Mien Ruys
Encyclopedia
Wilhelmina Jacoba Moussault-Ruys, better known as Mien Ruys (1904-1999), was a Dutch
landscape and garden architect
. Her gardening legacy is maintained in the Dutch town of Dedemsvaart
, which is home to the Tuinen Mien Ruys. With people such as Piet Oudolf
, she is considered a leader in the "New Perennial Movement."
, from whom Ruys is supposed to have learned some things about colour. During World War II
she studied engineering in Delft
, but then returned home to work and experiment at her father's company. Ruys's father, Bonne Ruys, founded the Moerheim Nursery in 1888 specializing in perennials in the bog
s near Dedemsvaart
, near Zwolle
, in the east of the Netherlands
. Ruys's business quickly grew and in the first half of the twentieth century had become the most notable nursery in Europe for perennials. Beginning in 1924, his daughter began experimenting, making small gardens of perennials on her father's land, and soon became as interested in the materials for building gardens as the plants in them. These experiments were the foundation for the Tuinen Mien Ruys and helped her become one of the most notable landscape and garden architects of the Netherlands. Ruys also studied architecture with Marinus Jan Granpré Molière
, a noted Dutch architect and landscape planner, and worked with architects such as Gerrit Rietveld
, a collaboration which is still celebrated in Bergeijk
, where Rietveld designed a factory, Weverij de Ploeg, surrounded by a Ruys-designed park.
Ruys became a household name in the Netherlands by publishing a number of books, the best-known of which is Het vaste plantenboek ("Book of perennials"). With her husband, Theo Moussault (a former owner of the Amsterdam
weekly De Groene Amsterdammer
), she started a quarterly magazine in 1954, Onze eigen tuin ("Our own garden"), which is still considered one of the most creative Dutch publications in this field. The magazine is read in middle- and upper-class circles, and includes "Gardening lessons for suckers." Ruys died in 1999.
called her one of the top-10 most influential garden architects of the world. She is responsible for the widespread use in the Netherlands of old railroad tie
s and gravel
tiles, and her style is characterized as "clear, direct, and barren." Influenced by Japanese design and using rectangular spaces, water, bamboo, and wood, Ruys is credited with creating open and transparent spaces even in small gardens.
Her use of railroad ties led to the concept of the bielzentuin (from "biels," the Dutch word for railroad tie): she is nicknamed "Bielzen Mien." The first bielzentuin she made dates from 1956, in the garden of a residential house in Overveen
built by Dutch architect Gerard Holt; the house is on the list of municipal monuments.
Influential also was Ruys's use and propagation of plants grown from bulb
s. Her advice on how and where to plant the bulbs is cited even in the United States
.
("national monument"). In 2002, the Tuinen Mien Ruys made the news because of financial difficulties, to which it responded by expanding its activities. The foundation also broke with the Moerheim Nursery to which it was still connected and built its own entrance; with the help of volunteers and donors it became financially solvent again in 2008.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
landscape and garden architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. Her gardening legacy is maintained in the Dutch town of Dedemsvaart
Dedemsvaart
Dedemsvaart is a village in Overijssel, the Netherlands, with a population of about 12,000.The town is located along an old canal, the Dedemsvaart proper, which lost its commercial importance after World War II. The area around Dedemsvaart, until 2001 part of the municipality of Avereest, was an...
, which is home to the Tuinen Mien Ruys. With people such as Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf is an influential Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" or "New Wave Planting" movement, using bold drifts of herbaceous perennial plants and grasses which are chosen for their structure as much as for their flower colour .His books...
, she is considered a leader in the "New Perennial Movement."
Career
Mien Ruys briefly studied garden architecture in Berlin in the 1920s, and spent time in England as well (Tunbridge Wells); her father was a friend of Gertrude JekyllGertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
, from whom Ruys is supposed to have learned some things about colour. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she studied engineering in Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, but then returned home to work and experiment at her father's company. Ruys's father, Bonne Ruys, founded the Moerheim Nursery in 1888 specializing in perennials in the bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s near Dedemsvaart
Dedemsvaart
Dedemsvaart is a village in Overijssel, the Netherlands, with a population of about 12,000.The town is located along an old canal, the Dedemsvaart proper, which lost its commercial importance after World War II. The area around Dedemsvaart, until 2001 part of the municipality of Avereest, was an...
