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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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Open Gardens: The Hyland / Beckman garden


On the way back from the Wisner/Orloff garden, I stopped at another Open Garden, that of  Bob Hyland and Andrew Beckman. It is located on a hillside overlooking the St. Johns area and nearby Sauvie Island with some nice views of several mountain peaks. 

The late afternoon sun was quite harsh and not the ideal situation for good photos. Much of the garden was shaded which helped.

















Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 21, 2017 at 5:09 AM

    This garden looks like it is on a hilly area. I like the natural feel of this place. That big ball at the end is a fabulous sculpture.

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  2. LINDA from Each Little WorldJuly 21, 2017 at 7:46 AM

    That barberry is stunning. And I agree with Lisa; that sculpture is terrific. Perfect scale for outdoors.

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  3. danger gardenJuly 21, 2017 at 9:10 AM

    I love how the long border along the driveway frames your entrance and then the rest of the garden unfolds as you walk around the garage. I've visited several times and it just keeps getting better!

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  4. chavlinessJuly 22, 2017 at 8:07 AM

    Gardening on a slope seems so challenging to me; they did a wonderful job of it. The rock steps are kind of perfect; love them.

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  5. http://whatsitgarden.blogspot.comJuly 22, 2017 at 2:41 PM

    I visited a few years ago , it's a lovely garden !

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  6. Alyse LansingJuly 23, 2017 at 12:59 AM

    Lovely, Phillip! Thanks for sharing these. Oh that [barberry] and the purple spilling down the hill! Nice to see it after having visited a couple years back, when younger. (The garden I mean! I suppose I was younger too...)

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  7. AnonymousJuly 23, 2017 at 4:29 AM

    What a beautiful space. They work hard don't they? How is your Washington garden coming along? I'll go look at your Bloom Day post to see.~~Dee

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  8. UnknownJuly 30, 2017 at 2:27 PM

    I am still loading up on plants inspired by a visit to this garden a couple of years ago. Now if I could only emulate the perfect placement these guys exercise with apparent ease.

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