His introduction also gives us a sense of the man himself, an early riser untouched by his celebrity, who remains curious and approachable. Unlike many designers, “Piet chooses to be an open book” sharing his knowledge and plans with trademark generosity. Westerkade, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2010. Picture credit: Walter Herfst Critiquing the critics At 78-years old, Piet has clearly skipped out on retirement to redouble his focus on design work. The difference now is that he selects fewer projects and stays closer to home in Europe (making an exception for his major new public garden in South Korea). There’s no better summer book than a book filled with large, full-bleed images of beautiful gardens.’ – Fast Company It was never a movement in the usual sense of the word, which has clearly defined objectives. Everyone was (and is) too individualistic for that. It was rather a counter-movement, the most important elements of which were, in the words of Rob Leopold: natural diversity, individual values of perception and artistic development’. In other words, a ‘movement’ therefore that puts an end to all previous movements and their strictly prescribed rules.

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017) is a documentary directed by Thomas Piper following gardens designed by Piet Oudolf through five seasons. [17] [18] Awards [ edit ] It offers unprecedented insight into his design process, working methods, and inspirations, and features original sketches and drawings – many of which are published here for the first time. This major new monograph is significant not only for its breadth and the largest collection of Oudolf's drawings ever published, but also for its inclusion of brand-new work, together with newly commissioned essays that place his work in context and offer fresh perspective on his career and significance. The book also includes gatefolds and tip-ins to explain key designs. Piet Oudolf At Work proves how inarguable his impact is. A photographic anthology of his greatest outdoor work as well as a poetic ode to his creativity … it offers a complete look at Oudolf and his legacy.’ – Vogue

PO: Private gardens are usually all about a family, or an owner who has their own ideas about the parts of my work they like. Perhaps they have grandchildren that want somewhere to play. It’s very personal. And can be complicated – as complicated as public parks are – but in a very different way. A public garden is for more than one family, more persons. It has its own restrictions, such as safety and what you can do in a city. W*:You often work in expansive spaces, but how do you approach smaller spaces? What do you advise for people who are starting a small garden at home? I also liked how the entire text is subtly annotated to cross-reference with specific drawings or garden profiles. This is a book designed to be read from start to finish and for flipping betwixt and between. Higher Art Step into one of Piet Oudolf’s gardens and you will be transported into a dreamlike meadowscape. His ability to create transportive private gardens extends into our bustling cities and his work can be enjoyed in many urban public spaces. Rating the ‘architecture’ of a plant just as highly as its colourful bloom, his complex plantings are layered with a multitude ofspecies– evoking a sense of spontaneity, although nothing is ever left to chance. Several of [Oudolf’s] most notable installations alongside their architectural drawings and color-coded freehand sketches [are featured] in his new monograph.’– Galerie Planting the Oudolf Gardens at Hauser & Wirth Somerset (2020) by Rory Dusoir with foreword by Piet Oudolf

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. [5] [6] A major monograph on the Dutch garden designer, featuring his gardens and the largest collection of his drawings ever publishedPeppered. " 'The making of' de Singer Oudolf beeldentuin | Singer Laren". www.singerlaren.nl (in Dutch) . Retrieved 13 June 2018. You can view many of the seminal plants from the Hummelo nursery in the online image archive set up by American designer, Adam Woodruff. Now, his work has been collected and compiled into an incredible new book, Piet Oldouf at Work. It’s a major monograph on the Dutch garden designer, featuring not only a comprehensive look at his varied garden projects around the world but also boasting the largest collection of his drawings ever published.

It is fitting that Piet’s story is told by others because for Piet, it has never been about himself alone. His way of working arises from a close history within a community of like-minded souls, plantspeople, naturalists, artists, philosophers and patrons who challenged and inspired him on the path to greatness. Substance + style

Closing Time

You could say Piet Oudolf is a late bloomer. At the age of 78, this Dutch garden designer is widely regarded as one of the most important figures within contemporary horticulture. Over the past few years, his work on the High Line in New York, at Hauser & Wirth’s gallery in Somerset, beside the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and at his own garden in Hummelo, in the Netherlands, has demonstrated how Oudolf has combined the wild, multi seasonal glory of prairies and meadows, with meticulous, grid-led precision planting, to create gardens that are dream-like, detailed, naturalistic and ever-changing. Hans Ulrich Obrist is the ultra-influential Director of the Serpentine Gallery in London while Tino Sehgal is a Berlin-based artist of German and Indian descent regarded as a leading international figure in the realm of live arts. After nearly 40 years of welcoming the world through its gates, the private garden of Piet and Anja Oudolf at Hummelo will close to the public for good at the end of this month.

Yes, I’m still busy. And I still design myself, but I have a good network of people around me who I work with that help me technically with implementing the gardens. There are a lot of good people you meet on the way and who always come when you need them or help you when you need them. According to Kingsbury, the secret of Oudolf’s success is, “Piet’s ability to produce plantings that are highly coherent, in the sense that they are readily interpreted by the uninitiated but also sophisticated enough to appeal to connoisseurs of horticultural design.” How do you view what you do? I have my own style; I develop my own ideas about plants and gardens and how to put them together, and I’ve created my own signature over the years. It’s more about doing what you think is nice for you, and for the client, and what you think is the best for the garden and for the future of that garden. I don’t think about anything else. No, it’s never for myself. I never have the idea that I have to push something. It’s just what I feel good with. It’s not that I say to myself OK now I’m going to put something down that really will have this strong reaction. I'm not controversial in that sense. Of course we all try to do something different and at the same time still the same.To go deeper into the history, Piet’s biography, Oudolf Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman’s Life written by frequent collaborator Nöel Kingsbury is the definitive point of departure. A higher frequency It’s a natural continuum of his design approach as he explores the line between control and freedom. The Roots of Hummelo Oudolf’s creative life is still in flower and still growing strong. In his new book, Piet Oudolf at Work, readers can fully appreciate why he ignores a cultivar’s brief moment of blooming to see a plant’s beauty in a more rounded sense, prizing buds and seed pods as much as petals. The book also describes Oudolf’s decades-long career, which began with him selling Christmas trees at a Dutch garden centre and ends with international acclaim. Step into a Piet Oudolf garden and you are transported into a dreamlike meadowscape, filled with perennials, seasonal color, and texture. Made in close collaboration with Oudolf, this book showcases gardens throughout his career and across the globe from New York's acclaimed High Line to the newly planted Vitra Campus in Germany. The book offers fresh insight into the work and creative practice of Oudolf, both from a horticultural and artistic perspective, showcasing high-profile and lesser-known gardens, including Chicago's Lurie Garden, Hauser & Wirth Somerset and Menorca, Venice Biennale, Singer Museum, Belle Isle in Detroit, Noma, and others.