Appeltern Gardens, the Netherlands

Appeltern is a difficult place to describe. Basically, it's a permanent exhibition park for show gardens which, as of 2009, featured an astounding 190 individual model gardens. Exhibitors range from large suppliers in the horticultural and construction trades, to smaller landscape firms, to individual designers. At first glance, the concept sounds amazing. I was picturing a permanent Chelsea Flower Show, with more gardens, more designers, and real-life, walk-through gardens. Sadly, while there are some interesting and worthwhile things at Appeltern, overall it just doesn’t work. At the end of the visit, I was left with the awful feeling that I don’t want to see another model garden for as long as I live.
Let’s start with the good things about Appeltern. This may seem superficial, but I was completely blown away by the maintenance of the whole place. I’m not sure whose responsibility this is, but every garden was impeccable. All the plantings were full and lush with not a single diseased plant or weed in sight (maybe this should be worrisome). In the formal areas, everything was perfectly clipped, while in the natural areas, there was just the right balance of contained wilderness.
Some gardens were really worthwhile, especially in the Architects Gardens (Architectentuinen) area. They were creative and managed to rise above the crowd, which is pretty impressive in a crowd this size. One of these was the garden by Ton ter Linden (below). We walked into the garden, not knowing the designer, and immediately loved it. It got me thinking about how good gardens are instantly recognizable, and what sets these gardens apart from the rest?
Now to the bad part. It’s difficult to put a finger on what exactly is wrong at Appeltern. As I think the pictures show, there are many good things here (all the pictures are of the 'good' stuff), and in fact none of the gardens were obviously ‘bad’. However, at their core, it seemed to me that the majority of gardens suffered from an unshakable feeling of fakeness (sorry, that’s the best term I can come up with). Clearly, the gardens are ‘fake’ because of the very premise of the park. Most other art forms, such as paintings or sculpture, are easy to exhibit. Garden exhibition, however, is a tricky thing, and a garden must be that much better to succeed in such a setting. It’s certainly possible, but unfortunately most gardens at Appeltern don’t manage to achieve this.
In many gardens, the ‘fake’ element was obvious – anything with a perfectly set ‘entertainment’ area or a built-in barbeque (the whole ‘outdoor living room’ concept) automatically falls into this category for me. Disappointingly, even many of the gardens with no specific tacky elements felt that way. The gardens that tried to break out of the mold by offering something new and creative seemed like they were just copying the latest trends.
But perhaps the biggest downfall of Appeltern, ironically advertised as its biggest attraction, is the sheer size of the place. At 13 hectares (32 acres), it took us a few hours at a brisk pace to get through it. At the end, we were completely gardened out. Nobody can enjoy and absorb this many gardens. Gardens are supposed to be unique and magical, not 190 in a row.
Overall, I wish I could erase my experience at Appeltern. It has tainted my view of show gardens by reducing them to mass-produced, assembly line commodities (of which gardens are supposed to be the exact antithesis!). Gardens are meant to inspire a feeling, to evoke an emotional response. As a place that is supposed to be a source of education for the gardener, I suppose Appeltern teaches us that great gardens can’t be achieved simply through nice paving, some plants, and the latest outdoor decoration.

Priona Gardens, the Netherlands

The third garden we visited during our trip to the Netherlands was the Priona Garden, designed by Henk Gerritsen together with the late Anton Schlepers. This garden is closely connected with the gardens of Mien Ruys and Piet Oudolf, the other two famous Dutch gardens we saw on our trip. Together, I found that this beautiful trio perfectly illustrates the evolution of Dutch garden philosophy over the last 50 years.
The starting point for all is Mien Ruys’ garden philosophy of "wild planting in a strong design", where structure and plants get equal billing. Piet Oudolf builds on Ruys’ concept, but tips the balance in favour of the plantings, with his strong swathes of prairie style plantings and bold perennials and grasses. The Priona Gardens go one step further: Ruys structural foundation is now almost completely obscured by the plantings, which have gone from ‘natural’ to downright wild.
The Priona Gardens blur the line between tended garden and wild area. At first, I was taken aback by just how loose the garden is, just how un-gardened. The feel, at least as I experienced it as a visitor, was that of a very recently abandoned garden. The garden elements are there, it is clearly tended by a human hand, but it’s as if the gardener just happens to be away this season. This is as natural as a garden can possibly get while still retaining some fundamentally recognizable garden features. Some will definitely not like it, but perhaps this is what gardening needs – to push the envelope of what exactly gardening is, a phase many other arts have gone through. Of course, it’s a fine line, and it doesn’t always work.
At times, the Priona Gardens are brilliant, while other times you lose the feel of the garden. The pond and patio in the two pictures above were beautiful, as was the weird and wonderful topiary area below. I think both captured the intended feel of the garden exactly. Other areas pushed the garden a little too far into the wild, and the result was only a jumble.
Overall, a really interesting garden offering a glimpse of a very different, and thoughtful, garden philosophy.

