Polder Grid Garden

Zandslootsche Hof is a luscious garden full of different species in the middle of a rationally sub-divided polder landscape in the Province of Utrecht. BOOM landscape designed the garden for a private client. The garden stretches out around the client’s house and adjacent work building, and is part of 2.5 hectares of pasture land.

Lush garden in a strictly delineated landscape

‘A cosy and intimate garden with meandering paths’ is how the client envisioned their new garden. A beautiful idea, but also starkly different from the surrounding landscape. In our design we merged the two together: a lush garden has been inserted into its context in a rational way. We achieved this by planting two hedge rows around the house and work building, paralleling the lines of the existing landscape.

A subtle second framework of lines adds a dynamic transition into the desired intimate garden: diagonal openings that criss-cross from doors and windows through hedge rows to the open pastures. This was coupled to a pattern of paths that offers opportunities for pleasant garden strolls and various views over the landscape beyond. Spots to spend time, like the vegetable patch and the patio with fire pit, were spread out over the grounds so that the entire garden felt purposeful.

Rich variety of flowers and plants

The clear framework of the hedges allowed us to indulge in a luxurious arrangement of flowers and plants. In addition to the vegetable garden, for instance, there are several plots with bee gardens full of richly varied flowering grasses. For the space immediately next to the house we landscaped with an abundance of flowers and plant species, full of colour, texture and experiences, as well as being high maintenance. The idea is that it would become a cheerful chaos, in which colour was the organisational principle, ranging from blue to green and red to purple. The end result is a rainbow round the entire perimeter of the house and one that changes in feel depending on your vantage point –  from inside or outside!

Photos below show the garden in full bloom three years after completion