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Piet Oudolf

Piet Oudolf (born 27 October 1944) is a renowned Dutch garden designer, nurseryman, and author celebrated for pioneering the New Perennial movement, which features naturalistic planting schemes that mimic wild landscapes through bold drifts of perennials, grasses, and shrubs to achieve ecological balance and seasonal dynamism.^[1]^[2] His innovative approach has transformed public and private gardens worldwide, emphasizing structure, texture, and the beauty of plants in all life stages, including decay, to create emotionally resonant spaces.^[3]^[4] Born in Haarlem, Netherlands, Oudolf developed an early interest in plants influenced by his family's nursery background, though he initially pursued other paths before turning to gardening in his mid-20s.^[1]^[3] In the 1970s, he and his wife Anja established a nursery in the rural village of Hummelo, where they experimented with perennial cultivation and breeding, laying the foundation for his design career that took off in the 1980s with a shift from traditional English styles to avant-garde, nature-inspired compositions.^[5]^[4] The nursery, which operated until 2010, became a testing ground for his ideas and a destination for garden enthusiasts, while he co-founded Future Plants to focus on sustainable propagation for large-scale projects.^[5]^[4] Oudolf's design philosophy centers on viewing gardens as evolving ecosystems rather than static displays, prioritizing high-density plantings that foster biodiversity, self-sustaining communities, and a sense of wildness within urban or structured settings.^[3]^[6] He treats plants as architectural materials, selecting species for their form, color, and movement across seasons to evoke emotion and educate visitors about nature's cycles.^[1]^[4] This approach, part of the broader Dutch Wave movement, has influenced landscape architecture globally, promoting sustainable practices over ornamental excess.^[4]^[7] Among his most notable projects are the High Line in New York City (2009–2019), a elevated linear park that revitalized an abandoned rail line with flowing perennial meadows; the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park (2004), featuring matrix planting for year-round interest; and the Hauser & Wirth gallery garden in Somerset, England (2014), blending art and nature.^[3]^[6] More recent works include the Oudolf Garten at Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany (2020), the Calder Gardens in Philadelphia (opened 2025), a 1.5-acre sanctuary designed in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron to integrate Alexander Calder's sculptures with seasonal plantings, and the Vandalorum Garden in Värnamo, Sweden (2025).^[5]^[4]^[8] As of 2023, at age 78, Oudolf limits his portfolio to about 10 projects, focusing on select European commissions and international collaborations like a public garden in South Korea, while continuing to author influential books such as Planting: A New Perspective (2013) and Piet Oudolf At Work (2023).^[6]^[1] Oudolf's contributions have earned him prestigious accolades, including the Royal Horticultural Society's Elizabeth Medal of Honour (2023), the Royal Institute of British Architects' Honorary Fellowship in 2012 for his planting designs, and the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation Award in 2013.^[1]^[5] He was also appointed Visiting Professor of Planting Design at the University of Sheffield in 2013, underscoring his role in shaping contemporary horticultural education and practice.^[5]

Early life and influences

Childhood and entry into horticulture

Piet Oudolf was born on October 27, 1944, in Haarlem, Netherlands.^[9]^[1] At the age of five, his family relocated to the countryside, where they managed a restaurant and bar, exposing him to rural landscapes that would later influence his affinity for natural forms.^[3] From a young age, Oudolf displayed a keen interest in plants, drawn to nature amid the horticultural richness of the Dutch environment.^[1]^[10] In his late teens and early twenties, he worked in the family business and held various jobs, including as a bartender, wholesale fish handler, steelworker, and waiter, before taking a job at a local plant nursery at age 26, where he discovered his passion for horticulture through hands-on involvement with plants.^[11]^[12] Lacking extensive formal education, he supplemented practical experience with a four-year program to obtain a garden contractor's license, allowing him to experiment independently with perennials during his early twenties.^[13] In 1970, Oudolf married Anja Libbenga, who became his lifelong partner and collaborator in plant propagation and nursery operations.^[14] Together, they transitioned to establishing a professional landscape and garden design practice in 1976.^[14]

Key influences and early experiments

Piet Oudolf's early design sensibility was profoundly shaped by the Dutch designer Mien Ruys, whose innovative use of modern perennial borders in public gardens during the mid-20th century provided a key model for his initial work as a conventional Dutch garden designer in the 1970s.^[15] Ruys's emphasis on plants as structural elements in utilitarian landscapes, often on challenging sites with poor soil, encouraged Oudolf to prioritize hardy perennials over traditional formal layouts.^[16] Oudolf also drew significant inspiration from English garden designers, particularly Gertrude Jekyll's pioneering herbaceous borders that emphasized color gradients and seasonal structure,^[17] and Christopher Lloyd's dynamic, experimental plantings at Great Dixter, which highlighted ongoing seasonality and bold combinations.^[16] A pivotal late-1970s cycling trip through the English countryside exposed him to these impeccably manicured yet vibrant gardens, sparking his shift toward more naturalistic and innovative perennial compositions.^[15]^[4] In the 1970s and 1980s, Oudolf undertook extensive plant-hunting expeditions across Europe with his wife Anja, traveling to Germany, the Balkans, and botanical gardens throughout the continent to collect seeds and specimens of diverse perennials previously underutilized in Dutch horticulture.^[15]^[16] These journeys amassed a broad palette of diverse perennial species for rigorous testing, allowing him to evaluate their adaptability and aesthetic potential in northern European climates.^[18] Oudolf conducted his foundational experiments in the home gardens of Haarlem, where he had established his practice in 1976, focusing on seed propagation techniques to grow and trial these collected perennials under controlled conditions.^[14] By meticulously observing plant behavior across seasons—tracking growth habits, bloom sequences, and winter persistence—he developed a deep understanding of how perennials could create self-sustaining, evolving displays, ultimately leading him to reject annuals in favor of long-lived, matrix-like arrangements that mimicked natural meadows.^[15]^[16] These hands-on trials laid the groundwork for his foundational role in the New Perennial movement.^[19]

