The Garden History Society

Designed Dutch Landscape: Jac. P. Thijsse Park by Gaston BekkersReview by: Nigel DunnettGarden History, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring, 2003), pp. 113-114Published by: The Garden History SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1587411 .

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The book, however, is much more than an account of a single park. Instead, it puts the development of the heem parks in the context of nature protection and the use of wild plants that has been such a feature of landscape architecture and garden design in the Netherlands for the century. The book also presents a selective account of the professional life of the creator of the heem park concept: Christiaan Peter Broerse.

The heem parks were created as part of a large- scale urban public works programme for parks and gardens in Amstelveen and laid out (predominantly in the 1940s and 1950s) adjacent to the Amsterdam Bos, a 900-hectare woodland recreational and leisure area. There had been considerable debate in the 1920s and 1930s in the Netherlands about the destruction that poorly planned residential development was wreaking on natural habitats and the rural landscape. It was in the context of this debate that the plan for the expansion of Amstelveen was developed from its initial inception in 1925 to approval of the final plan in 1934. The village of Amstelveen was singled out for massive expansion as a residential area because of its proximity to Amsterdam. Planned centrally by the Government Office for Public Works, particular care was made to create a new town rich with parks and green areas and one that preserved a framework of existing woodlands and areas of water, and which linked effectively with the Bos Park. The plan's aim was that the extensive network of green spaces would promote the sale of building plots and encourage prosperous inhabitants to move into the area.

Broerse, then Head of the Amstelveen Parks Department, devised the layout and planting of a number of the new parks and, in 1939, he delivered his plans for the first of the parks: De Braak. Work started on Thijsse Park in 1941, which was finally completed after three further phases of development in 1950, 1963 and 1970. The parks share the characteristics of meandering paths, a deliberate lack of focal points and a distinctly pictorial approach to the use of wild plants. Of all the parks, Thijsse Park is considered as the supreme example with a series of waterways that snake through residential areas and a network of paths that lead through woodlands, besides pools and among areas of wildflowers. However, it is for the planting of the parks that Broerse will be particularly remembered and for which the Amstelveen parks set a radical new direction.

Previously, the use of native species in the Netherlands had been along rather purist lines, attempting to recreate or restore seminatural plant communities. Indeed, Jac. P. Thijsse himself, an edu- cationalist with a strong environmental conscious- ness, whose work in the 1920s provided inspiration for the heem park movement, wrote a number of books that resulted in much increased awareness among the Dutch of the need for nature conservation. He promoted the idea of the 'instructive garden', or neighbourhood botanical gardens in towns and cities, where native plants might be displayed in

The book, however, is much more than an account of a single park. Instead, it puts the development of the heem parks in the context of nature protection and the use of wild plants that has been such a feature of landscape architecture and garden design in the Netherlands for the century. The book also presents a selective account of the professional life of the creator of the heem park concept: Christiaan Peter Broerse.

The heem parks were created as part of a large- scale urban public works programme for parks and gardens in Amstelveen and laid out (predominantly in the 1940s and 1950s) adjacent to the Amsterdam Bos, a 900-hectare woodland recreational and leisure area. There had been considerable debate in the 1920s and 1930s in the Netherlands about the destruction that poorly planned residential development was wreaking on natural habitats and the rural landscape. It was in the context of this debate that the plan for the expansion of Amstelveen was developed from its initial inception in 1925 to approval of the final plan in 1934. The village of Amstelveen was singled out for massive expansion as a residential area because of its proximity to Amsterdam. Planned centrally by the Government Office for Public Works, particular care was made to create a new town rich with parks and green areas and one that preserved a framework of existing woodlands and areas of water, and which linked effectively with the Bos Park. The plan's aim was that the extensive network of green spaces would promote the sale of building plots and encourage prosperous inhabitants to move into the area.

Broerse, then Head of the Amstelveen Parks Department, devised the layout and planting of a number of the new parks and, in 1939, he delivered his plans for the first of the parks: De Braak. Work started on Thijsse Park in 1941, which was finally completed after three further phases of development in 1950, 1963 and 1970. The parks share the characteristics of meandering paths, a deliberate lack of focal points and a distinctly pictorial approach to the use of wild plants. Of all the parks, Thijsse Park is considered as the supreme example with a series of waterways that snake through residential areas and a network of paths that lead through woodlands, besides pools and among areas of wildflowers. However, it is for the planting of the parks that Broerse will be particularly remembered and for which the Amstelveen parks set a radical new direction.

