Meet… Ilona
Meet our team! This time, Ilona Dekker speaks passionately about her work as a Garden and Landscape Designer at Buro Mien Ruys.
Garden and Landscape Designer
Ilona Dekker is 34 years old and lives with her husband and two daughters in Kolhorn. She is originally from Krommenie, but in 2018 they decided together to move to a more rural area. That dream came true in Kolhorn, where they now enjoy a lovely home with an ever-growing vegetable garden. Ilona loves spending much of her free time there.
In 2022, Ilona joined Smit Groenadvies, which has been part of Prommenz since 2021. Following the acquisition of Buro Mien Ruys in 2023, she continued to apply her expertise as a designer from within our garden and landscape architecture firm.
In her current position as Garden and Landscape Designer Ilona focuses on designing gardens, schoolyards, parks, and other outdoor spaces. This also includes creating planting plans. Ilona is very proud of various projects where extensive planting has been added. Planting is a passion in which she can express all her creativity. She finds creating combinations of plants in terms of colors and textures to be one of the coolest things to do. Additionally, she is proud of various schoolyards and playgrounds for children that she has designed and implemented. 'Besides creating planting plans, creating green and challenging play areas is a passion of mine. I see it as my mission to green as many playgrounds and schoolyards as possible and improve them to suit modern standards.'‘
City garden in Dedemsvaart
What makes working at Prommenz so enjoyable? 'We are a very nice group of people who complement each other very well, which makes my work very fun. We know we can count on each other. We can ask each other anything and confide in one another. Because of that, I always go to work with great pleasure.' Finally, an advantage regarding the collaboration between Prommenz, Smit Groenadvies, and Buro Mien Ruys. 'The nice thing about the collaboration is that new projects can come along out of nowhere that might be from a completely different angle and are therefore very interesting.'‘
Fun fact about Ilona: She has her own garden in the famous Mien Ruys Gardens in Dedemsvaart! To mark the Gardens' 100th anniversary in 2024, three designers from Buro Mien Ruys were commissioned to design a 5 x 7 meter city garden. Greenery and sustainability played an important role – alongside aesthetics. The design had to be timelessly beautiful and inspire people to get to work themselves. Ilona designed the 'Native Eco-Garden,' and after three seasons, it is in beautiful bloom! Curious? Visit the Mien Ruys Gardens in Dedemsvaart.
Other current affairs
Greening the schoolyard? Bring the play area to life
Many schoolyards are still grey and functionally designed. They consist mainly of tiles and offer little challenge or experience for children. At the same time, problems such as heat stress, flooding, and a lack of physical activity are increasing.
Healing environment in healthcare
Outdoor spaces at healthcare institutions have a positive and sometimes even healing effect on people. A well-thought-out garden design ensures that residents go outside more often, patients recover faster, and staff experience less stress. In the healthcare sector, such a garden is also referred to as a healing garden (the outdoor space) or a healing environment (both indoors and outdoors).
Designing a garden? The biggest benefits of a green garden
More and more people are discovering the importance of greenery in their living environment. Not only because a garden full of plants, trees, and flowers looks beautiful, but also because it contributes to a healthier and more sustainable world. But what exactly are the benefits of a green garden? And what should you consider when creating a garden design?