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...
Your fall colors are amazing. I really like the Euonymous albomarginatus and your new Zenobia pulverulenta 'Raspberry'. But the plant that made me look more than twice was the milkweed. Looks like something left over from halloween!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly do still have some autumn beauty in your garden. So much color! My garden has been hopelessly frozen. We have had record cold here this month. Just today we were able to get out and mulch leaves. The trees, maples mostly, are curiously holding onto their leaves. All else have dropped and gone to sleep. I am amazed at all the plants you can grow that I can't. I get a bad case of wants when I read your posts. Keep em coming. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Pheasant's Tail Grass has stunning fall colors. I'm not familiar with this grass; I'll have to investigate it further. You have trouble with reseeding?
ReplyDeleteI finally broke down and bought a small 'Fine Line' Buckthorn. For now it's in a pot and I hope to find it a permanent spot in the next couple of years. It's such a cool little tree.
I posted a photo of the Pheasant's Tail grass on Facebook and someone commented that it reseeded a lot but then a few others said that they didn't have a big problem with it. I will keep my eye on it and see what happens. I love the buckthorn too, it is so unique.
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