Professional development

Establishment of nursery and practice

In 1976, Piet Oudolf established his landscape and garden design practice alongside his wife, Anja Oudolf, in Haarlem, Netherlands, initially concentrating on commissions for private gardens.^[14] Seeking greater space for experimentation and propagation, the couple relocated in 1982 to Hummelo, a rural village in the province of Gelderland, where they founded the Hummelo nursery on a three-acre site dedicated to growing rare and unusual perennials.^[14] The nursery, primarily managed by Anja, expanded operations to support perennial propagation and served as a foundational hub for Oudolf's emerging style. In the 1980s, they co-founded Future Plants, a company specializing in selecting, growing, breeding, and protecting plants for landscaping and public areas.^[20] The nursery operated for 28 years before closing in 2010.^[21] Throughout the early 1980s, Oudolf secured initial professional commissions for private estates across the Netherlands, building his reputation through innovative planting schemes.^[15] By the mid-1980s, these efforts extended to his first international projects in Germany, marking the beginning of broader recognition beyond Dutch borders.^[7] The Hummelo nursery also developed detailed plant catalogs showcasing its specialized perennials and grasses, which gained a legendary status among horticulturists and helped cultivate a sales network that grew from local Dutch markets to distribution across Europe by 1990.^[21] Hummelo itself functioned as a living testing ground for Oudolf's designs, allowing real-world observation of plant performance.

Evolution of design approach

During the 1980s, Piet Oudolf transitioned from the rigid, geometric designs prevalent in traditional Dutch horticulture to more fluid, naturalistic arrangements that drew inspiration from prairie and meadow ecosystems. This shift aligned with the burgeoning New Perennial movement—or Dutch Wave—in the Netherlands, where designers rejected formal borders in favor of loose drifts of perennials and grasses that mimicked wild landscapes while maintaining artistic control.^[22] By the late 1980s, Oudolf developed the technique of matrix planting, layering resilient grasses as a foundational "matrix" with emergent perennials to ensure visual and structural interest across seasons. This approach created self-sustaining compositions where the matrix provided cohesion and support, allowing bolder accents to rise through it, and marked a departure from seasonal color-focused schemes toward enduring form.^[23] From the 1990s onward, Oudolf collaborated with architects to scale his naturalistic methods for public landscapes, integrating plantings into urban and communal environments for broader ecological and experiential impact. These partnerships emphasized adaptable designs that harmonized with architecture, promoting biodiversity without sacrificing visual drama.^[6] In the 2000s, working extensively at his Hummelo nursery and trial garden, Oudolf further refined his style by prioritizing climate-resilient species that could endure variable weather patterns and pests. This evolution highlighted plant structure—such as seed heads and winter silhouettes—over fleeting blooms, fostering gardens with year-round vitality and reduced maintenance needs.^[24]

Design philosophy

Core principles of naturalistic planting

Piet Oudolf's naturalistic planting philosophy centers on emulating the dynamic processes of natural ecosystems, prioritizing the inherent form, texture, and movement of plants over transient floral displays to achieve what he describes as "controlled chaos." This approach emphasizes the structural architecture of plants, including their foliage and seedheads, which provide visual interest throughout the seasons and even in winter, creating layered compositions that mimic wild meadows rather than manicured gardens.^[25]^[26] Central to this philosophy is the extensive use of long-lived perennials and ornamental grasses, selected for their ability to form self-sustaining communities that evolve naturally over time, aging gracefully without constant intervention. These plants are chosen for their endurance and adaptability, fostering ecosystems that support biodiversity through seasonal progression—from fresh growth in spring to the skeletal beauty of decay in autumn—while requiring minimal maintenance such as division or deadheading.^[27]^[26]^[1] Oudolf rejects traditional bedding schemes that rely on annuals for short-lived color, instead advocating designs that embrace the full lifecycle of plants, including decay and regeneration, to enhance ecological health and visual depth. By allowing natural processes like self-seeding and succession to occur under controlled conditions, his plantings promote resilience and habitat value, drawing inspiration from ecological models where species interact in balanced, evolving assemblages.^[25]^[27] Hardscape elements are integrated sparingly in Oudolf's designs, serving primarily as subtle frameworks that underscore the fluidity and organic flow of the planting rather than dominating the landscape. This minimalistic use of paths, walls, or structures contrasts with the soft, billowing masses of vegetation, reinforcing the naturalistic ethos by supporting rather than constraining the emulation of ecological succession.^[1]^[25]

