general

information

practice:

propagation

Azaleas

my own hybrids

miscellaneous:

home

rhodo-info

planting

sowing

evergreen

first ##

leaves and buds

about myself

extra info

care

cuttings

deciduous

## 2002

parks and gardens

ordering photos

new Huisman Rhodos

hybridizing

grafting

native azaleas USA

## 2003\4

Articles

Rhododendrons colours:

index

white

orange

yellow

Rhododendron George's Delight - a nice flower with a mix of colours - yellow, pink and orange.

Rhododendron 'Double Winner' a strigilosum hybrid with hairy leaves and stems - has bright red flowers

Rhododendrons colours:

pink

red

blue

species

photo page thousands of photos               other topics        rhododendron photo review

Photography

My (ex)-gardens 'Park der Gärten' Germany ASA Convention 2003 Flowershow ARS Dutch Rhodo. Society
Kalmia latifolia "Indian Summer" in Maine wildflowers Costa Blanca Bernhard Knorr rhodo's Hans Hachmann Rhodo's Joe Klimavic azaleas
our house surrounded bij garden, meadows and woods

Rhodoland
My garden(s)

a garden with a lot of rhododendrons..........

          Gardening is one of the most fascianting hobbys, certainly if you have a quite large garden and the possibilities for it. It is good for body and soul when you are healthy or want to become so. It demands creativity and inventivity and sometimes patience, when things are not going as you wish. It gives you the enjoyment about what you have achieved and sharing this joy with others makes it even more valuable.  And the membership of some garden clubs and plant societies, like the RHS in the UK or the ARS and ASA in the USA etc. gives you more knowledge and skils in gardening. Moreover it can bring you friendships, that sometimes last very long. This page tells and shows you, how my wife and I practised and enjoyed gardening during many years. May be you can find some new ideas or creations to use for your own gardening. 

...........and azaleas

a new pond since August 2004


            Actually we started in Veenendaal, east of Utrecht with a rather large garden. But because of my studies I could not do very much here. 
            After moving to Bleiswijk, north of Rotterdam we had a quite small garden, which I turned into a nice heather garden. But it was soon too small, because I did a lot of hybridizing with heathers and many paths were full with pots with seedlings of all kind of heathers. Fortunately I could get a job in Zwolle, 70 miles east of Amsterdam and we moved to nice town nearby, Hattem, where we bought an old house with a large garden of about 2 acres, adjoining the woods behind it. In addition to the renovation of our house I could give the reins to my passion of gardening. Here also hybridizing with rhododendrons and azaleas started.

 new leaves of a maple 

our garden after 8 years, very much grown, a green oasis


             The soil there was pure sand, so we had to mix in a lot of peat, leaf mold, pine needles, pine straw etc. But after some dry weeks I had to water a lot of course. However, the plants grew very well and soon my garden was crowded with plants and seedlings and I had to thin out. Here I started with a heather garden, about which an article appeared in a regional newspaper with the title: "Huisman paints with heathers".  But as you know, heathers need wind and a lot of sun, and we had many trees and growing rhododendrons, and so the heather plants got fungus diseases etc. Therefore I went on with Rhododendrons and Azaleas and found out, that it is quite easy to hybridize with them with marvellous results!  Since then I got more 'devoted' to these wonderful plants. You can see the results of my 'hybridizing obsession' on many pages of this website. For a first impression of my gardens in Hattem and Nijensleek you can see my album: album my garden 1  (with a slow connection you need some patience sometimes)

a garden with several ponds, with fish, waterlilies, dragon-flies etc. in many hues of green, yellow, purple..... view from our house on the front garden

            In 1997 we moved to a village, Nijensleek,  in the province of Drenthe and here we have layed out a garden of about 4 acres, where there was only meadowland before. Draglines and shovels put away the graslayers onto a hill on the west side of the garden because of the strong winds from the west. In several stages we developed the garden around the house, dug ditches where the soil was too wet because of the density of the soil. In the back yard we dug a pool for toads, frogs and lizards which developes naturally with willows and rushes. 

not only rhodos and azaleas, but also daylilies,  grasses, ferns, perennials etc. give an appearance waterlilies in red, pink and white and fragrant plants, like this lonicera

                 The Ph of the soil here is around 5, but the structure is very dense with small soil particles. So, in times with a lot of rain the rhododendrons have some trouble to grow well. But with the right care they do fine now! Conifers and trees grow rapidly like also daylilies, hostas and grasses! We have a magnificent view on the meadows and woods around our property. Cows graze in the landscape around, and we see foxes, dear, hares, though the last 2 sneak from our azaleas. A better 'option' are the owls and buzzards: they eat mice!  Beds in the back of our garden for rooted cuttings and many seedlings for testing. From March on the garden is a great flower-paradise!  Not only the rhododendrons and azaleas put in an appearance, but also all kinds of bulbs, daylilies, grasses, ferns, perennials, shrubs and trees! With an additional show in fall with the brilliant colours of Acers and Ginko biloba, just to mention some. And in winter the hoar frost on the plants, very photogenic! 

we have many grases, like this Miscanthus 'Malapartus' especially maples give the garden in fall an abundance of colours the garden is also my provider of pollen and seeds

          During many years I have raised many seedlings of rhododendrons, azaleas, trees and shrubs. Many of my  new rhodo hybrids are being tested at a nursery in northern Germany, for hardiness, health, growth and of course fine flowers. For me it is increasingly important, that the plants themselves look great! For at least 90% of the year they are not flowering!! Most plants in my garden are (my own) rhodo hybrids and evergreen and decidious azaleas. But I also have special shrubs and trees, like several oak species, (Quercus), ashes, (Sorbus) and Acers. In 2002 and 2003 we cut down quite some trees around the house, replacing them with rhodos, azaleas etc. and we  built a new terrace. Now we have a better view from the house on the fields around.  2004 and this year I mulched a lot with pine bark chips and this is a great thing to do against weeds and drying out of the soil.

many butterflies, like this peacock butterfly.. in 2001 we had some young owls in trees around our house in spring thick bumble bees on willowcats

           Last year 2004 we created a new large pond at the end of the garden. The hole for it has been dug  already in 1999, but it was fully occupied by willows. This pond looks great, with some stone banks and a plank bridge, where I often sit in the evening to enjoy the plants, dragon-flies, frogs etc. 
Meanwhile the garden is complete or actually too full of plants and trees. They are growing too close together. So, I am just digging out, taking  away or cutting down many shrubs, trees, bamboos etc. I 'delete' conifers, which served as protection against the wind. Most of the material I chop and use this as mulch for the rhodos and trees. This all results in a better view through the garden and improves it very much! More or less the garden is ready. I don't hybridize that much anymore - just because I have no place for the seedlings.  
And what does this mean for myself and my wife? From now on I can really take all the time I have to enjoy the result of  8 years of hard work? May be, we'll see. For me a garden is mostly a place to work and create! Doing something. May be I have to learn, that enjoying without 'working' is a great thing to "do". 
Anyway - I hope, that with this short survey - especcially with the albums -  I gave you an impression of our garden and its history. For the rest of it I refer to the other pages of this website and to my albums:    
album my garden 2
            album my garden 3

Now also with albums about plants in my garden:

Album plants in my garden 1        Album plants in my garden 2       Album plants in my garden 3

copyright © 2001-2020 | all rights reserved