Previously, the use of native species in the Netherlands had been along rather purist lines, attempting to recreate or restore seminatural plant communities. Indeed, Jac. P. Thijsse himself, an edu- cationalist with a strong environmental conscious- ness, whose work in the 1920s provided inspiration for the heem park movement, wrote a number of books that resulted in much increased awareness among the Dutch of the need for nature conservation. He promoted the idea of the 'instructive garden', or neighbourhood botanical gardens in towns and cities, where native plants might be displayed in

the RHS Lindley Library. For British readers, perhaps the most intriguing

aspect of the Companion will be the various accounts of British influence on Australian gardening. The making of colonial Australian gardens began in the first half of the nineteenth century, when the dominant influences were Humphry Repton and John Claudius Loudon, both of whom naturally have entries. Loudon's An Encyclopaedia of Cottage Architecture, Farm and Villa (London, 1836) was used as a pattern-book for early residences, and it was an easy step to using his gardening works as the models in their respective domain. Thomas Shepherd, the writer of the first gardening book to be published in Australia, was heavily influenced by Repton; Alexander McLeay, the first Australian town planner, was indebted to Loudon (as was his New Zealand counterpart Edward Gibbon Wakefield. (One criticism that could be made of the book is the comparative lack of attention to New Zealand parallels.) Colleen Morris's article on Loudon does a good job of making clear his influence on early Australian gardens; it is more difficult to work out from the shorter entries on Robert Marnock and William Robinson what degree of influence they had. Thereafter, as the course of Australian gardening plunges through the twentieth century, the entries will probably more familiar to the Australian reader in the same proportion as they are unfamiliar to the British.

The publisher deserves thanks for producing what will long remain the essential reference book for Australian garden history. But will this be a one-off, or the beginning of a trend towards more detailed regional works?

BRENT ELLIOTr Lindley Library, Royal Horticultural Society, 80

Vincent Square, London SWlP 2PE, UK

REFERENCE

1 Geoffrey Jellicoe, Susan Jellicoe, Patrick Goode and Michael Lancaster (eds), The Oxford Companion to Gardens (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Gaston Bekkers, Designed Dutch Landscape: Jac. P. Thijsse Park (Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura, and Woodbridge: Garden Art Press, 2003), 84 pp., illus. in colour and black-and- white, ?15.00 (pbk), ISBN 90-71570-85-1.

Jac. P. Thijsse Park, Amstelveen, south of Amsterdam, is the best-known example of the Dutch phenomenon of the heem park. These parks, and Thijsse Park in particular, are now seen as inspirational examples of naturalistic landscape design, drawing many visitors to view their beautiful displays of native wildflowers. Until now, anyone wishing to discover more about the parks and their development have had no readily available source in English. This publication fills that gap, being the first book in English (with a simultaneous Dutch and English text) devoted solely to Thijsse Park.

the RHS Lindley Library. For British readers, perhaps the most intriguing

aspect of the Companion will be the various accounts of British influence on Australian gardening. The making of colonial Australian gardens began in the first half of the nineteenth century, when the dominant influences were Humphry Repton and John Claudius Loudon, both of whom naturally have entries. Loudon's An Encyclopaedia of Cottage Architecture, Farm and Villa (London, 1836) was used as a pattern-book for early residences, and it was an easy step to using his gardening works as the models in their respective domain. Thomas Shepherd, the writer of the first gardening book to be published in Australia, was heavily influenced by Repton; Alexander McLeay, the first Australian town planner, was indebted to Loudon (as was his New Zealand counterpart Edward Gibbon Wakefield. (One criticism that could be made of the book is the comparative lack of attention to New Zealand parallels.) Colleen Morris's article on Loudon does a good job of making clear his influence on early Australian gardens; it is more difficult to work out from the shorter entries on Robert Marnock and William Robinson what degree of influence they had. Thereafter, as the course of Australian gardening plunges through the twentieth century, the entries will probably more familiar to the Australian reader in the same proportion as they are unfamiliar to the British.

The publisher deserves thanks for producing what will long remain the essential reference book for Australian garden history. But will this be a one-off, or the beginning of a trend towards more detailed regional works?

BRENT ELLIOTr Lindley Library, Royal Horticultural Society, 80

Vincent Square, London SWlP 2PE, UK

REFERENCE

1 Geoffrey Jellicoe, Susan Jellicoe, Patrick Goode and Michael Lancaster (eds), The Oxford Companion to Gardens (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Gaston Bekkers, Designed Dutch Landscape: Jac. P. Thijsse Park (Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura, and Woodbridge: Garden Art Press, 2003), 84 pp., illus. in colour and black-and- white, ?15.00 (pbk), ISBN 90-71570-85-1.

Jac. P. Thijsse Park, Amstelveen, south of Amsterdam, is the best-known example of the Dutch phenomenon of the heem park. These parks, and Thijsse Park in particular, are now seen as inspirational examples of naturalistic landscape design, drawing many visitors to view their beautiful displays of native wildflowers. Until now, anyone wishing to discover more about the parks and their development have had no readily available source in English. This publication fills that gap, being the first book in English (with a simultaneous Dutch and English text) devoted solely to Thijsse Park.