, near Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
, in the east of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Ruys's business quickly grew and in the first half of the twentieth century had become the most notable nursery in Europe for perennials. Beginning in 1924, his daughter began experimenting, making small gardens of perennials on her father's land, and soon became as interested in the materials for building gardens as the plants in them. These experiments were the foundation for the Tuinen Mien Ruys and helped her become one of the most notable landscape and garden architects of the Netherlands. Ruys also studied architecture with Marinus Jan Granpré Molière
Marinus Jan Granpré Molière
Marinus Jan Granpré Molière was a Dutch architect.Granpré Molière was a professor at the Delft University of Technology and was seen as founder of the Traditionalist School. Molière initiated numerous urban projects, such as the Wieringermeer and the North East Polder .-References:...
, a noted Dutch architect and landscape planner, and worked with architects such as Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Rietveld
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-Biography:Rietveld was born in...
, a collaboration which is still celebrated in Bergeijk
Bergeijk
Bergeijk is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. It has an area of 103 square kilometers and a population of 18,027 in 2005. Population density is 175 people per square kilometer...
, where Rietveld designed a factory, Weverij de Ploeg, surrounded by a Ruys-designed park.
Ruys became a household name in the Netherlands by publishing a number of books, the best-known of which is Het vaste plantenboek ("Book of perennials"). With her husband, Theo Moussault (a former owner of the Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
weekly De Groene Amsterdammer
De Groene Amsterdammer
De Groene Amsterdammer is an independent Dutch weekly newsmagazine published in Amsterdam and distributed throughout the Netherlands. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with HP/De Tijd, Vrij Nederland and Elsevier.- History and...
), she started a quarterly magazine in 1954, Onze eigen tuin ("Our own garden"), which is still considered one of the most creative Dutch publications in this field. The magazine is read in middle- and upper-class circles, and includes "Gardening lessons for suckers." Ruys died in 1999.
Style and influence
Ruys is highly respected; TrouwTrouw
Trouw is a Dutch daily newspaper. "Trouw" is a Dutch word meaning "fidelity", "loyalty", or "allegiance", and is cognate with the English adjective "true"...
called her one of the top-10 most influential garden architects of the world. She is responsible for the widespread use in the Netherlands of old railroad tie
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
s and gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
tiles, and her style is characterized as "clear, direct, and barren." Influenced by Japanese design and using rectangular spaces, water, bamboo, and wood, Ruys is credited with creating open and transparent spaces even in small gardens.
Her use of railroad ties led to the concept of the bielzentuin (from "biels," the Dutch word for railroad tie): she is nicknamed "Bielzen Mien." The first bielzentuin she made dates from 1956, in the garden of a residential house in Overveen
Overveen
Overveen is an affluent town in North Holland in the Netherlands, in the municipality of Bloemendaal.Overveen lies on the eastern fringe of the North Sea dunes...
built by Dutch architect Gerard Holt; the house is on the list of municipal monuments.
Influential also was Ruys's use and propagation of plants grown from bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s. Her advice on how and where to plant the bulbs is cited even in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Tuinen Mien Ruys
The Tuinen Mien Ruys opened in 1976, and contain 25 model gardens. It is run by the Foundation Tuinen Mien Ruys, which began cooperating with the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed in 2001. As a result, three of the individual gardens received the status of RijksmonumentRijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...
("national monument"). In 2002, the Tuinen Mien Ruys made the news because of financial difficulties, to which it responded by expanding its activities. The foundation also broke with the Moerheim Nursery to which it was still connected and built its own entrance; with the help of volunteers and donors it became financially solvent again in 2008.
Notable projects
- Company garden for KNSMNedlloydNedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie in a merger of several shipping lines:*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd...
on the KNSM IslandKNSM IslandThe KNSM Island is a man-made peninsula in the Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam. It is named for the Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij , the Royal Dutch Steamboat Shipping company which used to have its headquarters and its docks on the island...
, AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, now renamed Mien Ruysplantsoen (1956, 1994) - Garden for Diaconessenhuis (hospital), Amsterdam