The Magic of De Wiersse

Upon your first step onto the drive, you know you are in for a treat. De Wiersse, is located in the eastern most part of Holland and is both a garden of 38 acres with a landscape park of 74 acres and has a moated manor house that lies at it's heart. One of the many viewpoints from the house, this one down the drive.There are many canals and a stream that run throughout the garden. The water has shown me a new way to incorporate itself into a garden, since reflections, be they showing forms or color, just add another layer to a garden than we come to expect. By reflecting the color of the emerging leaves of Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea', or the crutch holding up a branch of an old massive Quercus.Even the setting sun becomes more contemplative...The trees at De Wiersse have an important history here, especially having been managed since 1678, by the same family.There are many paths to take here, each with it's own view and feeling. Here, Magnolia soulangiana lights up, showing it's own, between dramatic clipped forms. Fritillaria meleagris and Fritillaria meleagris alba form a large patch next to the water, creating a lovely effect with the bridge and Magnolia soulangiana as the backdrop.

Back lit by the sun, both the house and blooms radiate, once again reminding how special the place is. One of my partners in crime, Petal, is always up for a stroll to see what new magic has unfolded.

Magnolia soulangiana
The view down to the Fountain Garden is sight to savor, especially in the evenings with the light of the setting sun reflecting off the trunks of Fagus sylvatica.

Narcissus triandrus albus, just one of the many jewels that get to call this place home.

Heading into the wild garden, one can, once again, appreciate the reflections that reveal themselves in the large lake.

The wild garden then opens up with Betula pendula, B. pendula 'Tristis', and Betula pubescens, with a carpet of Narcissus and Erythronium dens-canis 'Pagoda' lighting up the woodland floor.

To see a garden without walls is incredible, and witnessing the small details that this holds is a pleasure unto itself.

Fagus sylvatica, and all 95 meters of it's

serpentine tunnel. A smile is always necessary while walking through here, amazed at the incredible horticultural skills displayed, not only inviting you to look, but to engage in the marvel that it is. The sunk garden is a place to lose track of time, whether it is due to looking at the combinations of blooms displayed,the forms and structures of the garden, or the view , over one of the moats, towards the wild garden, and even the form of the clipped hedges. The beauty envelopes you, never giving you a chance to catch your breathe.
And in the rose garden, too, that is what we want from a garden, to be transported by it's history, it's skill, it's beauty, and the moods that it helps to cast over us. It is easy to be transported into a garden so rich in the feelings that we crave.

The beauty,

the mystery, and the feeling of being transported to a far away place. I am truly happy to be here, seeing and learning all that I am. To walk around each day, seeing the quick details that one would normally miss, is such a privilege. Each day, my first view is of the west lawn, looking through more clipped forms, over more water, into the fields beyond. It is always a different sight, ever changing,

with frost,
with the blooms of the cuckoo flower, Cardamine pratensis,

morning fog, and even chickens,

I am learning a new way to see things, how the environment itself can add another ingredient to the garden. It has only been a month, but I have already realized the spirit of the place, and how important that can be....

Welcome to the beauty that is De Wiersse...