Piet Oudolf Gardens, the Netherlands

When gardeners plan trips to the Netherlands, one of the main reasons is usually Piet Oudolf’s garden in Hummelo. Given that he is one of the most prominent designers today, it’s no wonder that the gardening masses flock to see what he has created in his own backyard (or actually front yard).Needless to say, I am no different and have been planning a trip there since arriving in Belgium. When I finally found myself on the way to his gardens this past September, my expectations were soaring. But with high expectations also comes the risk of disappointment. What if Oudolf’s garden wasn’t quite as amazing as I was hoping it to be? What if after all the pictures I’d seen and books I’d read, it would just be old news? It’s terrible to be let down by your heroes, and I’m easily disappointed by gardens that I build up too much in my mind.
Well, luckily for me and everyone else, Oudolf did not disappoint. In fact, it’s quite amazing that even with all of the preconceived ideas and advance knowledge, his garden still managed to impress. In broad terms, Oudolf’s main theme is the use of grasses and large perennials (especially North American prairie species) in a loose style designed to “inspire a feeling of nature”. It sounds and looks fairly straightforward, but it’s a hard style to replicate, or at least to replicate well.
In his design and planting philosophy, he advocates shape, form and texture first, and has proposed that colour is only secondary. Ironically, I found colour to be one of the most stunning elements in the garden. Colour inspires the strongest and most immediate response in humans, and Oudolf does it so well I find it hard to believe it was left to secondary consideration. Of course it’s all in the presentation, so it’s all about how the colour is communicated to the viewer. It’s the texture of the colour, combined with shape and form, which create the stunning overall effect.
The main area of his garden, which was redone recently to fully reflect his mature style, is the best of the garden (and it’s where all the pictures are from!). Fully enclosed by hedging, and punctuated by his now trademark curved hedges, it is filled to the brim with grasses and perennials. The impression is that of a continuous sea of planting where you are completely immersed in plants but not oppressed by them – it’s a floating feeling rather than a sheltered one. Oudolf has described being strongly impressed by the North American prairie, where in late summer you can be fully surrounded by swaying perennials and grasses towering above your head. I think this is recognizable in his garden, which manages to evoke a similar sensation even if the scale is much smaller.
In addition to this main garden space and the garden leading into it from the old house (with some diagonal design elements, lawn and hedging), there is the nursery maintained by his wife Anja. If I had a garden in Belgium, restraint would have been impossible, especially because the prices seemed very reasonable. Unfortunately, given our current apartment situation, I was just left salivating. Even here, without any planned design, the mix of plants is still beautiful. I suppose it’s another testament to Oudolf’s philosophy - when the form and texture of the plants is right, the overall results will be pleasing.

Mien Ruys Gardens, the Netherlands

Over the past few months, I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the chance to visit some fantastic gardens around Europe. They’ve all been amazing, and I’ve learned something from each of them. But growing nice plants and organizing them together in a pleasing way is one thing; creating a garden space that leaves visitors saying “OMG, this is BRILLIANT” at every corner, is a little harder. And that’s exactly what happened when we visited Mien Ruys’ garden in the Netherlands a few weeks ago. I am in complete awe and admiration of Mien Ruys - her garden was a revelation.

First, a little bit about Mien Ruys. I feel very ignorant for not knowing much about her before. Her parents owned a popular perennials nursery, and wanted to add design services to their business. At the age of 19, Mien was put in charge of the new design department since she was more interested in how to use plants rather than how to grow them. Training in landscape design was virtually non-existent at the time, so she studied architecture, and picked up practical training in England. Over the next years, she designed many private gardens as well as public, communal projects. Her projects were mainly in the Netherlands where she’s quite well known, but it seems that she never achieved the same level of fame internationally, which is a real pity.

