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Archive for July, 2016

Dutch Gardens Part 4- Insects Posted by on Jul 28, 2016

Continuing the July theme of gardening, this post deals with the pesky and not so fun part of gardening: insects and pests! Insects are an important part of a garden (and nature), but too much of any is a bad idea. Bijen I think I have mentioned these little guys on every gardening post, probably…

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What Are Polders? Posted by on Jul 21, 2016

Does it get more Dutch than a polder? Yes, kaas (cheese) maybe… But the great difference is that polder does not even know an English translation! Pretty Dutch then, right? One great example of a polder has already been highlighted before: the Dutch province Flevoland is a huge Polder. Even though polders are explained there shortly, a lot is left unexplained, and therefore this post…

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Dutch Gardens Part 3- Flowers Posted by on Jul 20, 2016

My last two posts have dealt with the basics of Dutch gardens and the moestuin. This post will talk about the different flowers and plants that are common (to my knowledge) in the Netherlands. In order for bloemen or flowers to thrive in the Netherlands, they must be able to take lots of rain and be winterhard (strong enough…

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The EU, de Globalisering, and the Dutch Language Posted by on Jul 19, 2016

The summer is off to a shaky start for the European project. For the 27 remaining member states, it’s not only politics and public life that stands to change, but also language, languages, and the balance between them. In the midst of it all, the Netherlands and the Dutch language have front row seats, right in the…

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Bye, bye Bijlmerbajes! Posted by on Jul 17, 2016

One of the most infamous prisons of the Netherlands, the Bijlmerbajes, closed on June 1, 2016. It started as a humane prison, without bars in front of the windows. The cell doors were mostly open all day long, and some of the gedetineerden (detained) even had the key to their own cell. But notorious escapes ensued, and the Bijlmerbajes became…

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Dutch Gardens Part 2- Fruits, Veggies and Herbs Posted by on Jul 13, 2016

On my previous post, I wrote about basic components of a Dutch garden. These included a seating area, flowers, a moestuin and a covered area to protect from the sun and rain. On this post, I would like to expand more on the moestuin. The moestuin is the healthiest and most fruitful part of the garden. If you…

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Dutch Gardens Part 1- Basics Posted by on Jul 6, 2016

When I lived in Texas, everyone I knew had very big back yards (everything is bigger and better in Texas, right?). My back yard was mostly grass with some bushes and small trees here and there. From what I remember when I would travel outside of Texas, the back yard with mostly grass seemed to…

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