Piet Oudolf
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Piet Oudolf (; born 27 October 1944) is a
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
garden designer A garden designer is someone who designs the plan and features of gardens, either as an amateur or professional. The compositional elements of garden design and landscape design are: terrain, water, planting, constructed elements and buildings, ...
, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movementhis designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of
herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
s and
grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
es which are chosen at least as much for their structure as for their flower color.


Design philosophy

Working primarily with
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
s, Oudolf practices a naturalistic approach to gardening. Taking a cue from architectural design, Oudolf prioritizes the seasonal life cycle of the plants over decorative considerations like flowers or colours. He focuses primarily on structural characteristics, such as leaf or seed pod shape, present before and after a plant has flowered. He explains: "A garden is exciting for me when it looks good through out the year, not just at one particular time. I want to go outside and for it to be interesting in seasons, in early spring and late autumn." The stability of perennials after planting are key to Oudolf's designs, especially the use of long-lived clump-forming species. The result are gardens that persist in their planned state years after being planted, with little deviation from Oudolf's hand drawn maps. Oudolf's overall approach to planting has evolved since the 1980s when he and his wife Anja opened their nursery, at Hummelo, in
Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
. His early work with perennials consisted of block-type groupings based on structure and texture. More recently Oudolf's gardens have experimented with a variety of approaches which, broadly speaking, are more naturalistic, often using blends of species. The change in style has been described as a shift from a painter's perspective to one informed by
ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
. It was first introduced into Oudolf's public work in 2004 as part of the
Lurie Garden Lurie Garden is a garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by GGN (landscape architecture firm), GGN (Kathryn Gu ...
in Chicago. The approach can be seen in the New York
High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...
project.


Projects

*Garden, near the
Vitra Design Museum The Vitra Design Museum is a privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany. The architect of this building was Frank O. Gehry. His architecture was based on the art movement of the early 20th century, deconstructivism. Making the bu ...
(2021) *Oudolf Garden Detroit at Belle Isle Park (Michigan, USA, 2020) *Meadow garden, Delaware Botanic Gardens (Dagsboro, Delaware, USA, 2019) * Singer Laren Sculpture Garden (Laren, Netherlands, 2018) *Vlinderhof (Leidsche Rijn, Netherlands, 2014) *
Hauser & Wirth Hauser & Wirth is a Swiss contemporary and modern art gallery. History Hauser & Wirth was founded in 1992 in Zurich by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Ursula Hauser, who were joined in 2000 by co-president Marc Payot. In 2020, Ewan Venters was ap ...
(Bruton Somerset, England, 2013) *
Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...
, interior garden (London, England, 2011 with
Peter Zumthor Peter Zumthor (; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm and not being a prolific architect, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Pri ...
) *
High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...
(New York City, 2006) * Toronto Botanical Garden Entry Garden Walk (Toronto, 2006) * Trentham Estate (Trentham,
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
, 2004) *
Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...
(New York City, 2003) *
Lurie Garden Lurie Garden is a garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by GGN (landscape architecture firm), GGN (Kathryn Gu ...
,
Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
(Chicago, 2003 with
Kathryn Gustafson Kathryn Gustafson (born 1951) is an American landscape architect. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry, France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London ...
and
Shannon Nichol Shannon Nichol is an American landscape architect and founding principal of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN), located in Seattle. Nichol has led many of GGN's landscape design projects, including the designs for Boston's North End Parks, Seattle ...
) *
Scampston Hall Scampston Hall is a Grade II* listed English country house, country house in North Yorkshire, England, with a serpentine park designed by Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. It is located on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road ...
(England, 2002–2003) *ABN Amro Bank (Netherlands, 2000) *Hoogeland (Netherlands, 2001) *Millennium Garden at
Pensthorpe Nature Reserve Pensthorpe Natural Park is located in Pensthorpe, Norfolk, England and is approximately one mile from Fakenham and close to the A1067 road. The park covers . The River Wensum, which runs through the site, is a designated Special Area of Cons ...
*Country Cork Garden, Republic of Ireland *Parts of Kurpark Bad Driburg, Germany *Municipal park of
Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of S ...
, Sweden His own garden at
Hummelo Hummelo is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Bronckhorst, about 6 km northwest of Doetinchem. Hummelo was a separate municipality until 1818, when the area was divided between Ambt Doetinch ...
, near
Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, was established in 1982. It has gone through many changes, which reflect Oudolf's constantly developing designs. Initially it was designed with a series of yew (''Taxus baccata'') hedges and blocks, reflecting Oudolf's architectural style which owed much to Mien Ruys, the designer who dominated Dutch garden design in the post-war period.


High Line (2006)

Oudolf's work on the
High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...
relied heavily on plants native to the region. A matrix of grasses with perennials grouped throughout was used to convey how the plants grow and intermingle in the wild.


Published works

*''Gardening With Grasses'' (1998) with Michael King and
Beth Chatto Beth Chatto (27 June 1923 – 13 May 2018) was an English plantswoman, garden designer and author known for creating and describing the gardens named after her near Elmstead Market, Essex. She wrote several books about gardening under specif ...
*''Designing With Plants'' (1999) with Noel Kingsbury *''Dream Plants for the Natural Garden'' (2000) with Henk Gerritsenoriginally published in the Netherlands under the title ''Méér Droomplanten'' (1999) *''Planting the Natural Garden'' (2003) with Henk Gerritsen, revised (2019) with Noel Kingsburyoriginally published in the Netherlands under the title ''Droomplanten'' (1992) *''Planting Design: Gardens in Time and Space'' (2005) with Noel Kingsbury *''Landscapes in Landscapes'' (2011) with Noel Kingsbury *''Planting: A New Perspective'' (2013) with Noel Kingsbury *''Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman's Life'' (2015) with Noel Kingsbury, revised (2021) *''Planting the Oudolf Gardens at Hauser & Wirth Somerset'' (2020) by Rory Dusoir with foreword by Piet Oudolf *''Piet Oudolf: At Work (2023) by contributing authors with foreword by Prof. Cassian Schmidt * See All This Art Magazine #30 ''Paradise Found'' (2023)


Film

''Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf'' (2017) is a documentary directed by Thomas Piper following gardens designed by Piet Oudolf through five seasons.


Awards

*
Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize awarded annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement ...
(2002) * New York City Public Design Commission Award for Excellence (2004) *Swedish Park commissioners' Dalecarlica Award (2009) * Association of Professional Landscape Designers Award of Distinction (2010) *
Elizabeth Medal of Honour The Elizabeth Medal of Honour (EMH) is awarded to British non-horticulturalists and international horticultural and non-horticulturalists whose work has had a significant impact on the advancement of science, art or practice of horticulture. The ...
(2023)


See also

*
List of professional gardeners This is a list of people noted for their contribution to gardening, either by working as gardeners or garden designers, or by commissioning famous gardens. It does not include the innumerable people who count gardening among their hobbies. Notab ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oudolf, Piet 1944 births Living people People from Haarlem Dutch gardeners Dutch garden writers Landscape and garden designers Landscape Veitch Memorial Medal recipients