\u201cIt was fascinating,\u201d says Hans, remembering his first encounter with the book. \u201cAll those photos \u2013 pictures with mists and these tall and low plants and grasses. I realised I couldn\u2019t do it in my small garden, but I kept dreaming and reading about it.\u201d<\/p>
You may also like: <\/strong><\/p> Eventually, in 2011, after creating several small gardens, Hans and his wife Yuxian found the perfect spot for their dream garden: three acres of meadowland<\/a> near Utrecht in the Netherlands. <\/p> All plants take their time to adjust and grow. There is no hurry and no pressure. Nowadays I think a lot about how much I want to orchestrate and how much I want to let go.<\/p><\/blockquote> \u201cAfter we built the house, we lived there for a year and did nothing. We just observed \u2013 the light, the sun, the atmosphere.\u201d By 2012, Hans was ready to embark on his biggest horticultural project yet.<\/p> \u201cI started with the front garden, planting groups of perennials<\/a>. I got the right plants, but the groups were too big, so I made them smaller and little by little it came together. Then I added plants that self-seed<\/a>. I had\u2028read about spontaneous self-seeding. Then I included grasses<\/a>. And then I realised the next step was to try matrix planting.\u201d Hans was following in the creative footsteps of the celebrated Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, and with every step he took, his garden got better.<\/p> The site\u2019s poor, sandy soil<\/a> was never a barrier to his dreams. \u201cThe plants I bought had grown in rich humus. To adjust to their new home, they made deep roots and became tough.\u201d Instead of adding compost or fertiliser, Hans relies on an old-fashioned cutting regime. \u201cI cut down all the plants at the end of February; micro-organisms start to work and the soil gets richer.\u201d<\/p> Having experimented and learned lessons in his front garden, Hans felt equipped to tackle the larger sections to the south and west of the house. <\/p> \u201cNaturalistic<\/a> gardening means you need to have natural, organic elements, so we made a kidney-shaped pond, added a stream and lots of snaking paths.\u201d <\/p> There was just one exception: next to the house they included two square terraces. Although the paths leading from them are straight at first, they soon start to wind and mingle with the planting.<\/p> What you need is a mix of curtains, clouds and statues \u2013 lots of different shapes and types.<\/p><\/blockquote> Unlike Piet Oudolf<\/a>, Hans likes to keep everything open so he can borrow as much of the landscape as possible. \u201cPiet\u2019s garden at Hummelo has a lot of sculpted hedges,\u201d says Hans. \u201cHe clips. I clip nothing. When I plant a shrub or tree, I want to enjoy its natural shape.\u201d<\/p> To his matrix base of grasses, Hans adds individual perennials, shrubs<\/a> and trees. \u201cWhat you need is a mix of curtains, clouds and statues \u2013 lots of different shapes and types,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf perennials prefer to stand in a group, we make small groups. We allow plants to spread, mostly through seeds, creating spontaneity.\u201d <\/p> Statuesque Verbascum<\/a> thapsus<\/em> is planted randomly. \u201cThen it randomly self-seeds and does the designing for you. Two-metre-tall Althaea cannabina<\/em> forms clouds with lots of tiny pink dots. It\u2019s transparent and combines with other plants that are lower and have different shapes.\u201d<\/p> The overall effect \u2013 a mix of 60 per cent grasses and 40 per cent perennials \u2013 is wonderfully soothing to the eye. It\u2019s a blend of soft, natural shades and organic shapes: clouds, plumes and ripples for the backdrop to abundant flowerheads: echinacea and rudbeckia<\/a> daisies, architectural acanthus<\/em> and verbascum<\/em>, spherical globe thistles<\/a> and alliums<\/a>, slender persicarias<\/a><\/em> and veronicastrum<\/em> spikes, flat-topped eupatoriums<\/em> and sedums<\/em>, and hundreds more florescent gems.<\/p> \u201cI use two grasses as the basis for the matrix. Sesleria autumnal<\/em>is is tough grass that you\u2028can combine with lots of elements. Sporobolus heterolepis is not as tough, so you need to be careful with self-seeders, but it\u2019s a great base as it creates clouds from August until November.\u201d<\/p> Twelve years after starting his garden, Hans is still experimenting and expanding his planting. But now there is more ease and freedom. He\u2019s no longer copying others \u2013 he\u2019s creating his own Dutch Wave, adding annuals to the mix such as Berteroa incana<\/em>, which blends with Verbena<\/a> bonariensis<\/em> to produce the most exquisite billows.