The Mien Ruys garden is the best that remains of her work. It’s actually her parents’ nursery, which was Mien’s experimental laboratory. The property spans her development over her entire career, from the late 1920’s to the 1990’s. In total, there are 28 separate garden spaces, each of which represents an experiment with a different idea or approach. It’s a unique garden experience to walk through these spaces, each offering a different lesson in garden design. I’ve included pictures from a few of my favorite ‘rooms’, but it would be too much to talk about each one of them here. However, while each space is unique, there were a few consistent themes that struck me (but this is only personal analysis, not sure what the experts have to say about her designs).

Simplicity. There is nothing convoluted or over-the-top in any of the designs. They’re not trying too hard – every element feels right, every element belongs. This is probably the hardest thing to achieve in design – a feeling of inevitability, like this is the only right design for that space, nothing more and nothing less.

Definition of space. Every 3 dimensional space is brilliantly used and defined. The garden rooms aren’t separate, abstract spaces, but they form part of the whole and make use of existing natural features, views or enclosures, and level changes. One ‘garden’ is a perfect circle set in the middle of a small wood on one side of the property. Here, Mien wanted to create a garden in the forest with minimal impact. By only removing a few trees, she created a perfect circle planted only in monochromatic green groundcover. The effect is that of a porthole in the forest with a cathedral-like feeling. Simple and stunning.

Innovation. I was completely amazed by the originality displayed in all of the designs. All the spaces would hold up perfectly well as modern gardens today, and some were created almost 80 years ago! Mien was the first to use railway sleepers in her designs (which I’ve seen in soooo many garden design books now), and exposed aggregated pavers (again, so often seen and copied). In one garden, a square space is planted only in asters. A few other purple plants and grasses poke up through the soft green carpet of asters, as seen below at the time of our visit. But imagine this garden when the soft green cloud of asters will be completely covered in vivid purple bloom – it will be absolutely stunning! The garden has enough to keep it interesting all year round, and then in the fall it will be an unforgettable sight. A completely original use of the plant, which just goes to show the endless possibilities for creativity that garden design allows.

Balance. I found that all the gardens had a fantastic balance of ‘hard’ landscape elements (like paths, fences, patios etc), and plants. Too often, garden designs are either one or the other. They’re both equally important, and each enhances the other. Mien’s unique perspective, which combines architectural training with an intimate knowledge of plants from her parents’ nursery and an obvious artistic touch, is key in her designs.

Overall, this is a garden that should be right at top of the list for both pleasure and educational visits. Mien Ruys is my new garden design hero. This whole garden is like walking through an amazing, living, garden design textbook - imagine seeing all those exercises from design class, like laying out a garden using squares or perfect rectangles only, changing space with diagonals, and many of more things actually put into practice perfectly! It’s a garden for which you’ll need a long time to absorb and properly digest all the lessons it has to offer.

Bulb fields, the Netherlands

If there is one thing that can compete with the spectacular display of spring bulbs at Keukenhof gardens, it is the commercial bulb fields that surround it. Each year from mid-March to mid-May, 52,000 acres of Dutch countryside erupt in stunning colour thanks to billions of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

Holland is one of the main producers of both bulbs and cut flowers in the world – an unbelievable 93% of the world's bulbs come from this tiny country. There are about 2,700 Dutch bulb growers, who produce 9 billion bulbs each year. Most fields are destined for the bulb industry, meaning that the plants are allowed to flower and die back naturally in order to grow the bulb. Others are for cut flowers, but these are not as spectacular since flowers must be picked while still in bud to ensure that they are fresh when they reach costumers.
The bulb growing area is concentrated in the west of the country around Lisse, which conveniently is also where Keukehof is located. Keukenhof is in fact a showcase for the bulb industry, as most displays in the garden are sponsored by various bulb growers. And while Lisse touts itself as the epicenter of the bulb growing industry, the whole area between Haarlem and Leiden is known as 'De bollenstreek' - the Bulb District. In these parts, many people’s livelihood depends either directly or indirectly on the bulb or flower industry.
As a gardener, one of the things I found most astonishing about the bulb fields is the soil, or rather the lack thereof. Of course I was expecting sandy soil in the Netherlands, but this was outrageous – it’s not sandy, it’s actually SAND! Tulips originate in Turkey, and like dry summers and winters. The well-drained sand actually suits them perfectly, and allows them to stay dry even with much more rain than they would receive in Turkey.
The bulb field experience is really unique and definitely worthwhile. Instead of being met by fields of green as you go through the country side, huge swathes of land are covered in hot pink, deep crimson or intense blue, sometimes coupled with incredible scent. A surreal experience that both delights and confuses the senses.
'Garden' Summary
What: Bulb fields, the Netherlands.
Where: Centered around Lisse, but strech from Haarlem to Leiden in the west of the country.
When: Mid-March to mid-May, although given that 1/3 of bulbs are tulips and they are later bloomers, the second half of April is probably peak season.