Plant selection and matrix planting

Piet Oudolf's plant selection prioritizes perennials and grasses that exhibit longevity, typically lasting three years or more in the landscape, to ensure durable, low-maintenance designs. He favors resilient species such as wild indigo (Baptisia australis), which regrow reliably after cutting back, emphasizing plants with a "long life" that require minimal replacement.^[28] A key criterion is winter structure, where plants retain architectural form through seed heads, stems, and outlines for year-round interest, as seen in culver's root (Veronicastrum virginicum) and feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora). Oudolf selects these for their ability to "maintain their structure after flowering," providing visual appeal even in dormancy. Adaptability to site conditions is essential, with choices limited to disease-resistant, dependable varieties suited to local soil, moisture, and climate, avoiding high-maintenance options that demand constant intervention. In recent designs, Oudolf has incorporated more native species to enhance ecological resilience and adaptability to changing climates.^[28]^[29]^[5]^[4] This selection process aligns with Oudolf's naturalistic philosophy, which draws from prairie and meadow ecosystems to create self-sustaining communities. In his matrix planting technique, dominant grasses form the foundational "framework," acting as a visually quiet base that covers soil, suppresses weeds, and shares resources with other plants. Species like sedges (Carex spp.) or feather reed grass provide this matrix, often comprising 50-70% of the planting to establish unity and resilience.^[30]^[31]^[23] Perennials are then interspersed within the matrix for seasonal color, texture, and ecological benefits, including pollinator support through nectar-rich blooms. Deeper-rooted options like coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) add focal points without disrupting the overall harmony, ensuring compatibility in cultural needs such as sun and moisture. This layered approach fosters biodiversity while maintaining a cohesive, meadow-like appearance.^[23]^[31] Oudolf employs a focused plant palette of 50 to 100 species per project, scaling up to over 100 for larger works, to balance diversity with manageability. He prioritizes hardy, adaptable varieties, often incorporating natives for their ecological fit and vigor, such as daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) for reliable performance. Grasses like Calamagrostis and perennials including Echinacea exemplify his choices, selected for form, seasonal interest, and compatibility within the matrix.^[29]^[31]^[28] Plants for Oudolf's designs are propagated primarily through Future Plants, a company he co-founded, and specialized partners using methods like division and seed collection. This production, drawing from global sources, ensures a consistent supply of robust material tailored to his designs, facilitating large-scale installations with thousands of specimens for massed drifts and matrices.^[32]^[33]

Major projects

European landscapes

Piet Oudolf's European projects demonstrate his ability to transform diverse landscapes, from industrial complexes to historic estates, by integrating naturalistic perennial plantings that respond to local climatic conditions and urban or rural contexts. In Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, his designs emphasize resilient, low-maintenance schemes suited to temperate European weather patterns, featuring drought-tolerant grasses and perennials that provide year-round interest while enhancing biodiversity. These works often blend with existing architecture or historical elements, creating immersive environments that prioritize ecological harmony over formal ornamentation.^[34]^[35]^[36] One of Oudolf's notable contributions is the Oudolf Garten at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, completed in 2020. This 4,000-square-meter perennial garden, planted with approximately 30,000 plants from over 40 species, occupies a meadow between the VitraHaus and the Alvaro Siza production center, seamlessly integrating with the campus's modernist architecture. Designed for the industrial setting, it employs matrix planting techniques to create a wild, meadow-like composition of tall grasses and perennials such as Echinacea, Calamagrostis, and Miscanthus, which thrive in the region's mild, humid climate and provide seasonal progression from spring blooms to autumn seedheads. The garden enhances the site's biodiversity and serves as a counterpoint to the surrounding buildings, inviting visitors to experience a sense of untamed nature amid an architectural landscape.^[34]^[37]^[38] In the United Kingdom, Oudolf led the restoration of the gardens at Trentham Estate in Staffordshire, beginning in 2004 as part of a larger revitalization of the 90-acre historic parkland originally designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. His scheme includes the Rivers of Grass—a sweeping pathway edged with wave-like borders of ornamental grasses like Molinia caerulea and perennials such as Eupatorium and Rudbeckia—and the Floral Labyrinth, a maze of bold, textural plantings that evoke prairie meadows adapted to the UK's variable, often wet climate. These elements restore the estate's Victorian heritage while introducing resilient, naturalistic drifts that require minimal intervention, supporting pollinators and creating dynamic views across the lakeside terrain. The project transformed a declining site into a vibrant public garden, balancing historical context with contemporary ecological design.^[39]^[40]^[41] Oudolf's landscaping for Hauser & Wirth Somerset in Bruton, UK, opened in 2014 and encompasses the 50-acre former farmyard site converted into a contemporary art gallery. Central to the design is the 1.5-acre Oudolf Field, a perennial meadow north of the buildings, planted with over 50 varieties including Amsonia, Baptisia, and Sanguisorba to blend seamlessly with surrounding wildflower meadows and integrate with sculptures by artists like Phyllida Barlow. Tailored to Somerset's temperate, rainy conditions, the scheme uses resilient perennials and grasses to frame the architecture, creating informal paths and seasonal color shifts that enhance the gallery's rural yet cultural ambiance. This project exemplifies Oudolf's approach to fusing art, nature, and landscape in a cohesive, low-water-use environment that evolves naturally over time.^[42]^[35]^[43] In the Netherlands, Oudolf contributed to the urban redevelopment of Strijp-S in Eindhoven during the 2010s, transforming the 27-hectare former Philips industrial complex into a mixed-use creative district. As landscape supervisor, he designed the Leidingstraat—a key pedestrian street lined with elevated planters and resilient plantings of grasses like Deschampsia cespitosa and perennials such as Veronicastrum and Eupatorium, evoking a canopy that softens the post-industrial concrete structures. Adapted to the area's urban microclimate with its moderate rainfall and occasional droughts, these plantings promote biodiversity in a high-traffic setting, using Oudolf's matrix method to ensure durability against foot traffic and pollution. The design preserves industrial heritage while fostering a green, vibrant public space that supports the site's evolution into residential and cultural hubs.^[36]^[44]^[45]

