We are in 'Our Own Garden'!
In the latest edition of Onze Eigen Tuin – Spring 2024 – attention for our designers who have designed three new inspiration gardens on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Tuinen Mien Ruys! Also an article by our Anet Scholma about Green front gardens. So read it!
Green front gardens
Cities have become increasingly more petrified in recent decades: road profiles are narrower, there is more space for parking and less and less for trees. Front gardens are becoming narrower and shallower and that is why they are often paved for convenience. But a change is taking place because it is becoming increasingly clear what the importance of greenery is for our living environment. Rainwater seeps into the soil via planting, fine dust is captured with it, greenery helps to moderate the temperature and provides space for insects, birds and small mammals. The list of advantages of greenery compared to stone is extensive and according to the Steenbeek Foundation, every beer-side metre of stone that is replaced by greenery helps. However, replacing stone with greenery does require some knowledge of planting and the necessary maintenance is also more complex than cleaning with a high-pressure cleaner and broom.
New experiments - 100 years of Mien Ruys
For seventy years she experimented and some of these test gardens are now national monuments, some of them municipal monuments. After her death in 1999 the experimenting continued, by designers of Buro Mien Ruys but also by others. The testing of new materials and plant combinations is always central, with the aim of learning from them and showing and sharing these experiences. And so there is now a very special milestone: in 2024 the Gardens of Mien Ruys will be 100 years old!
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary, new tests have been designed and constructed. At the moment, the preparations for the construction of three small city gardens are in full swing. Three designers from Buro Mien Ruys each designed a city garden of 5 x 7 meters, completely different but with a common starting point: green and sustainability play an important role. In each garden, this has been worked out in a different way. Aesthetics also plays a very important role here, because a garden design must above all be timelessly beautiful and inspire you to get started yourself.
