Zochers probably did not design Keukenhof beech avenue

HGimages: Keukenhof HGmap: overview , , , , , , 0

In two previous posts I discussed the beech avenue in the flower exhibiton area of the Keukenhof. In both posts I wrote that the avenue was laid out as a result of the design efforts of architects J.D. Zocher Jr. and his son L.P. Zocher. I wrote that because it is mentioned in almost every article I read in relation to that avenue. The name Zocher is used to support the decision to cut down the complete avenue and plant new trees: their idea of a complete and uniform avenue would thus be respected. 1The official website does not mention Zocher in connection with the avenue, by the way, it is just something that pops up in the press. Much like the interview with the former director of the Keukenhof in 1999, where he stated that the Zochers designed the garden in 1830. That has been repeated many times in the press, while old and recent publications invariably place their work in the 1850s. Continue reading

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 The official website does not mention Zocher in connection with the avenue, by the way, it is just something that pops up in the press. Much like the interview with the former director of the Keukenhof in 1999, where he stated that the Zochers designed the garden in 1830. That has been repeated many times in the press, while old and recent publications invariably place their work in the 1850s.
Summary

Father and son Zocher are often mentioned as designers of the beech avenue at Keukenhof. An analysis of their rejected design (by lack of a preserved final one) casts some doubt on that assumption. They probably didn’t bother, or weren’t allowed to.

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Cutting trees at the Keukenhof

HGimages: Keukenhof HGmap: overview , , , 1

Earlier I mentioned that an avenue of beeches will be felled at the Keukenhof, and new trees planted instead. Reason for that is a widespread infection by fungi, which could lead to dangerous situations for visitors to the flower exhibition. 1Recent numbers used for a calamity plan mention an avarage of 15.000 visitors at any moment during the bulb season, with peaks up to 45.000. The species of fungi are: Korsthoutskoolzwam Kretzschmaria deusta and Honingzwam Honey Fungus. According to caretaker Ton Aker at least 10 trees in the avenue have already died over the last decade. A quick search shows that these are not the only ones: in 2007 a summer storm snapped some beeches in the wood of the estate, while in late 2006 a beech standing on the mount near the castle was blown down. Infected trees standing in the wood will be preserved as much as possible, only the beeches in the avenue will be felled.

The decision to cut down the complete avenue was taken in the Spring of 2009. In September 2009 the owner of the land, Stichting Kasteel Keukenhof, doubted the reasoning of Aker and postponed the plans for further research. Since then the owners have apparently been convinced of the necessity and decided in favour of the plan.
Work will be done in two shifts, which should lie no more than 5 years apart. Felling of the first trees will start in Summer 2011, so next Spring is a good and last chance to see the avenue in its fullest. (It won’t look more mature during our lifetime!)

Confusing processes
The plans concern 48 trees in total of which the first half will be done now and the second batch at a later stage -according to news articles. The new trees have been bought three years ago, so they should be of the same age even though the planting might be 5 years apart. But as we speak, there is only approval for the felling of 17 trees. At least: according their own minutes the Lisse council has declined a protest against the felling of 17 trees in the beech avenue. 2See page 3 of the pdf-file (number 5. 4519). The protest was submitted by, interestingly enough, the former director of the Keukenhof, Henk Koster. He was director between 1968 and 2002. Assuming 48 is the total number of trees to be planted, and taking Aker’s earlier statement about trees already lost in the avenue into account, the remaining total could currently be around 35 trees. Keukenhof is permitted to fell half that number in 2011.
But why does the responsible councillor, when asked about the protest and the decision taken, say it only concerns ‘8 to 10’ trees? Why the ‘spin’? Is the decision acceptable and correct when it concerns up to ten trees, and less so when it concerns 17 of them? Let alone 35?

And I wonder why the Keukenhof has asked permission to cut down only half the number of trees. It is possible that the chosen cutting scheme left the owners with no other option than to ask permission in two batches. Their mission is to maintain the image of a complete avenue ‘as architects J.D. Zocher Jr. and L.P. Zocher designed it’. There is a risk that this mission can not be not fulfilled. What if the (possibly new) council in 2014 decides in favour of a protest when permission for the second half of the trees to be cut down is needed?

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Recent numbers used for a calamity plan mention an avarage of 15.000 visitors at any moment during the bulb season, with peaks up to 45.000. The species of fungi are: Korsthoutskoolzwam Kretzschmaria deusta and Honingzwam Honey Fungus.
↑2 See page 3 of the pdf-file (number 5. 4519). The protest was submitted by, interestingly enough, the former director of the Keukenhof, Henk Koster. He was director between 1968 and 2002.