North American public gardens

Piet Oudolf's contributions to North American public gardens have emphasized accessible, resilient landscapes that integrate urban environments with naturalistic planting schemes, fostering biodiversity and community engagement in major cities. His designs adapt European-inspired perennial matrices to local climates and ecologies, creating enduring public amenities that evolve seasonally. These projects demonstrate his ability to transform underutilized or historic sites into vibrant, low-maintenance green spaces that prioritize ecological sustainability over ornamental formality.^[29] One of Oudolf's most iconic North American projects is the High Line in New York City, an elevated linear park redeveloped from 2006 to 2019 on a disused railroad spur. Collaborating with landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, Oudolf's planting scheme features hundreds of species of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees, selected for their hardiness and ability to evoke the wild, self-seeded vegetation that colonized the structure after its abandonment in the 1980s. This design transforms the 1.45-mile viaduct into a series of interconnected meadows and woodlands, with zones like the Washington Grasslands mimicking prairie remnants amid the urban skyline, supporting pollinators and providing year-round textural interest through natural dieback and regrowth. The approach not only revitalizes the West Side but also serves as a model for adaptive reuse in dense cities, drawing millions of visitors annually.^[46]^[47] In Chicago, the Lurie Garden, opened in 2004 as a centerpiece of Millennium Park, spans 2.5 acres and exemplifies Oudolf's layered composition techniques. Commissioned in 2001, the garden divides into "light" and "dark" plates separated by a hardwood footbridge, where tall, dark hedges—such as willows and hazels—frame expansive seas of luminous perennials like echinacea and baptisia, creating a serene counterpoint to the surrounding skyscrapers. Oudolf selected over 200 plant species suited to the Midwest's variable conditions, emphasizing matrix planting where drifts of grasses and forbs interweave to form a dynamic, four-season tapestry that requires minimal intervention once established. This design enhances the park's accessibility while promoting ecological education through interpretive elements and volunteer programs.^[48]^[49] Oudolf's work at The Battery Oval in New York City, completed in 2016, addresses coastal challenges in a 2-acre lawn and garden area within the larger Battery park. As part of his 2002 horticultural master plan for the site, updated post-Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Oval incorporates resilient native perennials and grasses—such as little bluestem and switchgrass—engineered to withstand flooding, salt exposure, and high winds along the Hudson River waterfront. Curving paths and seat walls integrate the plantings, buffering the urban edge and enhancing resilience against future storms through deep-rooted species that stabilize soil and filter stormwater. This project underscores Oudolf's focus on climate-adaptive design in vulnerable public realms, blending recreational space with environmental fortification.^[50]^[51] The Oudolf Garden Detroit on Belle Isle, commissioned in 2017 by the Garden Club of Michigan under the Garden Club of America and opened in 2021, covers 2.5 acres on the island's eastern shore in the Detroit River. Marking Oudolf's first U.S. project led by a garden club, it features over 160 varieties of Midwest-native and adapted plants, including ornamental grasses, shrubs like ninebark, and trees such as serviceberry, arranged in flowing drifts that reference regional prairies and woodlands. Selected for their tolerance of the site's exposed, sandy conditions and variable water levels—delayed by high Great Lakes flooding in 2019—the plantings create a resilient, low-water oasis visible from downtown Detroit, with meandering paths encouraging public exploration and biodiversity. Funded at $4.7 million through private donations, the garden revitalizes the historic 982-acre park, emphasizing community stewardship and ecological restoration in an industrial landscape.^[52]^[53]^[54] Oudolf's design for Calder Gardens in Philadelphia, opened on September 21, 2025, is a 1.5-acre sanctuary adjacent to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, developed in collaboration with architects Herzog & de Meuron. The project integrates 18 outdoor sculptures by Alexander Calder with naturalistic perennial plantings, including native species and grasses arranged in matrix style to create seasonal interest and frame views of the artworks against the city skyline and Schuylkill River. Tailored to the site's urban riverside conditions, the gardens emphasize biodiversity, resilience to local climate variability, and an emotional connection between art and nature, serving as a public cultural destination.^[4]

