Ruysend reed (60's)

The wooden chalet in the grounds of the Gardens is used for exhibitions. The garden belonging to it is closed in with on the one side a view across the stretch of water ( Wiek) to the other side of the gardens.

Design and planting

The design is very simple; a path and small terrace by the chalet with  beds of  perennials and grass. Shrubs and trees separate this garden from the summer house Wiekend. On the side of the New experimental border this garden is completely fenced off by a high hornbeam hedge,  Carpinus betulus. The entrance to the garden is through an opening in the hedge. The planting in the flowerbeds is of a natural character. Most of it was planted by Beatrice Krehl, the gardener from 1996 to 2005 who had her own experimental garden here.

The large Acer saccharinum ‘Laciniatum’ on  the water’s edge is a very prominent element and its enormous crown serves as a roof above the garden.  From the chalet there is a lovely view of the white trunks of a small birch wood.

History

In the 60s the chalet “Ruysend riet” was built as a summer house for Mien Ruys’s sisters. From the 90s it became the home of the gardeners. In 1994 Marian Franken lived here, followed by Beatrice Krehl in 1996. After she left the chalet was used as an office for the Mien Ruys Garden Foundation. From 2007 it has been used for exhibitions and both the house and the garden have been included in the walk through The Gardens. At the beginning  of 2012 the chalet was turned into a large exhibition room.