You turn left, along the front of the house, to the Boulder Garden (1, 1978). The deciduous trees and conifers in this garden were all present before 1978, only the Corylopsis pauciflora has been planted by us. An ugly yellowish conifer has been clipped into the shape of a screw. Most of the erratic blocks, that have been dug up in the garden, have been assembled here. By now most of them have disappeared under a thick layer of leaf mould:

the perfect environment for  many shade-loving plants, most of which flower between March and June. Behind the house is the Orpine Garden (2, 1979), named after the wild Orpine (Sedum telephium), which flowers in August (neither before, nor after) with tall (not flattened!) dark red umbels. The Dutch name for Orpine is hemelsleutel, meaning: key-to-heaven! Other plants that thrive in this difficult garden (shady, but sunny at the warmest hour of the day) are: Meconopsis cambrica, Geranium nodosum, wild Phlox (Phlox paniculata) and Thalictrum delavayi.

Along the back of the large oak you arrive at the Hochstaudenflur (3), 1981, altered in 1998). Hochstaudenflur is a German botanical expression, which summarizes in one word the communities of tall plants that grow in rough places in the mountains of Central Europe. The soil in this garden is extremely fertile,because the latreens from the farm used to be emptied out here (!)  

On leaving the gloom of the woodland you find yourself in the dazzling light of the Butterfly Garden (5, 1983). Planted originally to attract butterflies, this garden has over the years developed into a kind of alpine meadow, which flowers abundantly between May and July. Meadow Rue, white Dame's Violet (Hesperis matronalis 'Alba'), Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium coeruleum), Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris), Geranium psilostemon, Thalictrum polygamum, Betony (Stachys officinalis) and Elecampane (Inula helenium) form a colourful whole.

The Boulder Garden in May

Surrounded by a jungle-like planting of  Japanse Knotweed (Fallopia japonica), bamboo and all-invasive Hop (Humulus lupulus) Bistort grows (Persicaria bistorta), Perennial Honesty (Lunaria rediviva), Ranunculus aconitifolius, Meadow Rue (Thalictrum aquilegiifolium) and Small Teasel (Dipsacus pilosus). The path continues to the Woodland (4), situated on an undulation of shifting sand, deposited here in some interglacial period. 25 Years of careful inaction have led the formerly scanty woodland to evolve into an Oak-Holly woodland, the climactic woodland endemic to the region, with a rich undergrowth of Holly, Alder Buckthorn, Bird Cherry, brambles, ferns and Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). During the last few years the Common Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) has established itself in the woodland.

Butterfly Garden