Published works

Collaborative books on planting design

Piet Oudolf's collaborative books on planting design articulate his foundational theories on naturalistic gardening, emphasizing ecological integration, plant behavior, and aesthetic longevity through perennials and grasses. These works, co-authored with fellow Dutch plantsman Henk Gerritsen and British horticultural writer Noël Kingsbury, draw from Oudolf's experiments at his Hummelo nursery to provide practical guidance and visual examples for creating resilient, nature-inspired landscapes.^[55]^[56] The earliest collaboration, Planting the Natural Garden (1990), co-authored with Henk Gerritsen, introduced the New Perennial Movement by advocating for perennial combinations that evoke naturalistic effects, such as meadow-like drifts of hardy perennials and grasses for year-round interest. This guide prioritizes plants with persistent seedheads and structural forms over fleeting blooms, offering practical combinations to achieve emotional resonance and biodiversity in garden design. The book's influence lies in its shift toward ecological mimicry, transforming traditional horticulture by encouraging low-maintenance, self-sustaining plantings that evolve seasonally.^[55]^[57] Designing with Plants (1999), co-authored with Noël Kingsbury, explores Oudolf's approach to using plants as design elements, focusing on form, texture, color, and movement to create dynamic gardens inspired by natural landscapes. The book combines Kingsbury's horticultural insights with Oudolf's planting schemes, providing visual examples and principles for integrating perennials into structured designs that emphasize seasonal change and longevity.^[58] Dream Plants for the Natural Garden (2000), also with Gerritsen, serves as a detailed catalog of 200 recommended perennials, bulbs, ferns, and small shrubs suited to naturalistic settings, complete with cultural notes on growth habits, soil preferences, and companion planting. Each entry includes photographic illustrations and scheme suggestions, highlighting plants valued for their adaptability, winter structure, and ability to form self-regulating communities without heavy intervention. The authors stress selecting "dream plants" that prioritize form, texture, and ecological compatibility over color dominance, enabling gardeners to build layered, enduring displays.^[59] Planting Design: Gardens in Time and Space (2005), with Kingsbury, examines how planting can respond to time, space, and environmental conditions to create evolving landscapes. It discusses strategies for achieving year-round interest through careful species selection and arrangement, drawing on Oudolf's projects to illustrate how gardens can adapt to seasonal and climatic variations while promoting biodiversity.^[60] Oudolf's partnership with Noël Kingsbury produced Landscapes in Landscapes (2011), a collection of essays that explore integrating designed gardens into broader environmental contexts, such as urban parks or rural sites, to enhance ecological harmony. Kingsbury's text contextualizes Oudolf's approach, explaining how plant selections respond to local climate, soil, and terrain to create seamless transitions between cultivated and wild areas. The book underscores the philosophical shift toward viewing gardens as dynamic ecosystems, where perennials foster biodiversity and visual continuity across seasons.^[56] Planting: A New Perspective (2013), again with Kingsbury, delves deeply into matrix planting—a core Oudolf technique where structural "matrix" plants provide a framework for interweaving drifts of complementary species to mimic natural plant communities. Illustrated with diagrams of 50 key schemes, the book details plant interactions, including underground dynamics and compatibility, alongside a directory assessing factors like life expectancy and self-seeding potential. This work advances Oudolf's theories by emphasizing texture, light, and movement for sustainable, emotionally engaging designs that support pollinators and reduce maintenance.^[61]^[62] Piet Oudolf At Work (2023), featuring essays by contributors including Cassian Schmidt, Noël Kingsbury, and James Corner, provides an in-depth look at Oudolf's creative process and career-spanning projects. The monograph showcases his drawings, planting designs, and gardens worldwide, offering insights into his New Perennial philosophy and its application in public and private spaces.^[63]

Guides to specific gardens and techniques

Oudolf's guide to the High Line in New York City, titled Gardens of the High Line: Elevating the Nature of Modern Landscapes, co-authored with Rick Darke and published in 2017 by Timber Press, provides an in-depth exploration of the planting design for this elevated public park. The book details the specific plant palette selected for the 1.5-mile linear landscape, emphasizing over 400 species of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees chosen for their adaptability to the site's harsh conditions, including thin soil layers and intense urban exposure. It includes comprehensive plant lists organized by section, along with seasonal progression charts that illustrate how the plantings evolve from spring blooms to winter structures, offering practical insights for replicating similar naturalistic schemes in constrained environments.^[64] Planting the Oudolf Gardens at Hauser & Wirth Somerset (2019), written by Rory Dusoir with a foreword by Oudolf and published by Filbert Press, offers a detailed analysis of the planting design for the gallery's gardens in England. The book examines the plant selections, combinations, and maintenance techniques used to create expansive perennial meadows that integrate with the surrounding landscape, providing plant lists, seasonal observations, and horticultural advice for achieving similar effects in rural settings.^[65] In 2015, Oudolf collaborated with Noel Kingsbury on Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman's Life, published by The Monacelli Press, which serves as a photographic and narrative tour of his personal nursery garden in Hummelo, Netherlands, functioning as a living design laboratory. The volume chronicles the garden's development over three decades, highlighting experimental drifts of perennials and grasses that test Oudolf's matrix planting approach, with vivid imagery capturing the site's transformation from a simple nursery plot to a dynamic, self-sustaining ecosystem. It features annotated diagrams of key planting combinations, such as intermingled sedums and echinaceas, to demonstrate how the garden informs larger-scale projects. This collaborative style with Kingsbury, blending Oudolf's practical expertise and Kingsbury's horticultural analysis, underscores the book's role as an accessible blueprint for home gardeners seeking to emulate professional naturalistic designs. An updated edition, Oudolf Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman's Life, released in 2020 and available through multiple international publishers including Phaidon, expands on the original with refined techniques for replicating Hummelo's signature drifts in varied climates. This revision incorporates post-2015 observations on plant performance, including adjustments for climate resilience, and provides step-by-step guidance on establishing layered plantings that prioritize winter interest through retained seed heads and structural forms. Enhanced sections on propagation basics, such as dividing grasses and perennials, draw directly from Oudolf's nursery practices to enable readers to source and maintain similar assemblages.^[66] From the 1990s onward, Oudolf's Hummelo nursery distributed specialized pamphlets and catalogs focused on practical propagation methods, including seed-starting techniques for ornamental grasses like Calamagrostis and Miscanthus species, to support gardeners in building resilient perennial borders. These resources outlined cold stratification processes and germination timelines tailored to Dutch conditions, emphasizing low-maintenance propagation to achieve the dense matrices central to his style. While not formal publications, they reflected the nursery's role in disseminating hands-on knowledge derived from trial beds at Hummelo.