REVIEWS REVIEWS 113 113

This content downloaded from 205.133.226.104 on Fri, 2 Aug 2013 08:15:09 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

GARDEN HISTORY 31:1 GARDEN HISTORY 31:1

representations of natural plant communities for the educational benefit of the public. Broerse coined the term 'heem park' (loosely 'habitat parks') to differen- tiate his creations from those of the earlier instructive gardens. Broerse felt primarily that public spaces must be beautiful and he therefore concentrated on heightening the aesthetic impression of naturalistic plantings. Although closely modelled on recognizable Dutch habitats such as bog, dune, meadow or heath, in Broerse's approach, the key species that defined the visual character of that vegetation were used in greater numbers than in the wild. Broerse consciously sought an aesthetic alternative to the standard approach of ornamental horticulture that he felt emphasized what were, in the end, shallow experi- ences of spectacular colour and visual spectacle. Instead, he believed in heightening the visual quality of the familiar, and in strengthening the appeal of indigenous vegetation in a way that could relate to the Dutch.

To achieve his vision, Broerse formed an impressive partnership with the botanist and grower J. Landwehr. Landwehr had an extensive knowledge of Dutch flora and the skills to source and propagate the material that Broerse needed to achieve his vision. This double act deserves wider recognition as one of the most influential partnerships in twentieth-century landscape design. In fact, while the book contains a good account of the work of Broerse, including larger-scale planning projects and smaller-scale design work, it is clear there is still more room for a proper evaluation of his work: Broerse as a designer will surely come to be recognized as a major figure in naturalistic landscape architecture and garden design.

The book is highly recommended as it provides a good range of background material on the development of the heem parks and also gives a rich impression of the arguments around the development of landscape architecture and environmental planning at the time. It is well illustrated with images from the early days of the heem parks and contains several of the original plans. Unfortunately, these plans are not referred to specifically in the text and no explanation is given of them. Another major omission is the lack of discussion of the more recent development of the parks. Hein Koningen, the last supervisor of the heem parks - and a name synonymous with the parks for most devotees - is not even discussed, and yet he was a central figure in the continued development of the parks in the recent past. The book finishes with a lavish thirty-page photo-essay of the parks, although most of the images are from early to mid-summer when the parks are relatively dark with a leafy tree canopy. There is also no hint of the breath-taking displays of spring flora that make April and May the best months to visit Amstelveen.

Sixty years after their original inception, Jac. P. Thijsse Park and the other heem parks and the philosophy of Broerse still offer a fresh and viable vision for landscape and garden design. Unfortu- nately, at present the continued future of the heem

representations of natural plant communities for the educational benefit of the public. Broerse coined the term 'heem park' (loosely 'habitat parks') to differen- tiate his creations from those of the earlier instructive gardens. Broerse felt primarily that public spaces must be beautiful and he therefore concentrated on heightening the aesthetic impression of naturalistic plantings. Although closely modelled on recognizable Dutch habitats such as bog, dune, meadow or heath, in Broerse's approach, the key species that defined the visual character of that vegetation were used in greater numbers than in the wild. Broerse consciously sought an aesthetic alternative to the standard approach of ornamental horticulture that he felt emphasized what were, in the end, shallow experi- ences of spectacular colour and visual spectacle. Instead, he believed in heightening the visual quality of the familiar, and in strengthening the appeal of indigenous vegetation in a way that could relate to the Dutch.

To achieve his vision, Broerse formed an impressive partnership with the botanist and grower J. Landwehr. Landwehr had an extensive knowledge of Dutch flora and the skills to source and propagate the material that Broerse needed to achieve his vision. This double act deserves wider recognition as one of the most influential partnerships in twentieth-century landscape design. In fact, while the book contains a good account of the work of Broerse, including larger-scale planning projects and smaller-scale design work, it is clear there is still more room for a proper evaluation of his work: Broerse as a designer will surely come to be recognized as a major figure in naturalistic landscape architecture and garden design.

The book is highly recommended as it provides a good range of background material on the development of the heem parks and also gives a rich impression of the arguments around the development of landscape architecture and environmental planning at the time. It is well illustrated with images from the early days of the heem parks and contains several of the original plans. Unfortunately, these plans are not referred to specifically in the text and no explanation is given of them. Another major omission is the lack of discussion of the more recent development of the parks. Hein Koningen, the last supervisor of the heem parks - and a name synonymous with the parks for most devotees - is not even discussed, and yet he was a central figure in the continued development of the parks in the recent past. The book finishes with a lavish thirty-page photo-essay of the parks, although most of the images are from early to mid-summer when the parks are relatively dark with a leafy tree canopy. There is also no hint of the breath-taking displays of spring flora that make April and May the best months to visit Amstelveen.