Keukenhof ‘replaces’ 180 year old beeches

HGimages: Keukenhof HGmap: overview , , , , , , 0

Really? Replace them? (message here)
Heh, this could become interesting…

Don’t get me wrong: I like that they replant the avenue and that they are using the same sort of tree. The removal of the trees has been approved by the local council (in this case: Lisse), who needs to at least give permission for that part of the process. Ten trees have already died and been removed over the last few years. Gradually replacing them would be an option, but the owners want to convey the effect of an avenue with trees of about the same age and height. They will replant the trees in two shifts. 1I do not want to go into the current debate ‘should we replant an avenue gradually, or all at once?’, but I’d like to say this.
It is a hot topic as many beech lined avenues dating from the first half of the 19th century run the risk of being completely wiped away by owners who care more about the safety of their visitors than about cutting away old trees. I do understand their choice, because they are responsible (or will probably be held responsible) when someone gets injured or dies after being hit by a fallen tree or big branch. But I would also like to stretch that there are many situations where the risk is low, besides the fact that the risk of getting hit by a falling tree is part of being outdoors.
Whichever decision is made, it should not be insprired by a dogmatic stance, but by careful assessment of the situation and weighing of the risks.
The new beech trees are said to be of size 70-80 (girth circumference in cm at a height of 1m), which means they are 6-7 meters in height (? please correct me if I’m wrong here). That is quite a considerable size, but while calling this a replacement might be linguistically correct, visually it hardly is.

And historically?

The message contains interesting information, if the estimate of 180 year old trees is correct. There is no knowledge of changes in the layout around 1835-1840 (when an 1830 seedling would ‘usually’ have been planted). J.D. and L.P. Zocher are known to have worked at de Keukenhof in and around 1854. 2It is a pity that a garden magazine mentions J.W. Zocher, when the man was really called J.D. Zocher Jr., ánd worked together on this project with his son L.P. Zocher, but hey: we all make mistakes. This means that if the estimate is correct, the Zochers originally planted 20-25 year old trees in this avenue. We know that is -and was- possible, that is not the interesting part.
What interests me is that the current owners apparently choose to plant trees that are much younger than the current ones have ever been (on this location, ofcourse).

And thus create a beech-lined avenue the Keukenhof has never witnessed before, despite their efforts to ‘maintain the character of an avenue as Zocher intended’. History, being made as we sit behind our computer, typing. This might become more interesting than I thought…

Edit 21/10/2010 I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion here: a few hours after typing the above I took out a tape measure to see what a 70 cm circumference actually looks like. Those new trees at the Keukenhof could easily be of the same age the Zochers used in 1854. Ea-si-ly.
Hope to find out exactly how old they are soon…

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 I do not want to go into the current debate ‘should we replant an avenue gradually, or all at once?’, but I’d like to say this.
It is a hot topic as many beech lined avenues dating from the first half of the 19th century run the risk of being completely wiped away by owners who care more about the safety of their visitors than about cutting away old trees. I do understand their choice, because they are responsible (or will probably be held responsible) when someone gets injured or dies after being hit by a fallen tree or big branch. But I would also like to stretch that there are many situations where the risk is low, besides the fact that the risk of getting hit by a falling tree is part of being outdoors.
Whichever decision is made, it should not be insprired by a dogmatic stance, but by careful assessment of the situation and weighing of the risks.
↑2 It is a pity that a garden magazine mentions J.W. Zocher, when the man was really called J.D. Zocher Jr., ánd worked together on this project with his son L.P. Zocher, but hey: we all make mistakes.
Summary

In an attempt to revitalize the layout and to ensure visitor safety, de Keukenhof is ‘replacing’ 180 year old beeches in an avenue. While they’re at it, they seem to create something de Keukenhof has never witnessed before. Or…

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Theekoepel Land en Bosch in restoration

HGimages: Land en Bosch HGmap: Land en Bosch , , 0

Land en Bosch was bought by Natuurmonumenten in December 2007, as mentioned in this earlier post. It is part of a large group of estates the organisation owns in ‘s-Graveland. Natuurmonumenten has since then been preparing the estate for public entrance (in parts of the garden). Most of that work has remained unseen, and will be in the near future, till Land en Bosch will be connected to a larger hiking route through the area.

One of the most prominent features of Land en Bosch is the Theekoepel, an 18th century pavilion near the main road. It is not specifically mentioned on their website as part of the plans, but it is currently being restored.

I’m curious to see the result.

Dustbin central: council-lead landscaping

HGimages: Randenbroek HGmap: overview , , , 0

It is not something to get all worked up about, and it is good to know that the park in question will get a boost under the guidance of Oldenburgers Historische Tuinen, but I wanted to share this with you.

The dustbin is the dark blob-on-a-stick in the center of the image and -more importantly- the center of attention as one nears the top of the elevation. No matter from which side one approaches.

A common complaint from landscape architects is that carefully orchestrated design principles of gardens and parks are often thwarted by the subsequent ill-considered placement of… let’s call it utility furniture. Today I was at Randenbroek, a historical park in Amersfoort maintained by the local council. Walking along a pleasantly winding path passing a small elevation (both created in 1814), I noticed this rather unfortunately placed dustbin (placed somewhere around 1990, I suppose). Located almost at the top of the elevation, it is upgraded from useful feature to the central focal point of this part of the park.

Bonkers! It should not be there. It is actually appalling that someone placed that dustbin exactly there. The path, the elevation, the trees, the shrubs, all that should suffice. The dustbin is a necessary feature of modern parks, no doubt about that. But nobody with any talent for aesthetics would put it where it is now.

