As one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, the Netherlands offers few people much outdoor space to call their own. This presents a challenge for designers aiming to create a garden rich in biodiversity with a beautiful aesthetic, that also fulfils the practical needs of their clients, in just a few square metres.
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Dutch garden designer and landscape architect Arjan Boekel was faced with this problem when he, his wife Fleur and their two young children moved from Amsterdam back to his hometown of Heiloo in the northwest of the country. “As our kids were growing up we wanted to relocate to the place where I was raised, which is in a beautiful, quiet area.” Despite the semi-rural location, land is at a premium in the town, and the back garden of the Boekels’ 1970s house is a mere six by ten metres, and overlooked by neighbours on all sides.
In brief: Arjan Boekel garden
- What Small, naturalistic family garden.
- Where Heiloo, the Netherlands.
- Size 6m x 10m.
- Soil Sandy.
- Climate Temperate, with average minimum temperatures of -9.4°C.
- Hardiness zone USDA 8b.
Although Arjan has designed countless gardens and landscapes for other people, this was also the first
real garden he had owned, and he had a bold plan to transform it: “When we arrived five years ago, most of the garden was paved, with a few plants and a fishpond, but little else,” he explains. “But I wanted something different, a surprising family garden, with a large seating area and as many plants as possible to create an intimate, immersive feeling. I didn’t want a ‘children’s garden’ either, with a playground and toys, but rather an adventurous natural space that we could all enjoy.”
He envisaged trees and planting in the centre of the garden to evoke a leafy woodland-edge atmosphere, while creating privacy from the neighbouring houses. “I also wanted to see the plants from every angle, whether you were looking out from the house, sitting in the garden, or entering it from the back gate,” he adds.
Inspired by a fusion of ideas, from forest paths to Japanese stroll gardens and Nordic designs with their emphasis on natural materials such as wood, stone and gravel, Arjan created a simple design. A wide slate gravel path winds through the garden to the end, flanking one large and two smaller beds dedicated to flowering trees and woodland understorey plants.
A long timber bench runs along the back wall and almost the whole length of the south-facing boundary on the right-hand side. As well as shielding the space with clumps of small trees and plants, Arjan has engineered more privacy with a secret hide-away at the end of the garden. Here, he built a pergola and veranda next to the garage, with a green roof providing shelter from the weather and restricting the views from adjacent houses and those in the street behind.
“I painted the back wall black, which is a great design trick for small spaces, as it disguises the boundary, tricking the eye into thinking the garden is larger than it actually is,” he says. “I also painted the fence on the left black for the same reason and because the dark colour makes the planting in front really stand out.”
A stream meanders through the space, the slow-moving water adding movement and a dynamic quality to the design. “The stream sparkles in the sunshine and it’s also fun and safe for the children to play in. The water is very shallow and I can turn it off when we’re not in the garden. It then drains into a sump and leaves the surface dry, posing no danger to them.”
Arjan says that small spaces demand big but simple ideas, and in his own garden, the main elements are the oversized bench and the large planting bed.
The bench was handcrafted to fit the space by Arjan and his gardener Niels, using untreated Pseudotsuga menziesii, a sustainable softwood that has the durability and strength of hardwoods. It has retained its original pinkish-orange colour in the shade of the roof, while the exposed wood has turned a silvery grey in the sun. The pergola is also made from the same timber.
However, the plants are the main stars of the show, with three dramatic spring-flowering Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana taking centre stage. This small, hardy deciduous tree produces a profusion of elegant yellow flowers with white bracts on bare stems, just before the leaves appear.
I wanted a surprising family garden, with a large seating area and as many plants as possible
In spring, the blossoms form a canopy over a mix of ferns, hellebores, primulas, euphorbias, anemones and a confection of colourful spring bulbs. “One of my favourite plants for shade is Pachyphragma macrophyllum, with its round, scallop-edged leaves and small, white spring flowers, which I first encountered at Beth Chatto’s garden,” he says.
As the seasons turn, the palette evolves to sustain the interest. “In summer, it comprises mainly plants with beautiful textures,” says Arjan. “Ornamental grasses, including Hakonechloa macra ‘Nicolas’, Sesleria autumnalis and Melica uniflora f. albida, contrast with early flowering perennials such as Iris sibirica, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’, Libertia chilensis and the long- flowering Euphorbia x martini. In autumn, Eurybia divaricata, Eurybia x herveyi and Bistorta amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ take the reins, followed by the autumn colours of Hydrangea quercifolia and Rhododendron luteum.
The green roofs on the veranda and the house extension augment the biodiversity in the garden, and rather than the usual sedum carpet, Arjan has opted for a consortium of plants that reflect the planting on the ground, with Sesleria autumnalis, euphorbias, scabious and the little Mexican fleabane, Erigeron karvinskianus. “These are all drought tolerant but in dry summers I do have to water them once or twice because the soil on the roofs is so shallow,” he explains.
We’re in the garden almost all year, enjoying the plants and wildlife that comes to visit
A notable omission from the design is a dining table, but Arjan says it is not necessary and would clutter the space. “We eat outside on the bench, which works well, and the small wood-burning stove keeps us warm, so we’re in the garden almost all year round, enjoying the plants and wildlife that comes to visit.”
No plastic toys needed here; with a boulder to climb, a stream to paddle in, a hammock for relaxing and the glory of nature all around, both adults and children have all they need in their tiny woodland playground.
Arjan's top spring plants
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana
Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’
Pachyphragma macrophyllum
Anemone blanda
Primula x polyantha
Lunaria annua ‘Chedglow’
Useful information
Find out more about Arjan Boekel’s work at boekeltuinen.nl