Our last Best Garden, this one by Nicole Marillier from Lagny-sur-Marne, France. It raises an interesting question – in what ways does our own country shape our responses and expectations to gardens in other countries?

Anne Wareham, editor

Nicolle:

Not the one I liked best, but the one which gave me a never felt before feeling : De Wiersse in Limburg in the Netherlands .

The property is situated in what the locals call “the back corner” – not far from the German border, amongst meadows, forest and fields.

A large avenue planted with  oaks and beaches leads to a simple iron gate, from which can be seen a fantasy little brick castle. The formal gardens are not visible from the large esplanade, only trees, meadows and lush grass  surrounding  the moat .

Had I not seen beautiful photos of the place, I would have thought – what am I doing here ? What is there to be looked at, apart from nature and informal plantings of shrubs and trees ?

Well … this is the first trick de Wiersse plays for the visitor. Following the guide, not understanding her explanations (in Dutch) gave me plenty of time to discover that vistas have been created through all this informality, (seemingly) effortlessly : two shrubs frame a large opening on a meadow, topiaries are scattered along a grassy forest lane, there’s a statue far away under the trees, then a glimpse to the back of the house. And the alleys are cleverly designed to take the visitor by surprise at any moment  with views of the countryside through the trees .

Gardeners add to the “Alice in Wonderland” feeling, edging the forest lanes, carefully clipping the topiaries under large old trees ,  ….

The design of the paths has been calculated to get us slowly nearer the formal gardens, thus allowing us to discover the large trees, some of which were planted after the war. The crossing of one of the streams which run through the property is by a simple Japanese-feeling bridge, then a  twisting beech “berceau” (cradle) suddenly surprises the visitor, with a high fountain. Nearer the house lies the Rose Garden, “broderies” and roses, from which the house can be seen next to a large wild meadow .

The sunken garden comes next, the contrast of it with the apparent wilderness of the forest is one of the best moments of the visit, and is emphasised by the large lawns and the scarcity of the plantings. A small circular pool stands in the centre of the garden, which is perfectly looked after. While the flower beds seem simple at first sight, the associations of plants are very carefully planned, keeping in mind contrasts of foliage and colour matching.

The hut lies behind a hedge , exhibiting the thatched roof of the nineteenth-century ice house .

Last surprise , a small simple wooden gate leads the visitor though a high thick hedge to the kitchen garden , displaying gorgeous vegetables and fruit trees,   flowers for cutting …

Like the whole property, the kitchen garden is grown  organically .

De Wiersse  has been lived in by related families continuously since 1678 , each generation adding and/or improving the house , the park and the garden, and the farms around .

The second World War took a great toll on the place which had to be rehabilitated with care so that the improvements should blend into the old plantings .

The most interesting point is that, apart from the formal gardens, it is hard to know what has been planted and what has grown naturally if you are not a plant person . Beautiful mature trees can be appreciated for their beauty or their rarity, according to the level of knowledge of the visitors, and so it is too for the perennials and shrubs .

Although one of the previous owners, Victor de Stuers who was Permanent Secretary for the Arts & Sciences in the Netherlands, has been responsible for building the Rijksmuseum and has been a passionate defender of his country’s monuments and artistic treasures, the whole place at de Wiersse is not about showing off, but about working with the different types of soils, the climate which can vary from very cold to very hot,  and the plants and trees adapted to those conditions, to achieve a place of beauty for the family and the friends.

Being a French visitor used to the Versaille-esk grandeurs and grandiloquence, I did feel I had stepped behind the mirror, like Alice (although I did not meet the Mad Hatter …), simplicity and harmony  leading to mystery ….

Nicolle Marillier