Natural Flood Management (NFM) involves slowing the flow of water from rural headwater streams to reduce flood risk in downstream urban areas. But how natural is ‘natural’ flood management’ and is there a place for it in urban green spaces? This talk will explore the scientific basis behind NFM and highlight some of the challenges of introducing ’natural’ to the urban water environment, with reference to recent case studies. The talk should be of interested to landscape architects, ecologists and flood risk management professionals involved in the management of urban green spaces.