed seedlings while slower-growing perennials establish. This lowers maintenance for gardeners who appreciate more time growing and less time weeding.
Matrix gardens are especially suited for smaller gardens and landscapes. Over a large landscape, a matrix planting can become costly if installed entirely with plugs (seedlings grown in trays or containers). In a smaller garden, however, matrix plantings remain an affordable way to create a lower-maintenance garden that looks great and supports ecosystems. Consider using matrix plantings in pocket prairies, rain gardens, and turf-to-meadow transitions, where the project scale is a good match for matrix planting.
20’ x 10’ native matrix planting for part sun and medium-dry soil
Native Matrix Planting Examples
Plenty of North American native plants are suited for use in matrix plantings. The four examples in this post (all plots sized at 20’ x 10’) show examples of native matrix plantings for a variety of light and moisture conditions. Each one features a grid of groundcover grasses or sedges mixed with massed, scattered, and drifted forbs. These designs can serve as standalone pocket plantings, or be rotated and repeated throughout a larger landscape. Where space allows in a larger landscape, I recommend additional forb species to increase plant diversity and better support ecosystems.
The key to a successful matrix planting is selecting the right plants for the right place. Grasses and sedges must be short enough to not smother smaller forbs, and plants should be paired based on sociability e.g., aggressive with aggressive, etc. The goal for a matrix planting is to highlight flowering plants in every season, with a living groundcover growing as a green foundation.
20’ x 10’ native rain garden matrix planting for full sun and mesic soil
In the rain garden example, note how fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) forms the low swale, where it will happily soak up extra soil moisture. Around the elevated edges, prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepsis) forms a low, flowing carpet of bunchgrass, accentuating bold flowers like dense blazing star (Liatris spicata) and New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). Wild strawberry (fragaria virginiana) is a spreading groundcover that will extend runners to fill in the gaps.
Matrix plantings can also be used in shady spots. In areas of lower light, Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) is a gorgeous grass-like groundcover that mixes well with leafy wild ginger (Asarum canadense). Woodland wildflower flowers like columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and big-leaved aster (Aster macrophyllus) reliably add color even in full shade. Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) is the focal point with its tall, candelabra-like flower stalks.
Are you interested in creating a native matrix planting for your home or business landscape? Let’s work together! Schedule a consultation for expert help creating a native landscape that functions for people and wildlife.
