en
Kirengeshoma palmata
Flowers from the Bee-Bee Tree
are a feast for the neighborhood bees.
Astilboides tabularis
Heartleaf
Cephalaria gigantea
Noa and Olivia
Magnolia
March 15th 'Snowdrift' is blooming beautifully again
Medicinal herb garden landscaped together with Nienke, Jools, Jessie, Tom, Fien, Sander and Lex. Thanks to City Council Amsterdam West.
Long before the corona pandemic, research showed that gardening is good for body and mind. The proximity of plants reduces stress. The garden as a microcosm and metaphor for resilience, but also for society, has a long cultural tradition. Painters, writers and poets turned to the garden for insights and symbols. It is not surprising that in many different cultures and religions the garden is synonymous with harmony and protection. The effect of this 'inner garden' on the mental and physical health of the local residents is something we would like to develop further, as we are located here on the former hospital site. For more than a century, the Wilhelmina Gasthuis site has been a medical icon in Amsterdam West.
The four compartments in the corner of the garden will be filled with a mixture of different herbs and shade-loving perennials. The selection of herbs are in the spirit of the location, medicial. Due to the shaded position of the sections, species that grow naturally in the forest are particularly suitable here.
Planting and design: Veldhof planting.
Emptying the beds for the new planting.
Longing for the garden
February 5th we adopted these cuties from the shelter
Datura
Evening primrose
Abandoned great tit nest
(photo Nienke Sybrandy)
Erythronium Granduiflorum
Photographer and neighbour Antoinette Nausikaa
took this picture of me on the blue bench
Take root
Clematis Armandii (snowdrift) Named for Armand David (1826-1900),
Jesuit missionary and plant collector in China.
Crocus
an other crocus
Magnolia bud
Rosa Rugosa
Deboning of the Medlar at the end of February
Annemone Blanda
January 30, 2022
Autumn has started.
Leaf of the Silver Maple
Nienke Sybrandy has put a Water lily from the pont in a jar for her flower collection 'Spirits'
Broken stems of the celandine
The secret garden
'We're playing kick, the can kind of hide and seek, He's already walked by twice and hasn't seen us'
Arum buds in twilight
Two-colored Lunaria
Construction of a fern garden, thanks to
Amsterdam West an Jessie Straathof
winter
Christmas concert in the arbor
Cavolo Nero harvest
November the roses are still in bloom
Tarte Tatin made from the apples
After the drought, the ferns started again
Clerodendrum trichotomum
Crocosmia crocosmiiflora
Loosestrife lysimachia
Astilboides tabularis (table top)
flowers and smells sweet
Finished peony
Raspberries from the garden
an onion
The first Dalhia blooms
Planted cabbage between the potatoes
Finally rain
Visitors on the blue bench
Larkspur in the windowsill, blooms profusely this year
The Peony blooms for the first time
Robin who has accompanied me for days
Potatoes and Palm cabbage planned
Found a new addition, Centaurea montana
A grave for our old cat, she was 19 years old
April 1st
Magnolia Liliiflora
American Pokeweed that came blowing in a few years ago, is sprouting again
Crimson
Fritillaria
checkered lily
Climates Armandii Snowdrift
Sculpture of hands made by Mara
Lampionet has survived the mild winter
Hellebore
Summer fruit harvested
Rosa Rugosa. Memory of Villa D'Este (May 2014). Dark pink wrinkle rose with a lovely scent.
Borage or cucumber spice
Zucchini seeds
Grape harvest
Schiacciata made from the grapes from the garden
The beautiful oval, papery seed pods of the Saint Jude's medal contrast with the straight windows of the houses in the apartment building in the distance
Dutchman pipe blooms in the pergola. The flower is reminiscent of the antique Dutch pipe
Rosa Mermaid
Rosa Mermaid has finished flowering
June 7, 2008 party girl
The poplar we planned in 1985 was sick and needed cutting
Newt
A beautiful unknown seedling.
The fluffy poplar seeds in the green grass
Small mushroom
Hydragea in bud
Columbine flower
Every year yellow poppies, mockpoppies under the hedges. They have come to blow.
Floxglove flower
Dew drops in spider web
Snail track
Stacking
Rainy hollyhock
The construction of the pond
Information
CloseFor over 35 years I have been maintaining a courtyard garden on the WG site in Amsterdam Oud West. It started in 1985, shortly after I moved into my studio. The old laboratory on the ground floor of the former hospital seemed to me the best location for my work.
I looked out at the remains of the foundations of the demolished barracks of the former Wilhelmina Gasthuis hospital. It was bare and cluttered. The white sand blew in through the cracks and open windows. An annoying side effect that inspired me to change it. Together with my beloved I made a plan for the construction of the garden. My greatest wish was a pond with a water lily. It came first and is still there.
To be able to build the garden further, I ordered a few cubic meters of black soil and moved it from the street to the garden with a wheelbarrow. We collected plants from friends' and family's gardens and sowed grass. The garden that was created borders our studios and grew into a small paradise, a work of art that we, with neighbors, local residents and casual passers-by enjoy every day.
To this day people stop to express their admiration when I am working in the garden.
