Ever since his mother gave him seeds as a small boy, gardening has been a passion for Hans Gieszen. He is completely self-taught, relying on garden visits and books for instruction, with one book in particular, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden by Henk Gerritsen and Piet Oudolf, influencing his style.
“It was fascinating,” says Hans, remembering his first encounter with the book. “All those photos – pictures with mists and these tall and low plants and grasses. I realised I couldn’t do it in my small garden, but I kept dreaming and reading about it.”
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Eventually, in 2011, after creating several small gardens, Hans and his wife Yuxian found the perfect spot for their dream garden: three acres of meadowland near Utrecht in the Netherlands.
All plants take their time to adjust and grow. There is no hurry and no pressure. Nowadays I think a lot about how much I want to orchestrate and how much I want to let go.
“After we built the house, we lived there for a year and did nothing. We just observed – the light, the sun, the atmosphere.” By 2012, Hans was ready to embark on his biggest horticultural project yet.
“I started with the front garden, planting groups of perennials. I got the right plants, but the groups were too big, so I made them smaller and little by little it came together. Then I added plants that self-seed. I had read about spontaneous self-seeding. Then I included grasses. And then I realised the next step was to try matrix planting.” Hans was following in the creative footsteps of the celebrated Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, and with every step he took, his garden got better.
The site’s poor, sandy soil was never a barrier to his dreams. “The plants I bought had grown in rich humus. To adjust to their new home, they made deep roots and became tough.” Instead of adding compost or fertiliser, Hans relies on an old-fashioned cutting regime. “I cut down all the plants at the end of February; micro-organisms start to work and the soil gets richer.”
Having experimented and learned lessons in his front garden, Hans felt equipped to tackle the larger sections to the south and west of the house.
“Naturalistic gardening means you need to have natural, organic elements, so we made a kidney-shaped pond, added a stream and lots of snaking paths.”
There was just one exception: next to the house they included two square terraces. Although the paths leading from them are straight at first, they soon start to wind and mingle with the planting.
What you need is a mix of curtains, clouds and statues – lots of different shapes and types.
Unlike Piet Oudolf, Hans likes to keep everything open so he can borrow as much of the landscape as possible. “Piet’s garden at Hummelo has a lot of sculpted hedges,” says Hans. “He clips. I clip nothing. When I plant a shrub or tree, I want to enjoy its natural shape.”
To his matrix base of grasses, Hans adds individual perennials, shrubs and trees. “What you need is a mix of curtains, clouds and statues – lots of different shapes and types,” he explains. “If perennials prefer to stand in a group, we make small groups. We allow plants to spread, mostly through seeds, creating spontaneity.”
Statuesque Verbascum thapsus is planted randomly. “Then it randomly self-seeds and does the designing for you. Two-metre-tall Althaea cannabina forms clouds with lots of tiny pink dots. It’s transparent and combines with other plants that are lower and have different shapes.”
The overall effect – a mix of 60 per cent grasses and 40 per cent perennials – is wonderfully soothing to the eye. It’s a blend of soft, natural shades and organic shapes: clouds, plumes and ripples for the backdrop to abundant flowerheads: echinacea and rudbeckia daisies, architectural acanthus and verbascum, spherical globe thistles and alliums, slender persicarias and veronicastrum spikes, flat-topped eupatoriums and sedums, and hundreds more florescent gems.
“I use two grasses as the basis for the matrix. Sesleria autumnalis is tough grass that you can combine with lots of elements. Sporobolus heterolepis is not as tough, so you need to be careful with self-seeders, but it’s a great base as it creates clouds from August until November.”
Twelve years after starting his garden, Hans is still experimenting and expanding his planting. But now there is more ease and freedom. He’s no longer copying others – he’s creating his own Dutch Wave, adding annuals to the mix such as Berteroa incana, which blends with Verbena bonariensis to produce the most exquisite billows.
If perennials prefer to stand in a group, we make small groups. We allow plants to spread, mostly through seeds, creating spontaneity.
“By walking around and looking at the landscape under different weather conditions, from different angles, from nearby and far away, and above all by taking time and absorbing the impressions, I feel where each plant fits in the community,” he says.
“All plants take their time to adjust and grow. There is no hurry and no pressure. Nowadays I think a lot about how much I want to orchestrate and how much I want to let go. More and more, I let go. I become more and more modest. Letting go is about being modest.”
Plants from Hans Giezen's garden
1. Sanguisorba ‘Cangshan Cranberry’
Flowers well until November without flopping over. A great self-seeder that always comes true from seed. Height and spread: 1.9m x 70cm. AGM*. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b†.
Here's how to grow sanguisorba
2. Bistorta amplexicaulis ‘Blackfield’
Starts flowering in July and doesn’t stop until the frosts make it collapse. Spikes of rich-red flowers, loved by bees, over dark-green leaves. 70cm x 70cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 4a-7b.
Everything you need to know about bistorta
3. Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’
Flowers are red in September then turn beige followed by a beautiful silvery white. 2.5m x 1m. RHS H6, USDA 4a-9b.
Here's our miscanthus plant profile
4. Scutellaria incana ‘White Sky’
Flowers later than the more common blue downy skullcap. Held on erect stems, it offers welcome off-white dots among the other garden colours. 80cm x 20cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.
5. Hylotelephium ‘Abbey Dore’
Hans uses this modest sedum as a small accent between calaminthas, seslerias and eryngiums in his gravel garden. Its flowers change from pink to crimson red, and bloom from summer until well into the autumn. 30cm x 40cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.
6. Helianthus giganteus ‘Sheila’s Sunshine’
An undemanding team player, this spreading helianthus supports other plants with its strong bamboo-like stems. Hans lets the muted, pastel-yellow flowers emerge from clouds of backlit sporobolus. 1.6m x 1.6m. RHS H4, USDA 6a-9b.
7. Verbascum thapsus
Hans loves self-seeding plants – “They teach us to relinquish control” – especially this mullein, which add spontaneity to the garden. 2.5m x 20cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-9b.
Here's our verbascum grow guide
8. Rudbeckia triloba
Hans likes to blend this stunning coneflower with asters, phloxes and Chasmanthium latifolium. Short lived but worth replacing as it’s a beautiful performer. 1.5m x 50cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
Everything you need to know about rudbeckia
*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. †Hardiness ratings given where available.
In Brief
- What Naturalistic garden surrounded by flat, open meadows.
- Where The Netherlands.
- Size Three acres.
- Soil Very poor sandy soil.
- Climate Warm sunny summers and cold winters. Regular rainfall and wind.
- Hardiness zone USDA 8.
Useful information
Hans and Yuxian welcome groups of visitors to their garden. Email hans.gieszen62@gmail.com for more information.