{"id":4453,"date":"2016-07-06T18:25:40","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T18:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=4453"},"modified":"2016-07-22T06:54:17","modified_gmt":"2016-07-22T06:54:17","slug":"dutch-gardens-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-gardens-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Gardens Part 1- Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 be an American household staple.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Netherlands, I have observed that gardens consist of mostly plants and hardly any grass. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of grass in your average Dutch back yard (and in public parks). There is just a lot less than in the U.S. and I am sure this has partly to do with the fact that the Netherlands is a highly dense country.<\/p>\n

So what do Dutch gardens have?<\/p>\n

First and foremost, a Dutch garden or\u00a0tuin<\/em> has some sort of seating area. This area is usually one that gets the most sun. When the weather is nice, my neighbors are usually having dinner outside in their\u00a0terras.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Mona

Mona taking care of our tomatoes (personal photograph)<\/p><\/div>\n

Many gardens also have a\u00a0moestuin\u00a0<\/em>which is a groente\u00a0<\/em>(veggie)\u00a0and kruiden<\/em>\u00a0(herb) garden. This spring, the grocery store Albert Heijn gave away veggie and herb seeds, and the garden stores also had plenty of seeds and small plants for the\u00a0moestuin<\/em>. In my experience,\u00a0the most successful plants are\u00a0tomaat, peterselie<\/em>\u00a0(parsley), munt,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0lavandel.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Although it seems like there is never enough sun in the Netherlands, a Dutch garden also has some sort of overkapping\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0canopy. These also work when it rains and you still want to sit outside.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Dutch gardens must have a lot of flowers! Every spring, garden stores are filled with people buying flowers for their gardens. Some of the most popular ones are\u00a0hortensia<\/em>,\u00a0rozen<\/em>, tulpen\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0vlinderstruik<\/em>\u00a0(see photo).<\/p>\n

\"Peacock<\/a><\/p>\n

There is a very popular tv show called “Robs Grote Tuinverbouwing” where Rob and his crew remodel a garden. You can check out the following video.<\/p>\n