<\/p> If perennials prefer to stand in a group, we make small groups. We allow plants to spread, mostly through seeds, creating spontaneity.<\/p><\/blockquote> \u201cBy walking around and looking at the landscape under different weather conditions, from different angles, from nearby and far away, and above all by taking time and absorbing the impressions, I feel where each plant fits in the community,\u201d he says. <\/p> \u201cAll plants take their time to adjust and grow. There is no hurry and no pressure. Nowadays I think a lot about how much I want to orchestrate and how much I want to let go. More and more, I let go. I become more and more modest. Letting go is about being modest.\u201d<\/p> Flowers well until November without flopping over. A great self-seeder that always comes true from seed. Height and spread: 1.9m x 70cm. AGM*. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b\u2020.<\/p> Here’s how to grow sanguisorba<\/a><\/p> Starts flowering in July and doesn\u2019t stop until the frosts make it collapse. Spikes of rich-red flowers, loved by bees, over dark-green leaves. 70cm x 70cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 4a-7b.<\/p> Everything you need to know about bistorta<\/a><\/p> Flowers are red in September then turn beige followed by a beautiful silvery white. 2.5m x 1m. RHS H6, USDA 4a-9b.<\/p> Here’s our miscanthus plant profile<\/a><\/p> Flowers later than the more common blue downy skullcap. Held on erect stems, it offers welcome off-white dots among the other garden colours. 80cm x 20cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.<\/p> Hans uses this modest sedum as a small accent between calaminthas, seslerias and eryngiums in his gravel garden. Its flowers change from pink to crimson red, and bloom from summer until well into the autumn. 30cm x 40cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.<\/p> An undemanding team player, this spreading helianthus supports other plants with its strong bamboo-like stems. Hans lets the muted, pastel-yellow flowers emerge from clouds of backlit sporobolus. 1.6m x 1.6m. RHS H4, USDA 6a-9b.<\/p> Looking for more sunflowers? <\/a><\/p> Hans loves self-seeding plants \u2013 \u201cThey teach us to relinquish control\u201d \u2013 especially this mullein, which add spontaneity to the garden. 2.5m x 20cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-9b.<\/p> Here’s our verbascum grow guide<\/a><\/p> Hans likes to blend this stunning coneflower with asters, phloxes and Chasmanthium latifolium<\/em>. Short lived but worth replacing as it\u2019s a beautiful performer. 1.5m x 50cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.<\/p>![\"Garden](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_8438_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Garden](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_8517_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Garden](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_8412_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
Plants from Hans Giezen’s garden<\/h2>
1. Sanguisorba<\/em> \u2018Cangshan Cranberry\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9744_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
2. Bistorta amplexicaulis<\/em> \u2018Blackfield\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Bistorta](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9754_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
3. Miscanthus sinensis<\/em> \u2018Malepartus\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Miscanthus](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9538_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
4. Scutellaria incana <\/em>\u2018White Sky\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Scutellaria](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_8987_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
5. Hylotelephium<\/em> \u2018Abbey Dore\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Hylotelephium](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9606_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
6. Helianthus giganteus<\/em> \u2018Sheila\u2019s Sunshine\u2019 <\/h3>
![\"Helianthus](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9618_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
7. Verbascum thapsus <\/em><\/h3>
![\"Verbascum](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9018_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")
8. Rudbeckia triloba <\/em><\/h3>
![\"Rudbeckia](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2024\/09\/DSC_9529_preview-edited-scaled.jpg\")