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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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Early June garden











 






 





















Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. EveJune 2, 2016 at 6:17 PM

    Everything is looking wonderful Phillip!

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  2. Lisa at GreenbowJune 3, 2016 at 3:58 AM

    Your yard is beginning to look like a garden. I love that yellow rose. It is all beautiful.

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  3. C. C.June 3, 2016 at 3:50 PM

    Incredible, how quickly you've made a beautiful garden! Everything is gorgeous. Here in Piedmont NC, my flowers are just beginning to bloom. Is it your rain?

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJune 3, 2016 at 9:37 PM

      I think it is the cool nights as well as the rain (although it hasn't rained much lately!)

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  4. RobinLJune 4, 2016 at 6:50 PM

    I recall that recently, you said that you didn't really have a garden yet. Are you sure about that? Everything looks great Philip, it's coming along nicely!

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  5. debsgardenJune 6, 2016 at 1:04 PM

    I knew it would be gorgeous! One of the things that impressed me most about that region of the country is the colorful summer gardens. Love the fuchsia!

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  6. chavlinessJune 9, 2016 at 9:38 AM

    Very cool. It looks like a well established garden. This is the first season that you get to see the garden in all its glory and possibilities: take inventory of plants you many not have known you had. Exciting.

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  7. joanna ukJune 14, 2016 at 1:56 PM

    Nice to see such an ordered garden.

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