The best way to experience the bulb fields is probably by bike. If you’re in a car, you’ll want to stop and take pictures much too often. Just be respectful of the bulb fields – they are someone’s livelihood, and as many signs point out, please don’t walk all over the fields and do not pick the flowers!

Keukenhof, the Netherlands

I think there is only one word to adequately describe Keukenhof: WOW! Known around the world for the spectacular display of spring bulbs, Keukenhof puts on a massive show every spring. An incredible seven million bulbs are planted for the yearly extravaganza which lasts only 8 weeks from mid-March to mid-May. During this time, the gardens are inundated by masses of visitors from across tulip-crazy Netherlands and from around the world. Self-professed as “the most beautiful garden in the world”, it sets a high standard but doesn’t disappoint.

Keukenhof has managed to achieve world wide fame through complete dedication to spring bulbs, in particular the tulip. However, I think that what really sets the garden apart is the perfect background it has created to really bring out the beauty of bulbs. The whole garden is set in gently rolling woodland, underneath huge trees just leafing out in crisp new leaves during tulip season, through which filtered sunlight perfectly illuminates drifts of bulbs with incredible colours. A small lake, meandering streams, naturalized bulb areas and a Japanese garden complete the picture. And to top it off, the entire garden smells incredible - it's like being in a flower shop the whole time without being overwhelming.At 32 hectares/80 acres, the gardens are surprisingly large, and it takes at least a few hours to make it through everything. Although all planting beds are spring bulbs, and the vast majority of bulbs are tulips, somehow the carefully orchestrated arrangements continue to amaze throughout the garden. It’s impossible not to take pictures at every turn – it’s embarrassing how many we took, but it's hard to control oneself. Apparently, Keukenhof is also the most photographed garden in the world, so we’re not alone. And just in case you still have space on your camera memory card, there are many other premeditated photo-ops in the garden, including the giant Dutch clogs, the turning windmill and walking on water pictures. Keukenhof is the Disneyworld of gardens!

The one tip I must pass on about Keukenhof is the crowd. In the 8 weeks they are open, they get an astonishing 700,000 visitors! We got there at 9am, which was one hour after opening, and already there were a lot of visitors. Luckily, the paths are generous and the gardens large enough to accommodate quite a few people without detracting from their beauty. Early in the day, you can appreciate the impeccable views, the perfectly staged vistas, and enjoy the overall feeling of the garden. By noon, the garden was really filling up, and by 1pm it was absolutely ridiculous. It was almost impossible to move along the paths, and instead of the beautiful vistas that greeted us when we entered, the primary impression was that of many, many people with cameras. And outside the garden, there was a 2km long car lineup waiting to get in. I suspect that the magic of the garden is somewhat lost if you spend a few hours in a car lineup, a few more hours fighting through crowds to actually see anything or sneak a picture, and a lot time waiting in bathroom line-ups, for which you also have to pay.

Overall, Keukenhof is an unforgettable, once in a life time experience that overwhelms the senses with the spring bulb experience, especially tulips. Just get there before the crowds to fully enjoy the beauty and spirit of the garden.

Garden Summary
What: Keukenhof, the Netherlands
Where: Just outside the town of Lisse, south-west of Amsterdam [Map]. You can buy a combi-ticket on the Keukenhof website which includes a bus from the Amsterdam airport. We took the train, and the closest train stop is Hillegom, about 4.5km away from the gardens. If you rent bikes, it's a pleasant ride in, or a bit of a longer walk through the tulip fields. I would definitely recommend avoiding car travel - only a narrow two-lane road leads to the garden, resulting to long lineups.
When: Only open from Mid-March to mid-May (check exact opening times on web site each year). We went last weekend (April 25th), and I think it was perfect for prime tulip display. The weeks before and after are probably good as well. The gardens are absolutely impeccably maintained, so the display is probably great any time during the open period.