Somewhere near the park bench would suit perfectly. Leaving aside the instances where they are responsible themselves, landscape architects often complain for a reason about stuff like this. It is after all just a matter of common sense, really.

Summary

Misplaced park furniture can ruin the total experience of a perfect design.

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50.000 protesters in Stuttgart

HGimages: Schlosspark Stuttgart HGmap: Schlosspark Stuttgart , , , , 1

Dutch broadcaster NOS already called it a “civil war”, which seems a bit rich. But the massive protests in Stuttgart against work on the new train station (S21), for which over 300 trees in the Schlosspark need to be cut down, are impressive.
And dangerous: one protester lost an eye, several others were wounded.

The positive result is: much media-coverage in German media, but also elsewhere in Europe. The BBC can be trusted to place the matter in a broader perspective, predicting repercussions for the Merkel administration.

The current Schlosspark is quite different from the park,  redesigned as a Volkspark in the early 1800s (although laid out under the ruler of the day, the garden was open to the common public at all times). But relics of earlier layouts can still be seen, especially in the form of some 300 years old trees -but you may need to be quick to see those standing tall.
Two national garden exhibitions have taken their toll on large portions of the layout in the second half of the 20th century. 1Although they added new features and styles of gardening as wel. According to gardenvisit.com ‘Walking from the city center to the Rosenstein allows one to follow a textbook illustration of design evolution between 1939 and 1993.’ In 1993, the Schlosspark became part of the “Grüne U“, a green lung consisting of Schlossgarten, Rosensteinpark, Leibfriedschem Garten, Wartberggelände and Höhenpark Killesberg.

That enrollment in a larger green area may now be working against the park: it is probably much easier to fell 300 year old trees in an area called “Grüne U”, than when the discussion is just about cutting down trees like that in the old Schlosspark.

See the HGimages link under this post for photos of both the park and the protests.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Although they added new features and styles of gardening as wel. According to gardenvisit.com ‘Walking from the city center to the Rosenstein allows one to follow a textbook illustration of design evolution between 1939 and 1993.’
Summary

Massive protests in Stuttgart, where 300 year old trees are cut down for an underground train station.

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Update HGimages 2010 #3

HGimages: collection HGmap: overview 0

In April 2008 the group called Historical Gardens on photo-sharing site flickr begun collecting photos of both famous and obscure historical gardens from photographers around the world. The goal is ofcourse to enjoy gardens in all seasons.
But an imporant aspect for me is that over a longer period of time, the collected photographs visualise the (gradual or sudden, small or big) changes and alterations that take place in these gardens and parks. It will take a few years of building a broad portfolio, but ultimately this group can serve as one of many online sources for historical garden research. The fact that many people now scan and upload older or even vintage photographs is a great help in that respect.

The group now spans all continents and many countries. In the past four weeks (21-24) photos of the parks and gardens shown on this map have been added.

Click on the image to open the map and zoom in. The map opens in new page or tab.

For maps containing all gardens that are featured on Historical Gardens, please click here.
A big thank you to all contributors who make this selection possible and up to date.

Summary

An overview of photos of the gardens and parks that have been added to the flickr group Historical Gardens in weeks 21-24 of 2010. Now collectively show on a nifty map.

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Corten steel aesthetics: questionable

HGimages: Het Park Rotterdam HGmap: Het Park , , , , , 1

Steel has become a popular gardening material in recent years, as for instance gardenvisit.com noted during the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show. Sculptures, seats, anything can be done in steel (a few months ago I saw an original early 20th century agave-in-pot, completely made of zinc).

Corten steel.
In Chelsea corten steel (also known as weathering – or COR-TEN steel) was also used for sculptures, but the material has been around for a while in gardens -with a different use. Many parterres de broderie have in recent years been (re)created within the curves of narrow strips of corten steel, dividing the planted areas from the ones containing gravel. Plant box hedges within the boundaries, pour gravel in the remaining areas and hey presto: we can still see the steel.
Dutch garden in Het Park in Rotterdam.

Corten Steel edging in Het Park, Rotterdam. Photo by HvdE.

The fact that the steel strips are often clearly visible irritates me, because it is ugly and unnecessary. The only funcions of the steel in these layouts are: divide the areas and contain materials. Skilled gardeners should be able to mask the divider by keeping it hidden, just under ground level. And thus create the illusion that what we see is the result of meticulous maintenance.
I do not need to be shown how the parterre was created, I just want to see and enjoy the combined materials this garden element is supposed to be made of: plants and gravel.

Box at Het Loo in Apeldoorn in 2007.

Corten Steel edging at Het Loo, Apeldoorn. Photo by HvdE.

The parterres at Het Loo show that it is possible to use corten steel and achieve an aesthetically acceptable picture -although they probably could clip the hedges a bit less harsh. The high edges of steel that are clearly visible in the parterres of the ‘Dutch Garden’ in Het Park in Rotterdam (created in 1960, restored in 2009) again show how bad execution can ruin a good idea.

Summary

The strips of corten steel that are used to (re)create parterres de broderie are purely functional. Somehow -and to my dismay- the increasing interest in steel as a gardening material seems to result in ugly rims of steel around box hedges.

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