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The Gardens of Mien Ruys - a book review

I don't know how I missed her, but I was totally unfamiliar with Mien Ruys. A beautiful new book The Gardens of Mien Ruys details her life and work. Born in the Netherlands in 1904, she was the daughter of Bonne Ruys, who founded Moerheim Nursery in 1888. She grew up in a liberal atmosphere and encouraged to learn and study. She found great comfort in the natural world around her and learned all the plants in her father's nursery at a young age. After leaving school at the age of 19, she knew that she wanted to work in the garden center. The Moerheim Nursery, in addition to selling plants, had an on-site design studio where they published a detailed catalog and sold landscape design plans to customers. It was in the design studio where Ruys first began to work and she was soon encouraged to venture beyond her country and study abroad. Her father's connections helped her secure a traineeship with Wallace & Sons Nursery in Tunbridge Wells in England. There, she met Gertr...
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Meet a new blogger!

I'd like to introduce a new blog to you. My friend Jennifer lives just over the Tennessee state line which is about 20 miles from me. We met a few years ago when she visited my garden. She has a talent for rooting plants and I guess you could call her a rose rustler. Her blog is titled "Confessions of a Serial Tiller" (I love it!) and I'm looking forward to it. Blog away Jennifer!


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. GingerJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:26 PM

    What a cute name for a blog, and how nice of you to feature her!

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  2. serial tillerJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:39 PM

    Thanks for the publicity Phillip! I am glad I quit procrastinating and finally got started! I tossed around a lot of titles but this one just stuck with me. Glad to be in the blogging community. Y'all are such nice folks!

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowJanuary 16, 2010 at 5:03 AM

    What an intriguing title of her blog. I will pop over and have a look.

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  4. George GastonJanuary 16, 2010 at 5:17 AM

    Phillip thanks for pointing out Jennifer's blog... I must admit I love her title. Especially since I could confess to being a serial killer in the garden. I guess my thumb is less green, due to being covered in chocolate from baking.

    I hope the extreme cold has finally left your area and your garden can start preparing for Spring.

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  5. Southern AspirationsJanuary 16, 2010 at 6:11 AM

    Cute name and I'm excited to check her out!

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  6. Southern AspirationsJanuary 16, 2010 at 6:11 AM

    Cute name and I'm excited to check her out!

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  7. UnknownJanuary 16, 2010 at 8:02 AM

    I love that you'd take the time to post about a new blogger, Phillip. That's the sort of blogging network I support with all my heart. Off to welcome her now!

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  8. CarolJanuary 16, 2010 at 9:01 AM

    What a lovely introduction! Great blog title. Very sweet of you Phillip.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2010 at 7:36 PM

    Phillip~~ I love a person who is creative with words. Jennifer's got a very nice blog.

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  10. Rob (ourfrenchgarden)January 17, 2010 at 1:47 PM

    That's a seriously good blog name.

    Hello Jennifer!

    ReplyDelete

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