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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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Thomas Vetter's Garden - Another Revisit


I've been trying to catch up on visiting some of the HPSO Open Gardens this summer and one that I can't pass up is Thomas Vetter's garden in Portland. It continues to inspire me. He is a master at putting plants together. 








Persicaria 'Painter's Palette'





The above photos are from the back garden. He also has a nice collection of succulents -






In the front, a large Parrotia was recently removed. Of course, he used the logs to make an artistic monument -


And, in the back again, one more photo of the lovely Robinia Tree along the back border-


I highly recommend a visit when his garden is open. The Open Gardens directory can be found on the HPSO website. 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Kris PetersonJuly 24, 2023 at 11:46 AM

    Such a peaceful, painterly garden! Someday I'll get up that way to take advantage of the HPSO open gardens...

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  2. tz_gardenJuly 25, 2023 at 7:55 AM

    I can imagine putting in the forest grass, hosta, etc combination and immediately knowing that it was a stellar compilation of color/texture. So beautiful!

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  3. danger gardenJuly 25, 2023 at 8:34 AM

    His collection of succulents has grown considerably since my last visit.

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