Media and recognition

Documentary films

One of the most prominent documentary portrayals of Piet Oudolf's work is Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017), directed by Thomas Piper. The film immerses viewers in Oudolf's creative process over the course of a year at his private garden in Hummelo, Netherlands, capturing the full cycle of planting, growth, decay, and renewal through time-lapse sequences and intimate observations. It explores his philosophy of naturalistic design, emphasizing perennial matrices that evolve seasonally rather than static displays, while also featuring projects like the High Line in New York and the Hauser & Wirth garden in Somerset, England.^[67] In 2023, Oudolf's seasonal approach was further highlighted in the episode dedicated to him in The Art of the Garden Series 2, a Sky Arts production directed by Colonial Pictures. This 45-minute documentary expands on the temporal evolution of his landscapes, including maintenance insights from urban sites like the High Line, and visits key works such as Scampston Hall in England to illustrate his matrix planting techniques and commitment to year-round interest.^[68] Oudolf contributed to the High Line's 2024 "Wild by Design" horticulture celebration through recorded segments that demonstrate the application of his naturalistic principles in urban environments. These short videos, part of the park's anniversary programming, detail the ongoing maintenance of perennial plantings inspired by the original self-seeded railbed, showcasing diversity and sustainability in a high-traffic city setting.^[69]

Awards and honors

Piet Oudolf has received numerous prestigious awards and honors throughout his career, recognizing his pioneering contributions to naturalistic planting design and landscape architecture. These accolades span international horticultural societies, cultural foundations, and professional bodies, highlighting his influence on global garden design. In 2000, Oudolf won a Gold Medal and the Best in Show award at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show for the "Evolution" garden, co-designed with Arne Maynard and commissioned by Gardens Illustrated.^[14] Two years later, in 2002, he was awarded the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal by the RHS for his services in advancing the science and practice of horticulture.^[14] In 2004, he received the Award for Excellence in Design from the New York City Art Commission for his innovative public landscape projects.^[14]^[70] Oudolf's impact on European park design was acknowledged in 2009 with the Dalecarlica Award from the Swedish Park Commissioners, honoring his inspiration to park and garden art development in Sweden.^[14] The following year, 2010, brought the Award of Distinction from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) for his unique contributions to the profession.^[14] In 2012, he was granted an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for developing radical ideas in planting design.^[14] A landmark national recognition came in 2013 with the Prince Bernhard Culture Prize, the highest cultural honor in the Netherlands, awarded by Queen Máxima for his lifetime contributions to garden and landscape design culture.^[71] In 2014, he received the Maaskant Prize from the Rotterdam Maaskant Foundation for his 35 years of exploring landscape architecture possibilities.^[14] Further honors followed in 2018, including the Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, bestowed by King Willem-Alexander on his birthday for exceptional service to Dutch culture and horticulture, and the RHS Horticultural Hero Award at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.^[14]^[71] In 2019, Oudolf was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of Garden Designers (SGD) at their annual ceremony in London, celebrating his role in the "New Perennial" movement and projects like the High Line and Lurie Garden.^[14]^[72] That same year, he earned the Medal of Honor from The Garden Club of America, one of the organization's highest distinctions for outstanding service to horticulture, proposed by the Garden Club of Michigan.^[14]^[54] In 2020, he received the Beatrix Farrand Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for his enduring influence on landscape design.^[14] In 2021, Oudolf was awarded the Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.^[14] More recent accolades include the Sikkens Prize in 2022 from the Sikkens Foundation, awarded for his masterful use of color and light in parks and gardens worldwide, evoking the subtlety of Dutch masters like Rembrandt.^[73] In 2023, Oudolf was honored with the RHS Elizabeth Medal of Honour at the Chelsea Flower Show, presented by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, for his significant advancements in horticulture's art and practice; this marks one of only 70 such medals issued to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's reign.^[14]^[74] In 2025, he received the Honorary Member award from Garden Communicators International (GardenComm) for his contributions to horticultural communication and design.^[75]

