Out of the box Thea and Dirk van Maldegem turned adversity into a virtue when an attack of box blight in their garden presented them with an opportunity to think anew and create an eco-friendly haven in the Zeeland countryside
When box blight forced Thea and Dirk van Maldegem to rip out their beloved box hedges, the couple took the opportunity to give their garden a more informal, colourful feel that works with nature
From a distance you would hardly know that Thea and Dirk van Maldegem’s garden was there at all. It lies like an oasis in the flat agricultural countryside of Walcheren, one of several islands that make up the Dutch province of Zeeland. All you see from afar is a shelter belt of shrubs and tall, white poplars. Those poplars are precious; they were among the first trees planted when, after flooding on the island towards the end of the Second World War, sea water killed off all the vegetation.
In the midst of this open countryside sits Thea and Dirk’s cottage garden where for the past 30 years the couple have aimed to garden in an eco-friendly way – despite one small lapse. Theirs is a garden of two halves: one a partly wild, natural garden where a small wildflower meadow slopes down towards a large pond around which in spring drifts of Leucojum aestivum flower on the margins, and anemones and snowdrops are naturalised beneath the poplars that stand sentry against the salt-laden winds; the other a more formal Dutch cottage garden. When I first visited the garden seven years ago [issue 160, page 30] the difference between these two gardens was far more marked, with the formal garden clearly defined by box hedges. Today, the lines between the two areas are more blurred, there’s a looser feel to the cottage garden and when I recently revisited the garden I asked Thea and Dirk how this change had come about. Since my last visit the formal part of the garden has changed drastically. Why these changes? Thea It’s not just the garden that has changed. It’s us as well. We are in a different phase of our lives now. When we started the garden 30 years ago we had children, now we have grandchildren. Back then our aim was enclosure. Now we feel the need for more openness and space. So has it been a gradual evolution? Dirk No, not at all. It all started when our box became ill. The leading theme in the garden was the intricate pattern of box hedges. Thea We panicked. We sprayed the box with fungicides, even
though spraying was against our convictions. But to no avail. We cut the hedges back but they didn’t really recover. We waited for a year, wondering what to do next. Then we decided to change course and the box went. It was painful at first, but soon it felt like a liberation. Dirk Changing the garden was not just a physical exercise. We had to let go of some old ideas; people change and so do gardens. What have you altered? Thea We made all the paths wider and left out hedges where they were before. The grandchildren love to race round the garden and in the old garden that was impossible. Dirk Before we ripped out the box it was difficult to get around with the wheelbarrow. Now it is a lot easier. Who pushes this wheelbarrow? Dirk We both do. We share maintenance jobs, such as clipping the privet hedge, mowing the grass and keeping the paths free of weeds. And since I retired three years ago, I enjoy this more and more. Thea One of the good things about gardening together is that it brings you closer to one another. Gardening can have a positive influence on a relationship. In our case anyway. Have you been influenced by other gardens at all? Thea You cannot help but be influenced by other gardens, even if it is only subconsciously. And of course there are so many new plants available compared to when we started 30 years ago. I love experimenting with new bulbs and perennials. Your garden is described as an ecological cottage garden, can you explain what that means? Thea We feel strongly that one should not use pesticides and herbicides in a garden. Gardening should not aim to destroy the ecosystem. Surrounded by farmland as we are, it is not possible to create a complete biological equilibrium, but that does not stop us from trying. The wildlife in the garden is nothing special: we get the usual animals, such as newts, toads, weasels, hedgehogs and quite a few birds, such as woodpeckers and tree creepers. A big thrill last summer was the discovery of a hornet moth, a rare moth that looks like a hornet and which only occurs on poplars. Ours, in this case. What preparations do you make for spring? Thea Each year I plant some tulips and a lot of small bulbs for naturalising. That is where my heart lies. Different species of Scilla,
Corydalis and anemones sow themselves and evolve naturally. Tulips are static, and have more decorative than ecological value. I scatter the tulips in the garden. I don’t want to create a bulb field. I like the combination of tulip flowers and the foliage of perennials, such as bronze fennel, peonies and Euphorbia dulcis ‘Chameleon’. For height I use Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. How do you manage to maintain such a densely planted garden? Thea No one is allowed to weed but me. It is nearly impossible to move within the borders. To quote a friend: “I wish I were a ballerina, so I could dance between the plants.”
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“Changing the garden was not just a physical exercise. We had to let go of some old ideas; people change and so do gardens”