During my recent short trip to England where I was specifically studying shrubs – see earlier post – I took a look at two “new” (at least to me) large-scale, public, perennial planting schemes. One scheme was clearly designed to impress, the other succeeded. To be fair, designers are commissioned to create something stipulated by their
My trial gardens in Amsterdam seem to have waltzed through the colour wheel this year in spite of the difficulties that weather has throw at them. Spring was too dry, the first half of summer was cold and dry, then it rained a few times but quickly became unbearably hot. Drought has prevailed for more
Late Summer Colour in the Perennial Meadows’ Garden Read More »
With the opening of the new Native Plant Garden at the New York Botanical Gardens earlier this month I was inspired to pay a return visit to the heempark in Amstelveen which is recognised as one of Europe’s best. The Dutch landscape is in part manmade and has been intensively managed for centuries. The native
Native Plant Gardens in The Netherlands known as Heemparken Read More »
In 2005 Amsterdam was named as The Elm City of Europe as it has more than 75,000 elm trees, many some 80 to 100 years old, growing along the sides of its canals and throughout the city’s parks. In fact, Amsterdam is one of the most densely wooded cities in the world with some
Is garden design in a rut created by the way we are taught to approach it? Perhaps it is the result of the scale of modern-day gardens that we think in terms of boundaries and what we can place within them that is partly the cause. Inspiring gardens and landscapes of the both the past
September is possibly the most exciting time to view a naturalistic planting scheme and where better than Piet and Anja Oudolf’s private garden in the Netherlands. In the space formerly occupied by the nursery a new office building is surrounded by an extensive perennial meadow. This new addition to their private gardens has an open
Floriade 2012 – the mid summer review A garden show such as the Floriade which runs all summer gives its designers the opportunity to try out different planting ideas. During my first visit it was tulips that dominated and created the festival spirit that I associate with the arrival of spring. Now in mid summer
Summer has been cool and wet following a hot dry spring here in the Netherlands, but our gardens seem to have like it. Mellow yellow is its mood.