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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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The long weekend

early-morning-3
Early morning sunrise

It was a wonderfully long and eventful weekend. Actually the entire past week has been busy. Last Monday we were visited by fellow Alabama garden bloggers Eve, Deb and LaRue (owner of John's Native Plants). What a wonderful group of ladies - we had a great time!

On Saturday, Jenks Farmer visited! He had been in the Iuka, Mississippi area for a series of events and a bold spur-of-the-moment Tweet from me invited him to see the Shoals and our garden (I think I am getting bolder in my older age!). I had just finished "Deep Rooted Wisdom" which is a fantastic book. I urge all of my readers to read it. It is filled with wonderful stories and practical advice from gardeners who do gardening the old-fashioned way. I learned many things from this book and highly recommend it.

 The rest of the weekend was spent pruning and trimming in the garden.

I was up very early on Sunday morning and took a lot of photos (including the one above) which I will share later in the week. The hydrangeas are just beginning to bloom and things are growing like crazy. The heat is creeping in as well. Yesterday was a scorcher but we did get an unexpected downpour late yesterday afternoon which was quite welcome.


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Lisa at GreenbowMay 27, 2014 at 10:50 AM

    I am sure Jenks was delighted with your garden, anyone would be. Sounds like you enjoyed every minute of your weekend. Can't wait to see more photos. cheers

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  2. AaronMay 27, 2014 at 7:33 PM

    Feels like we went almost straight from winter to summer (85-90 every day) this year here in Tennessee.

    The heat hasn't been too bad actually. But we could really use some rain. It's only rained two days in May and we're about 3 inches below normal precip for the month.

    Every day features forecasts of scattered/isolated showers, but they seem to be isolated far from here. So far the plants seem OK, which heartens me and makes me feel like I'm planting the right drought-tolerant species. But at some point they're going to start hurting as we get into the Dog Days if we don't get some of those downpours.

    I read Deb's post on your garden. Sounds like she had a great visit. I love the sense of warmth and community among gardeners and garden bloggers. So cool...

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  3. AnonymousMay 28, 2014 at 5:16 AM

    Sounds like a lovely weekend. Jenks is great, isn't he? But, then, of course, so are you. Hope you all had a great time. It sounds like you did.~~Dee

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  4. AnonymousMay 28, 2014 at 5:16 AM

    Sounds like a lovely weekend. Jenks is great, isn't he? But, then, of course, so are you. Hope you all had a great time. It sounds like you did.~~Dee

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 28, 2014 at 5:16 AM

    Sounds like a lovely weekend. Jenks is great, isn't he? But, then, of course, so are you. Hope you all had a great time. It sounds like you did.~~Dee

    ReplyDelete
  6. Edith KentMay 28, 2014 at 7:45 AM

    Drove by your house on Monday to get another look at the roses. The ones on fence still pretty. It's a pleasure just driving by there. Going to check in the book.

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  7. The Graceful GardenerMay 28, 2014 at 8:09 AM

    So beautiful! Lovely capture. I can hear the birds chirping...

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  8. HoehoegrowMay 28, 2014 at 8:36 AM

    The garden is looking lovely. Your roses are mentioned in a comment - Which ones do you grow and can they cope with the heat ?
    Here in the uk we are getting day after day of rain and grey skies. The plants love it , and are growing as we watch, but it is dismal for mere mortals, as we can't get out in the garden !!

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  9. Phillip OliverMay 28, 2014 at 9:08 AM

    Jane, mostly old rose varieties. We initially had lots of sun but now totally opposite. As a result, some roses have suffered but most do okay with limited sun. I have found that hybrid musk roses do the best. Disease resistance is good for the older varieties. I don't spray and if a rose is problematic, I take it out. If you go to this link, you will see a list of roses in the garden. Some are not here anymore but most of them are. http://southerngarden.weebly.com/roses.html

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