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...
Red can be such a challenging color to deal with. The red of Lobelia tupa versus the red of Rudbeckia 'Sahara' ... they are both red but they clash horribly. I really struggle with where and how to incorporate red flowers into my garden. Pretty sure I'm overthinking ! 'Midnight Marvel' is really nice-love the dark foliage.
ReplyDeleteRed can be a problem I agree but it's a lovely colour to play with as there as there are so many shades of red, as you say. Some go stunningly well with purples, some absolutely not, others go well with dark black foliage others not etc etc. However the one colour they all go with is green, from chartreuse to dark dark green, making this one of the easiest shades to match to red. You can make a very ordinary shade of red (is there even one) look absolutely luxurious just with the right shade of green. Red and green shimmers and dances. Place a scarlet shade umbrella against a back drop of shiny dark dark green leaves and you have a focal point like no other.
DeleteOh Lovely Red Flowers.I loved the hot red Mandevilla flowers the most among all other Red flowers.It would be my pleasure if you join my link up party related to Gardening here at http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/2020/09/garden-affair-teaching-from-gardening.html
ReplyDeleteHot red blooms are the centerpiece of the dog days of summer. Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' is stunning, and I also love Crape Myrtle 'Dynamite which isn't seen very often in Seattle.
ReplyDeleteIf only Bat Face Cuphea had bloomed later, towards the end of October, in time for Halloween!
So red of you. Love each and every one. Our crepe myrtle didn't bloom this year. It froze to the ground this winter. I hope it survives next year and blooms this beautiful red.
ReplyDeleteLove red! I'm making a red bed in my garden. I have another hibiscus that I'm already planning for next year.
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