Sixty years after their original inception, Jac. P. Thijsse Park and the other heem parks and the philosophy of Broerse still offer a fresh and viable vision for landscape and garden design. Unfortu- nately, at present the continued future of the heem

parks is less secure in the face of short-sighted budgetary restrictions by the Amstelveen authorities. This book should help increase the number of people who feel drawn to these special parks and gardens.

NIGEL DUNNETT

Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

Frederick Eden, A Garden in Venice [London: Country Life, 1903], repr. with a Postface by Marie-Therese Weal (London: Frances Lincoln, 2003), 152 pp., illus. in black-and-white, ?20.00 (hbk), ISBN 0-7112-2005-3.

This attractive reprint marks the centenary of the first publication of Frederick Eden's A Garden in Venice. The thick matt paper, wide margins, illuminated chapter openings, Victorian 'mediaeval' woodcuts and dark, slightly fuzzy photographs of the garden recapture both the appearance and character of the original. The text is highly romanticized - as highly coloured as a Canaletto painting. Depending on their taste, readers will either float through it as its invalid author floated through Venice without the jarring pain of a Bath chair or will founder in it as if in the silt of the mud bank on which the garden developed.

Eden and his wife Carry (Caroline), elder sister of Gertrude Jekyll, bought the palazzino and derelict garden in Venice in 1884 when Frederick was fifty-six years old, joining a small circle of wealthy expatriates. The book describes the evolution of the garden beginning with its emergence as a mud bank, its gradual colonization by land plants and its later colonization by monks - an interesting account when one considers that it was written in the very early stages of the history of ecology. The monastic retreat was eventually converted into the unlikely pairing of a prison and palazzino before the latter was abandoned, to be rescued and become literally a Garden of Eden.

The focus of the book is very much on the garden and the principles that guided it. Eden's character, an intellectual semi-invalid with strong artistic leanings, comes across very clearly, but his wife - his energetic partner in the making of the garden - is never mentioned. Neither is her more famous younger sister. There are, though, recogniz- able parallels with Jekyll's writing in Eden's descrip- tion of local character and characters, and in his ranging from broad visual effects to the details of planting and plant care. Two chapters are devoted to his (eventually successful) attempts to bring a secure supply of fresh water to the house and garden.

Over twenty-two years, the garden was reclaimed, enriched and extended with an apparently casual mix of vegetables, fruits and flowers. The central guiding principle was to work with nature rather than against it, to grow what grows well. The author describes with wry resignation the challenges of a garden on reclaimed land where here is a patch of intractable clay, there a former dung heap and a

parks is less secure in the face of short-sighted budgetary restrictions by the Amstelveen authorities. This book should help increase the number of people who feel drawn to these special parks and gardens.

NIGEL DUNNETT

Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

Frederick Eden, A Garden in Venice [London: Country Life, 1903], repr. with a Postface by Marie-Therese Weal (London: Frances Lincoln, 2003), 152 pp., illus. in black-and-white, ?20.00 (hbk), ISBN 0-7112-2005-3.

This attractive reprint marks the centenary of the first publication of Frederick Eden's A Garden in Venice. The thick matt paper, wide margins, illuminated chapter openings, Victorian 'mediaeval' woodcuts and dark, slightly fuzzy photographs of the garden recapture both the appearance and character of the original. The text is highly romanticized - as highly coloured as a Canaletto painting. Depending on their taste, readers will either float through it as its invalid author floated through Venice without the jarring pain of a Bath chair or will founder in it as if in the silt of the mud bank on which the garden developed.

Eden and his wife Carry (Caroline), elder sister of Gertrude Jekyll, bought the palazzino and derelict garden in Venice in 1884 when Frederick was fifty-six years old, joining a small circle of wealthy expatriates. The book describes the evolution of the garden beginning with its emergence as a mud bank, its gradual colonization by land plants and its later colonization by monks - an interesting account when one considers that it was written in the very early stages of the history of ecology. The monastic retreat was eventually converted into the unlikely pairing of a prison and palazzino before the latter was abandoned, to be rescued and become literally a Garden of Eden.

The focus of the book is very much on the garden and the principles that guided it. Eden's character, an intellectual semi-invalid with strong artistic leanings, comes across very clearly, but his wife - his energetic partner in the making of the garden - is never mentioned. Neither is her more famous younger sister. There are, though, recogniz- able parallels with Jekyll's writing in Eden's descrip- tion of local character and characters, and in his ranging from broad visual effects to the details of planting and plant care. Two chapters are devoted to his (eventually successful) attempts to bring a secure supply of fresh water to the house and garden.

Over twenty-two years, the garden was reclaimed, enriched and extended with an apparently casual mix of vegetables, fruits and flowers. The central guiding principle was to work with nature rather than against it, to grow what grows well. The author describes with wry resignation the challenges of a garden on reclaimed land where here is a patch of intractable clay, there a former dung heap and a

114 114

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