References

[1]
Piet Oudolf: a life in plants - Gardens Illustrated
Nov 3, 2023 · Discover how the legendary Dutch designer got into plants, where he finds his inspiration and what he thinks the future of planting design will be.
[2]
Piet Oudolf - Oudolf Garden Detroit
Piet Oudolf is an influential Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the “New Perennial” movement, using bold drifts of ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[3]
How landscape designer Piet Oudolf captures nature's 'emotion' - PBS
Apr 16, 2019 · Oudolf was born in Haarlem on the coast. At the age of 5, his family moved to the countryside, where they ran a restaurant and bar. But by his ...Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
[4]
Piet Oudolf on the Calder Gardens and Transforming ... - ELLE Decor
Sep 16, 2025 · A Dutch garden designer, Oudolf is renowned for his wild and wispy aesthetic, seasonal consciousness, and seductive, high-density plantings, ...
[5]
Piet Oudolf | Official Vitra® Online Shop US
### Key Biographical Details About Piet Oudolf
[6]
Piet Oudolf At Work: A Conversation - The New Perennialist
Apr 14, 2023 · 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 ...
[7]
Gardens as Art - The Designs of Piet Oudolf
Born in the Netherlands in 1944, Oudolf discovered gardening at the age of 25. Drawn at first to classical English styles, he developed his own avant garde ...
[8]
Piet Oudolf - stuartshieldgardendesign
Apr 25, 2015 · Piet Oudolf (born 27 October 1944, Haarlem) is an influential Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. ... Later, it was acquired by the ...
[9]
https://stuartshieldgardendesign.wordpress.com/category/piet-oudolf/
[10]
Legendary Dutch Garden Designer Piet Oudolf Reimagines the ...
Sep 16, 2025 · In his late teens and early twenties he worked for his parents. ... Inspired, Oudolf soon left his restaurant job for one at a plant nursery.
[11]
A Landscape in Winter, Dying Heroically - The New York Times
Jan 31, 2008 · Oudolf, now 63, worked as a bartender, a wholesale fish handler, a steelworker and a waiter before he took a job at a nursery and fell in love ...Missing: teens career
[12]
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/garden/31piet.html
[13]
Piet Oudolf » References
Married with Anja Libbenga in 1970. Residing at Broekstraat 17, 6999 DE Hummelo, the Netherlands. Biography. I started my landscape and garden design ...
[14]
Piet Oudolf – An Interview - Gardening Gone Wild
Piet was what he described as 'a conventional Dutch garden designer' influenced by Mien Ruys, the only garden designer in Holland who was talking about the ...Missing: born 1944 Haarlem family children
[15]
Piet Oudolf, The Genius Changing The Face Of Urban Gardening
Feb 6, 2019 · By then, Oudolf was married, to Anja, and they had two young sons. To support the family financially, he continued to work in the garden ...
[16]
Netherlanders III: The Oudolf Effect - The New Perennialist
Mar 11, 2014 · Two of Piet Oudolf's most recent public projects in the Netherlands. Designed in 2010, these gardens form part of the Boompjes promenade.Missing: Eastern 1970s 1980s
[17]
Piet Oudolf | PORT Magazine
Apr 12, 2018 · Port meets Piet Oudolf, the pioneering Dutch garden designer. Oudolf and his wife Anja moved from Haarlem to a 19th-century farmhouse in the village of Hummelo ...Missing: trial | Show results with:trial
[18]
Closing Time: Goodbye to Hummelo - The New Perennialist
Oct 11, 2018 · 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 ...Missing: 1976 Haarlem 1982
[19]
https://www.port-magazine.com/issue-22/piet-oudolf/
[20]
The Matrix Planting Approach to Garden Design - Horticulture
Feb 13, 2023 · Dutch plantsman and designer Piet Oudolf's gardens popularized this style, adding artistic flourish to the formulas while playing with color and ...Missing: 1980s | Show results with:1980s
[21]
The Roots of Naturalistic Planting Design - PolyFlora Studio
Jun 8, 2025 · Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) brought an artist's sensibility to her gardens. Deeply influenced by Impressionist painting and the Arts and Crafts ...
[22]
5 lessons in planting style from the new Oudolf borders at RHS Wisley
Jul 17, 2025 · To understand the principles behind naturalistic planting, think about block planting and matrix planting. Piet Oudolf defines 'block planting' ...
[23]
A plantsman's vision: Piet Oudolf | Gardening advice | The Guardian
Apr 7, 2013 · The Dutch designer Piet Oudolf began his particular journey when he planted up his garden at Hummelo, in the Netherlands, in 1981. He missed ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[24]
How to get the look of Piet Oudolf's magical naturalistic gardens
Jan 23, 2023 · Lottie Delamain considers the characteristic of Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf's famous style of naturalistic planting, and advises on how to get the look at home.Missing: Haarlem | Show results with:Haarlem
[25]
Stretching the Seasons - Fine Gardening
### Summary of Piet Oudolf's Plant Selection Criteria
[26]
Breaking Ground: The Influence of Piet Oudolf's Perennial Gardens
Jul 31, 2016 · Lurie Garden collaborates with scientists as they study the habits of pollinators and wildlife, climate change, and other topics of interest.Missing: refinements 2000s
[27]
10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Superstar Dutch Designer Piet Oudolf
Jun 5, 2025 · Signature Oudolf style calls for drifts of grasses, perfectly appropriate perennials, and garden beds that look beautiful even in the depths of winter.
[28]
[PDF] Northern European Naturalistic Planting Design as a ... - IPPS
experience of having bred plants within his own nursery at Hummelo. He as- sembled plants from far afield to gather the base for his propagation and breed-.Missing: methods | Show results with:methods
[29]
https://www.luriegarden.org/breaking-ground-the-influence-of-piet-oudolfs-perennial-gardens/
[30]
Somerset - Hauser & Wirth
Piet Oudolf, the internationally renowned landscape designer from the Netherlands, has designed the landscaping scheme for the entire site, including Oudolf ...
[31]
Strijp S by Carve, Deltavormgroep and Piet Oudolf - Landezine
Mar 6, 2015 · Strijp S is the former factory site of the old Philips-complex in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The 27 hectare large area, which is the home of a considerable ...
[32]
https://fiveseasonsmovie.com/bios/
[33]
PIET OUDOLF, THE KING OF PERENNIALS - PIN–UP
The “garden” in question is the three acres he has been cultivating since 1982, the year he and his wife, Anja, bought an abandoned farm in Hummelo, in the ...Missing: birth | Show results with:birth
