One of the most influential gardening movements of recent years is prairie planting, in which swathes of strongly shaped, richly coloured perennials are planted in a patchwork, interspersed with grasses. Evoking the sun-baked plains of the American Midwest, it is popular in northern European countries such as Holland and Germany, but there are fine examples of gardens planted in this way in Britain, too, such as Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire, Pensthorpe in Norfolk and Trentham Estate in Staffordshire.
A recent addition to the canon - also known as "new perennial" style - is Sussex Prairies, on the edge of the South Downs, where Paul and Pauline McBride, both 45, have successfully introduced a six-acre "prairie" of 30,000 plants beside their new four-bedroom weatherboard barn-style house.
The former field, surrounded by mature oak trees, near Henfield in West Sussex, was only planted last May, but is already a shimmering sea of golds, oranges, blues and purples: a testament both to the skills of the McBrides, who are gardeners and landscape designers by profession, and to the power of the plants themselves, chosen for their long-lasting appeal - not just in the colour of their flowers, but in strong architectural shapes that earn their keep even when flowering is over.
The McBrides learnt from the best: Piet Oudolf, the Dutch nurseryman and designer who is credited with popularising the prairie style. Oudolf, 64, has created gardens all over the world, including those at Scampston Hall, Trentham (along with Tom Stuart-Smith) and Pensthorpe, as well as borders at the RHS garden, in Wisley, Surrey, and the Battery Conservancy Gardens of Remembrance, near Ground Zero, in New York.
In 1998, the couple were working on a large private garden in Luxembourg (where they designed the garden at the British Embassy). In 2001, Oudolf joined them to design a huge, twoacre-long border. "So we had the opportunity to learn at the feet of the master," says Paul.
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Pauline inherited her family home in Sussex four years ago. They have since knocked it down and replaced it with the new house, which is also open as a bed and breakfast. "Before long, dreams of a prairie garden of our own crept in," she says. As well as providing a lovely space for guests to enjoy, it is useful to showcase their design business. "We wanted some sort of living catalogue of plants and plant combinations that clients could look at."
While cynics argue that the style - which is designed to look "naturalistic", but is in fact a skilful weaving of colours and forms - is nothing but a bit of posh field, enthusiasts love the simple look of flowers and grasses combined. "It has a bold and dreamy romanticism, which is in sympathy with nature," says Pauline. Although many of the plants are non-natives, they attract bees and butterflies, too.
The Sussex garden, most of which has been grown from seed, is a series of interlinked curving borders, with paths meandering through them. As you walk, echinaceas and Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Pink Elephant', wispy grasses such as Molinia caerulea 'Transparent' and 'Windspiel', and the 8ft-tall Rudbeckia maxima tower overhead. At the top of the garden, there are floriferous mounds from which you can get a good view of the layout, a tapestry of colour and texture.
In summer, the flowers grab your attention. The couple love alliums, which are dotted throughout the garden. There are tall fluffy clouds of thalictrum, violet pools of Verbena bonariensis, discs of yellow from Achillea 'Hella Glashoff' and oranges from Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre'. Airy structure comes from the height and form of plants with feathery leaves, such as fennel. "The prairie look is all about texture - plant species that combine well with the fluffy forms of grasses," says Paul. As a rule of thumb, he uses one part grasses to four parts flowering perennials.
At this time of year, the garden changes radically. "The grasses dominate, along with asters," says Paul. This is the main appeal of grasses: they come into their own in September, when other plants are past their best. Their golden hues pick up the autumn light and their trusses carry frost beautifully by the time winter arrives. The only downside is their propensity to flop or look soggy in very wet weather.
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The autumn picture is also filled with the seed heads and elegant stalks of flowers that are over. "We follow Oudolf's design principles, and one of the main ones is that a plant must earn its place in a border by dying in an attractive way, so the garden looks good until I cut it back in February," he says.
• Is the style such a great idea for British gardens, then, when winters seem to be becoming more sodden than frosty? Paul agrees it was a risk. "We weren't sure how the prairie would work in the British weather, but so far it's been a success. We had a very rainy winter and the grasses were fine." To make doubly sure the ground would drain well - it is on heavy clay - the couple installed drain s every 30ft and mixed in tons of compost.
If considering your own scheme, most of the plants prefer open, sunny sites and won't look their best in places that experience wet conditions for months on end. But Paul is convinced that even tiny urban gardens can incorporate elements of a prairie. "Be bold and think of the architectural qualities of the plants," he says. "One or two big ones, such as the grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Malepartus' - my current favourite - look great in a confined space, rather than several smaller ones. They are such strong plants; there should be little weeding and maintenance required.
"Many people prefer shrubs because they don't disappear in the winter, but I think perennials are great," he adds. "They're cheaper; they often flower more and they'll reach the size of a shrub in one year." He advises planting the perennials in groups of at least three or five to get the naturalistic effect. If you don't like what you have done, they are easy to lift and divide into new combinations the next season.
After just one year, the McBrides can sit back and enjoy the scene they have created. "On warm evenings, sitting outside with a gin and tonic, gazing over the carpet of flowers and grasses, feels very special indeed," says Pauline.
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Sussex Prairies is open for the National Gardens Scheme (ngs.org.uk) on September 13, 11am-5pm.
The garden is also open every Sunday until October 25 (01273 495902, sussexprairies.co.uk)
Do your own field work
- You don't need rolling plains to create a prairie: even a large pot can hold a few delicate grasses, such as Stipa tenuissima, through which you could grow sedums or Verbena bonariensis. Place it where it will be lit from the back by the sun and catch the breeze.
- Make sure you have at least three examples of the same plant in a naturalistic" unregimented group, or it will look bitty.
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- Prairie schemes are best in open spaces with plenty of sunlight and good drainage. Put them in dank, dark hollows and they will look miserable.
- Mix textures and shapes, especially for when flowering is over; these are as important as colour and will see the garden through winter.
PAUL'S BEST PRAIRIE PLANTS
Hemerocallis 'Siloam Nugget': a bold, cup-shaped orange day lily with endearingly tatty petals.
Anthemis tinctoria 'EC Buxton': a breathtaking primrose-yellow marguerite. So luminescent in sunlight that you might need shades.
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Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldschleier': Oudolf bordered a swimming pool in Holland with drifts of this metallic-hued grass inside yew hedging. It looked fantastic. It is also good for small gardens, as it is only 3ft tall and is really dense-growing.
Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus': a silky grass that grows into a fountain shape. At Sussex Prairies, it grows in a line flanked by alliums.
Echinacea paradoxa: this is a species plant, so is totally natural - in other words, not a variety bred by man. It flowers for a couple of months, with a nice bright petal colour that contrasts well with the browny red of the seed head.
Eupatorium maculatum 'Purple Bush': another good one for small gardens, as it is more compact than other varieties of Joe Pye weed. It has purple stems and tall purple umbels, which attract butterflies and time nicely with flowering grasses.
Allium 'Globemaster': dense pompoms of purple on 3ft stems that look good coming up through the young grasses in May.
Thalictrum flavum 'Illuminator': a long-legged 5ft plant with fluffy pale-lemon flowers.