Piet Oudolf's Garden
Piet Oudolf's Garden
These twelve photos of garden designer Piet Oudolf's own garden in rural
Hummelo, in the Netherlands, were taken on June 13th, 2001. The yew hedges
were being cut that day. I first heard of Mr. Oudolf's gardens on a Iowa
Public Television program called "The Perennial Gardener with Karen
Strohbeen". Karen televised her visit to these gardens and upon seeing
this garden I was so moved by a combination of admiration and pure ENVY
that I burst out crying in front of the television (this isn't a regular
occurrance, I must add). When I knew we would be traveling to England to
go garden touring there, I made it a mission to get to these gardens in the
eastern part of the Netherlands, in a section called Gelderland. I was
very worried in the months preceding our trip because there had been an
outbreak of foot and mouth disease in that very region and I was afraid the
roads would be closed. Fortunately, we were able to rent a car and travel
there with no difficulty (other than my not knowing how to drive in the
traffic circles in the countryside!).
Mr. Oudolf's design for these gardens is wonderful. I especially enjoy the
whimsical elements that he introduces. He uses formal elements but he
skews them in a clever way--for example, he uses traditional elements like
yew hedges, but he carves them into curves and cylinders and thus turns
them into fantastic living sculptures. He also uses formal shapes like
circles and lines in the garden paths, but he more interestingly and
amusingly places them geometrically off-balance. The "bones" of the garden
then display the intelligence of the gardener in an engaging way. The beds
themselves are full of beautiful and unusual perennials, which are allowed
to stand throughout the winter. I very much would like to see this garden
in late autumn in person. One can see photographs of the garden in autumn
and winter in Mr. Oudolf's new book (with Noel Kingsbury) "Designing With
Plants".
You will note in the last two photographs two round beds edged in brick. One is
planted with great tufts of grasses (Mr. Oudolf is well-known for his use
of ornamental grasses) and the other with the daylily 'Pardon Me' and
lamb's ear, both unusual and very pleasing combinations to my eye.