[34]
The Rivers of Grass & Floral Labyrinth - Trentham Estate
Piet Oudolf's contemporary scheme is set against a backdrop of historic parkland, containing old Yew trees, a Tulip tree and an Acer capidoccium-Cappadocia ...
[35]
Trentham Estate - RHS Partner Garden
Highlights include the Rivers of Grass and the Floral Labyrinth, both designed by Piet Oudolf. Trentham is also undertaking the Gardens Revisited Project, which ...
[36]
The Trentham Estate – The Good Developer? - The Garden Visitor
Sep 9, 2015 · St. Modwen commissioned Piet Oudolf, to design two completely new gardens at Trentham, the Floral Labyrinth and the River of Grass. The Floral ...
[37]
Oudolf Field - Hauser & Wirth
He is an internationally-renowned landscape designer from the Netherlands. Oudolf has received many high profile commissions around the world, including working ...Missing: first Germany mid- 1980s private
[38]
Oudolf Field - Hauser & Wirth
Piet Oudolf's 1.5-acre perennial meadow at Durslade is still in its infancy but is already winning accolades from visitors and the gardening press alike.
[39]
Leidingstraat - Strijp-s
De bekende landschapsarchitect Piet Oudolf maakte het ontwerp voor de Leidingstraat. Eerder herontwikkelde hij met the High Line in New York een ...
[40]
Strijp-S | This is Eindhoven
The Leidingstraat (that runs over Strijp-S) was designed by none other than Piet Oudolf, who also made the plans for the New York High Line. The iconic ...
[41]
Gardens | The High Line
The High Line's planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew wild for 25 years after the trains stopped running.Garden Zones · Blog · Lessons from 15 years in the... · Seasonal Standouts
[42]
High Line - Landscape Performance Series
The High Line is a 23-city-block-long elevated railway reclaimed as an extraordinary public open space in the heart of Manhattan's West Side.
[43]
About - Lurie Garden
Lurie Garden is a leader in landscape architecture, garden design, responsible maintenance practices and engaging educational events in an urban environment.Missing: details | Show results with:details
[44]
Successful Design is Inspired by a Site's History and Conditions
Lurie Garden's design is divided into two areas or plates–light plate and dark plate. Used in this context, 'plate' refers to the west and east sides, ...Missing: details | Show results with:details
[45]
The Gardens | The Battery
Linger, relax and engage with nature at The Gardens at The Battery. Be energized by the scale, beauty, and tranquility of this magnificent waterfront park.
[46]
The Battery Oval, Bikeway, and Woodland
Cyclists, joggers, and pedestrians pass through beautiful new gardens designed by The Battery's horticultural master planner, Piet Oudolf. The Battery Oval was ...
[47]
Oudolf Garden Detroit Opens on Belle Isle
The $4.7 million project spans 2.5 acres and features more than 160 varieties of plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Oudolf Garden Detroit first ...
[48]
Fall 2019 Planting Postponed to 2020 due to High Water
Aug 13, 2019 · ... Piet Oudolf receives major award from Garden Club of America | Coastal Point ... Belle Isle garden; historic water levels to blame – The Detroit ...
[49]
Piet Oudolf | 2019 Medal of Honor - The Garden Club of America
His most recent project, a garden in Detroit's Belle Isle Park, will be his first garden commissioned by a garden club. As a leading figure of the “New ...
[50]
Planting the Natural Garden - Hachette Book Group
In stock 30-day returnsPacked with practical information and visual inspiration, Planting the Natural Garden zeroes in on the New Perennial Movement's power to move us.
[51]
Landscapes in Landscapes by PIET OUDOLF - Book: 9781580932929 | Rizzoli Bookstore
### Summary of Book Description from https://www.rizzolibookstore.com/product/landscapes-landscapes
[52]
Planting the Natural Garden
### Book Description
[53]
Dream Plants for the Natural Garden - Gerritsen, Henk; Oudolf, Piet
In stock Rating 4.4 (142) Dream Plants for the Natural Garden. Gerritsen, Henk; Oudolf, Piet. Published by Timber Press, 2000. ISBN 10: 0881924938 ...
[54]
Planting by Piet Oudolf & Noel Kingsbury | Hachette Book Group
In stock Free deliveryPiet Oudolf is among the world's most innovative garden designers and a leading exponent of naturalistic planting, a style that takes inspiration from nature ...
[55]
Planting
### Summary of "Planting" by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury
[56]
Gardens of the High Line by Piet Oudolf & Rick Darke
$$49.99 In stock Free deliveryGardens of the High Line, by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke, offers an in-depth view into the planting designs, plant palette, and maintenance of this landmark ...
[57]
Piet Oudolf » Books & Media
Oudolf | Hummelo (revised 2020) – Dutch, English, German, Korean, Chinese ... Oudolf-Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman's Live. With Michael King ...
[58]
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017) - IMDb
Rating 7.8/10 (106) Director Thomas Piper filmed the garden designer Piet Oudolf over five seasons as he designed gardens from New York's High Line and Hauser and Wirth's prairie ...
[59]
The Art of the Garden - Sky
Each designer discusses their latest projects and demonstrates the links between healing, climate change, sustainability, and the art of the garden. Episodes ...
[60]
Wild by Design | The High Line
Piet Oudolf is one of the founding members of the New Perennial Movement that took off in the 1970s, challenging traditional notions of garden design by ...
[61]
Piet Oudolf - Lurie Garden
Piet Oudolf is a renowned Dutch garden and landscape designer at the forefront of the New Perennial movement.Missing: lapse footage 2010s
[62]
Twenty-Second Annual Design Awards - NYC.gov
Piet Oudolf, Garden Designer. Installation of an Entrance Canopy, Light Sculpture and a Distinctive Sidewalk at the Skyscraper Museum 39 Battery Place, ...
[63]
Piet Oudolf wins lifetime achievement award at SGD Awards 2019
Feb 4, 2019 · Wold-renowned plantsman Piet Oudolf was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Garden Designers at the SGD Awards Ceremony ...
[64]
Piet Oudolf - Sikkens Prize
The board of the Sikkens Foundation has awarded the Sikkens Prize 2022 to Piet Oudolf (Haarlem, 1944) for his impressive contribution to the 'colour experience ...
[65]
Piet Oudolf receives Elizabeth Medal of Honour presented by the ...
May 22, 2023 · Piet Oudolf receives Elizabeth Medal of Honour presented by the King and Queen. World renowned garden-designer Piet Oudolf, Baroness Janet ...