Holland

Amsterdamse Bos » <p>Modernist principles were used to create a large forest (bos) park near Amsterdam. The plan, which can be viewed as an abstract painting, was the work of two architects (C van Esteren and J H Mulder), influenced by a biologist (Dr J P Thijsse) on the public works committee which controlled the project. Van Esteren was a president of CIAM, the International Congress of Modern Architecture. The land on which the park was created had been reclaimed from the sea. This made ecological considerations important. The Bos Park was the first major project on which an ecological approach was used. J P Thijsse used native plants to make a <a href="/garden/jac_p_thijsse_park">flower garden</a> in Amste..... Read more on Amsterdamse Bos

Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus » The botanical garden in Amsterdam (Hortus Botanicus) was founded in 1682 to supply the city's doctors with medicinal herbs. The Hortus Botanicus has many interesting old and modern structures, including seed houses and glass houses. There is also a remarkable collection of Cycadae (one of the oldest is nearly 400 years old). Read more on Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus

Wageningen Botanical Garden » The botanical gardens in Wageningen are part of Wageningen University (LU Wageningen) and have one of the most extensive arboretums in the Netherlands. Read more on Wageningen Botanical Garden

Keukenhof » A nineteenth century landscape park, acquired by the Royal Dutch Association of Bulb Growers in 1949, and made into a spectacular bulb garden. It attracts large numbers of visitors during the 2 months when it is open. Read more on Keukenhof

Palais Het Loo » <p>A Dutch baroque garden with rich decoration, made by William and Mary, who later held the English throne. Foreign visitors have often seen Het Loo as 'the Versailles of Holland', because of its axial layout, fountains, parterres and statues. Dutch critics aknowledge a slight debt to French ideas but emphasise its national identity. William of Orange had, after all, been made stadtholder of the Netherlands in order to resist Louis XIV's power and Roman catholicism. At Het Loo, William's garden does not dominate the landscape. It is an enclosed space, tucked into the woods for private enjoyment. Outside the garden there are a few avenues, for hunting and for scenic effect. The box parterres ..... Read more on Palais Het Loo

Kwekerij Piet Oudolf » <p>This is the private garden of a renowned author and planting designer: Piet Oudolf. Please follow the below link (to Piet Oudolf) for details of opening times. The word <em>kwekerij </em>means 'nursery'. Oudolf's&nbsp; nursery was closed in 2011.</p> Read more on Kwekerij Piet Oudolf

Mien Ruys Tuinen » Designed by a famous landscape architect, Mien Ruys, in her parents perennial nursery. The work began in 1925 and continued until the end of the twentieth century. There are garden compartments with different character made at different periods in the designer's life. Read more on Mien Ruys Tuinen

Jac P Thijsse Park » Thissje (pronouced Tee-se) was an ecologist, a botanist and an adviser on the development of the Amsterdam Bos park. This home park (heempark) is of great historical and design interest on account of its pioneering use of wild flowers to create a beautiful garden. The idea goes further than William Robinson's 'wild garden' and accords with the principles of pioneer functionalist modernism. The J.P.Thijssepark in Amstelveen was designed by Christiaan P. Broerse (1902-1995). Read more on Jac P Thijsse Park

Borneo Shipwright's Street » Scheepstimmermanstraat (Shipwright Street) is on the Borneo peninsula in Amsterdam. The landscape architect, Adriaan Geuze of the firm West 8, planned a street with courtyards and roof gardens on which residents were free to design their own dream houses on the waterfront. Read more on Borneo Shipwright's Street