Building a Nature-Rich Garden from Scratch in the Netherlands

Nature isn't easy to find in the Netherlands—a country largely built up from the sea centuries ago, not carved from forest or meadow. How do you build an engaging, nature-integrated garden in one of the world's most urban nations? In Appeltern, designer Carrie Preston of Studio Toop created a beautiful, nature-teeming garden from a predominantly paved courtyard. Her process inspires transformation of even the smallest urban space.

Photos by Jolanthe Lalkens

Designer: Carrie Preston, Studio Toop (with Jasper Helmantel)
Location: Appeltern, Netherlands; part of a public model garden complex

Primary challenge: Assignment for gardening magazine Groei & Bloei and TV program Vroege Vogels. Encourage homeowners to "green up" small paved courtyards with a limited, easily sourced plant palette (26 types). Incorporate family-friendly biodiversity. Hardscape palette: commonly available materials—to encourage working with what people have.

Requests: Break up paved space, add a small vegetable garden, introduce wildlife-friendly elements for human-nature interaction. All in a small urban space.

The Designer's Process

Preston notes the Netherlands has forgiving soil, flat topography. Average garden: largely paved, ~645 sq ft (60 sq m). Typical aesthetic: modern, straight lines, rectangular reflecting pools.

Preston thinks spatially—creating experiences and places for life. Gardens are where culture and nature meet; design forces a reaction. Foremost: "A space without people is not a garden." She photographs gardens with people interacting. Nature experience should be accessible to all; she welcomes nature into every aspect.

Artistic proclivities lean toward sculpture. In a space-poor country, 3D thinking makes artistic and practical sense: if you can't build out, build up. Creates bold statements and more usable space for seating, entertaining, activities. She approaches gardens architecturally, sinking or raising hardscape. Color comes late; first, create intimacy to seduce the visitor; ask lots of questions.

A Dutch Icon Reimagined

Preston deconstructed the standard long rectangular reflecting pool. This increased interest and accessibility while maximizing spatial functionality. The new design conserves space with a walkway through the water via raised stepping stones—more accessible to frogs and wildlife, bringing people closer to nature.

Walls as Habitat

Pool walls create seating and habitat for beneficial insects—hollow sticks and reeds form "bee benches" and "insect hotels." Preston raises nature awareness; if people experience nature in the garden, they become its caretakers at larger scales. Straight or curved lines don't matter to wildlife.

See how to make your own habitats for beneficial wildlife

Tiered Built-In Seating

Every inch counts in small spaces; features should multi-function. Seating walls at different heights add structure and dimension, provide efficient seating (less space than chairs), and create repetition/coherence with other garden parts.

Structural Plants Soften Hardscape

Interest comes from contrast. Preston admits she's "less clean than a lot of Dutch designers"—less concerned with tidy formality. Her palette brings softness playing well with strong hardscape lines. She seeks a marriage between clean and contrast, personally laying out plants on each project.

Multiseason Planting Design

Palette focuses on color and multiseason interest. In small spaces, every plant must bring something new each season—introducing color to sometimes monochromatic hardscape. Highly textural plants play well with brick, stone, lumber. Shown here in June.

In fall and winter, long after summer flowers fade, textural grasses and colorful foliage provide a different experience.

A Snack Garden for Visitors

Urban vegetable gardens are often diminutive. Preston calls this a "snack garden"—visitors nibble a pared-down selection while engaging in other activities. Emphasis on ornamental edible perennials (asparagus, cardoon—artichoke relative) that play well in mixed perennial gardens.

Appeal to All Ages

Preston stresses designing for all ages. Multiple interest points engage children—they're the future.

More: See more inspiring urban gardens | Discover more ways to garden for wildlife