Tower Hill Botanic Garden will sponsor a trip August 8 – 16 to the Netherlands. Today naturalistic planting styles are being enthusiastically embraced by plant lovers and designers from around the world. At the forefront of this movement is Dutch plantsman, Piet Oudolf (pronounced Peet Ow-dolf), whose work in private and public gardens is celebrated for its artistry in emulating the freedom and romance of natural habitats. Mr. Oudolf has described his approach this way, “My biggest inspiration is nature. I do not want to copy it but to recreate the emotion.” In this spirit, our travelers can expect to be awed by the gardens we will see on this tour and captivated by the rich history that continues to shape the trend toward naturalism in gardens today.
The heritage of this popular style can be traced back directly to Germany and The Netherlands where several figures were working in the early 20th century. German plant breeder Karl Foerster and his pupil Ernst Pagels introduced a new style of gardening with huge drifts of perennials and grasses that required little maintenance. Dutch landscape architect Mien Ruys was a friend of Foerster and she did much to popularize designs using loose groupings of herbaceous perennials that looked like native plants found in natural settings. Mien’s influence was widespread. She inspired Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden in the United States, who created the New American Garden style.
In The Netherlands, another naturalistic style, that later became known as the Dutch Wave, was adopted by four designers who began collaborating in the early 1980’s. They included Rob Leopold, owner of a wildflower seed company; Ton ter Linden, painter and garden designer; Henk Gerritsen, a designer, writer and plantsman; and Piet Oudolf, the designer who continues to inspire and influence the international gardening world.
Tower Hill member price per person, double occupancy, is $4,100, nonmembers $4,200, with a $1,000 single supplement available. Air fare not included. Deposit of $1,000 is due by February 3, final payment due May 1. For complete itinerary details and information, visit www.towerhillbg.org. Register at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—piet-oudolf–dutch-wave-gardens
