#dewiersse

'One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one's head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvellous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one's heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun – which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with the millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in someone's eyes.' 

Every year it happens, it’s seasonal, cyclical, a mental shift, occurring earlier or later of which we have no control. Time flies by,  with spring swirling into summer, too entranced by the beauty of the garden to stop and breathe. The early seasons are extroverts, flaunting us with blossoms who boast with color or scent, parading past us day after day. It’s happening already here in Holland,…

  There is no other place that I go to where I feel as motivated as I do when I am at DeWiersse, it recharges my creativity to full capacity.  It is a difficult balance but I manage as best as I can, all of the sketching, photography, gardening, and arranging.  It a great pleasure to be in such a beautiful environment that I find it hard to sit still, there is too much to do, to see, to enjoy. I…

DeWiersse wildflower meadow with Taxus cubes

They have always been the romantic idyll of summer, evoking visions of blanket picnic lunches in the sun or maybe under the shade of a mature tree, beautifully marked butterflies erratically making there way to a destination, the sun casting a glow on all the flower colors dotted throughout with grasses swaying gently in a warm summer zephyr, causing…

West Lawn vista

  Eric,

Since speaking last, I have traded “¡Olé!” for allée‘s and taken some time away from Spain to visit friends in the Netherlands, in a garden that has had so much influence on me. A few years ago, I spent some time here as a student and found the garden to have a large impact on my way of thinking about, experiencing, and approaching garden design. (This is where I read…

Traditions regularly weave their way through our lives, being passed from one generation to another without written instruction, following what those have done for ages before us. Some of these we enjoy, others not so much.  One beautiful Dutch tradition takes place on birthdays and is usually orchestrated by your immediate family members.  On their birthday, the person is celebrated with their…