Forest Garden By Mary Hartkamp (Netherlands)

2023 Author: Ashton Daniels | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 17:13

The main garden area of Marry Hartkamp is not visible at the entrance, it is located behind a long one-story house. But the interests of the hostess are betrayed by a superbly decorated and well-groomed reservoir, which stretches opposite the house and is covered from the road by a sheared hedge. There is a lot of aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation - lush rogers, adjacent to cereals, large Tangut rhubarb, large-flowered letter, geraniums, hosts and ornamental shrubs. A colorful border with fragrant plants has been planted along the house. A sculptural couple on the shore of the reservoir prepares the visitor to meet the beautiful.

A scenic view opens up when we go around the house. On the left is another reservoir, which is decorated with moisture-loving irises, lisichiton, darmera (peltiphyllum), astilboides, veronica, orange hawk. In the depths of the site, right in front of the viewer, there is a small wooden pavilion with a loose roof covered with greenery. We learn from the hostess that such a decision came by itself when the foundation pit was ready under the reservoir and a lot of soil remained. It was not taken out, but an additional relief was created in the garden. The pavilion housed a creative exhibition of the hostess - in addition to gardening, she is passionate about ceramics, and even developed her own technology for creating clay products. She creates the reliefs on the surface of the vases using horsehair prints that resemble craquelures and give the effect of antiquity. The products you like can be purchased at quite affordable prices.

This small garden, including a pond, paving by the house, a large lawn and a patio by the pavilion, is already a complete landscape work. Let's call it the Rest Garden. Here you can drink tea at a wooden table and contemplate the smooth surface of the water. But the entire garden is much larger than it seems at first, its area is more than 5000 sq. meters. And then we go deeper into the forest, into the part that we will call the Walking Garden. This is where the territory that is the hallmark of Mary Hartkamp begins. The wooded area is a piece of natural nature with mosses, ferns, hoofs and other natural vegetation. Cultural plants are almost never introduced here. Stumps from obsolete trees have been carefully preserved. Each of them is turned into a pedestal for some kind of sculpture. The entire forest area is inhabited (with a fair amount of humor) with ceramic and wooden characters.

Having reached the farthest point of the garden, where the forest is interrupted and replaced by a meadow, you can see a small vegetable garden with an onion and kitchen herbs. On the way back, it turns out that the intricate wooden shed is nothing more than a garden toilet. It contains antique plumbing and a hand-washing sink. It is impossible not to mention this object, because it is designed very thoughtfully and delicately.

The Mary Hartkamp Garden can be considered an example of a low-maintenance garden. The forest develops on its own, leaving the owner time for sculpting. In her garden, accents are set not with plants, but with works of art. There is even a brightly colored painting donated by a friend that finds its place in the background of the landscape, viewed from the house and patio.