Gardens Illustrated: The Netherlands

We depart London Heathrow at 08:40 to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, arriving at 11:00. We start with two gardens by Piet Oudolf.  One is laid out for a private art museum, the Singer Museum in Laren, where lunch is included.  The second is a public park just outside Utrecht, De Vlinderhof in Maxima Park.  At both sites the grasses will be at their best. We then travel eastwards to arrive to a warm welcome at Kasteel Engelenburg, where we will dine together.

We start with a guided tour of The Royal Palace Gardens of Het Loo. The huge and faithfully restored late 17th century formal parterre gardens offer a wonderful, compact tapestry of colour and form.  Further north are the gardens of Mien Ruys (1904-1999) who was one of the most influential garden architects of the 20th century. A light lunch is included today. We return to Kasteel Engelenburg for dinner.

Today is filled with the vibrant colour of dahlias and other autumn flowers viewed in three private gardens. Firstly, we visit De Beukenhof, a garden crafted from farmland by professional gardener and passionate plantswoman Ellen Lubbers. Next is De Boschhoeve with its large, enclosed kitchen garden, nursery, and shop – lunch is included here. Finally, we venture to De Boomgaard, where Marieke Nolsen runs floristry courses using materials provided by her extensive cut flower garden. We then travel on to The Dylan Hotel where we dine together this evening.

We spend a day in the company of Amsterdam-based garden designer Robert Broekema, starting with a guided tour of Museum van Loon, a 17th century canal house with its own fine, contemporary garden.  Over coffee, Robert will introduce us to the development of Amsterdam before taking us to several very private canal gardens in the vicinity. A canal cruise on an historic, elegant salon boat with a light lunch included will reveal the rich variety of Amsterdam canal houses. This evening we will dine at the renowned De Kas Restaurant, a stylish restaurant created from the ruins of a 1920s municipal glasshouse: there will be a set meal of wonderful locally grown seasonal vegetables and organic produce.

After free time in Amsterdam, we journey to De Theetuin for lunch, home of leading garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet. Afterwards there is time to explore the densely planted garden, laid out on one of the bastions of the fortified town of Weesp and surrounded by water.  Return to Amsterdam Schiphol International airport for a 17:35 departure to London.