Story Behind the Design | Part 1 | The Garden Where Two Types of Nature Meet
- Linda van de Lavoir
- Jun 22
- 7 min read
By nature, I'm not a jealous person, but there is one thing I truly wish I had...
During our travels through Greece, Norway, Italy, Japan, and the Canary Islands, I often found myself gazing wide-eyed from the car at the lush mountain landscapes and sweeping fields rushing past. Places where humans barely interfere with nature feel, to me, absolutely magical. In areas where people rarely set foot, you see the most fascinating plant communities, and it's easy to read how nature behaves when left to its own devices. These kinds of landscapes are far more common abroad than they are in the Netherlands.
And then, when I return home and see rows of identical trees lining the roads, with that horribly short-mown grass underneath—or when I spot a forest marked with orange or pink dots, knowing that yet more trees will be felled for some bureaucratic reason—my longing for a piece of imperfect, untamed nature has only grown stronger over the years.
At the same time, my love for plants and natural gardens has also deepened. But even though they carry the label “natural,” they are still far less wild than the places where humans make no decisions about what may or may not grow. The natural garden, as we know it, is in my eyes more of an art form—one that bees, butterflies, birds, and so many others benefit from immensely. And one that evokes a great deal of joy and emotion in us.
So you can imagine that when I first set foot on what would become our future plot—a spacious 15,000 square meters—I instantly knew what I wanted to create here. My very own patch of untamed wilderness, like the ones I’d seen abroad, combined with a beautiful, expansive natural garden. This would be a place where two types of nature come together.
In this blog, I’ll take you on a journey through the story behind the design. A place where every design choice comes straight from the heart. A place where wild nature flourishes alongside cultivated nature—a place where nature makes the rules on one side, and I do on the other. A place that will teach me so much and continuously inspire me. A place we will share with all that lives outside, but also with friends, family—and with you.
Enjoy reading!
UNTAMED NATURE
The moment we got the call that we could buy the new house in Veere, Zeeland—early that same morning—I grabbed my iPad and started drawing right away. I think it took me all of two minutes to create the very first sketch of a new layout for the land. We already knew we wanted a piece of woodland and a nursery, so the ideas came rushing in. Here's how those wild design thoughts unfolded:
Okay... the plot is shaped like a triangle, with three buildings (the house, the barn, and the outbuilding) placed right at the tip. That means you have this amazing, open view across the rest of the land. Right now, it’s just a boring field with cows and a dike—but this could easily become a patch of real nature. Something with more depth and layers. Maybe a water feature near the edge of a forested area? Hmm... that could work well on the left side. And if we create a woodland on the right too, we could block the view of the neighbor’s landscaping warehouse. Perfect! Add a few winding paths between the two wooded areas and suddenly you’ve got a lovely walking route that crosses the entire plot.
In between the forests, we could plant a meadow—not the typical, manicured grass, but a lush, flower-filled landscape buzzing with life. Ideal for wildlife... Woods – meadow – woods. Yes. Let’s do this.
The layout of the buildings is already spot-on. The nursery could go on the right—slightly off-center but close to the road, which is great for logistics and helps keep it visually separate from the rest of the garden.The garden itself can wrap around the buildings in a kind of flowing, organic movement—making the house and garden feel like one, instead of two separate elements. And if we ever want to build something new, it could go next to the outbuilding. That way, the new structure could become a kind of bridge between the wilder, untamed nature and the cultivated garden.
Wuhhh… this could be amazing!!
Time to turn this plan into reality.
LEARNING FROM UNTAMED NATURE
You could easily start a whole discussion about what "real" nature actually is. I’m sure everyone has their own perspective on it. Recently, I read a fascinating article in Puur Natuur—the magazine from Natuurmonumenten (in my opinion one of the best nature magazines in the Netherlands)—in the Spring 2024 issue. It really struck a chord with me.
In it, Frans Bosscher describes how four types of Dutch landscapes are managed:
Cultural landscapes These are areas where the human hand has clearly shaped the land over time, and nature has gradually adapted to that intervention. The blend of culture and nature gives these places a unique and valuable identity—worth preserving. But it takes a lot of time and money to maintain them in their historical state.
Natural landscapes These areas look more natural, but in truth, humans are still calling the shots. They’re actively maintained to keep them from reverting to forest. They’re cherished because they tell a cultural and ecological story.
Semi-natural landscapes Here, nature is given space to develop spontaneously.
Nature areas In these places, rangers loosen their grip—but they still keep the basic conditions in check.
That last one—that’s what we want too: 10,000 square meters of land where nature is allowed to be nature. A place not shaped to please the human eye, but created in service of the ecosystem itself. No neatly mowed grass, no rows of identical trees, no tilled soil—but a glorious mess of the uncontrolled.
When we started planting our forest with that vision in mind, it raised a lot of eyebrows. It just shows how used we’ve become in the Netherlands to the idea that everything must look tidy and intentional—and how convinced we are that nature can't function without our help. But I believe: the less you interfere, shape, or manipulate, the better it is for nature. And the more you learn from it.
As a landscape designer, I want to understand nature deeply: How does it recover? How do plant communities relate to one another? What thrives, what struggles, and what is drawn to which environment? What happens during long periods of rainfall like last year? And what does a drought do to the land like this year?
All of these are questions I now get to answer—quickly.
One year after planting, this has already become the greatest teacher and inspiration I could ask for. Every day (often more than once), I walk through the forest and meadow. I quickly saw the first insects arrive, then the little birds, mice (who are very happy that they are not seen as vermin here), rabbits and hares, the birds of prey, local cats, frogs, and salamanders. Territories are being marked by herons, buzzards, wagtails, and so many others. Everyone is trying to find their place in the forest.
The wadi with freshwater — apparently a rare resource in this area — has become an enormous magnet for birds, large and small. They drink and feed, wash themself, and the barn swallows collect mud from the edges to build their nests. I watch groups of starlings land in the meadow and fly off again one by one, each with a worm in its beak for their hungry chicks. White butterflies dance above the buttercups, and the cuckoo calls from the dead tree in the far corner of the forest.
I could watch this living Discovery Channel for hours.
Aside from being an absolute joy to witness, it’s also incredible to realize that all these creatures are restoring the soil. That’s especially remarkable because the soil here is in rough shape—blue clay, and not the good kind. And yet, we’ve had almost no plant failure—maybe 1 or 2%, while you’d normally expect 10%.
Doing as little as possible has turned out to be surprisingly successful so far. And it’s beautiful to watch how this little patch of wild nature is shaping itself, especially during what have been the two most extreme weather years I’ve ever experienced.
THE NATURAL GARDEN
The garden is completely my own domain—a place where I can really experiment with a wide variety of plants and plant communities. Shade, sun, and wind all play their part, which means different planting plans are needed in different spots. And that’s what makes it so much fun.
For me, it’s important to always see a garden wherever I am. To be able to wander around and enjoy all the beauty that grows and blooms. Since there are three buildings on our property, all of which we use intensively, I’ve created gardens all around them. On an average day, I walk about 1.5 kilometers just wandering through these spaces—haha!
Compared to the meadow, the garden has more structure, more flowers, and there’s almost always something blooming each season. It’s no surprise that many more bees and butterflies visit here than in the forest or the meadow—it’s like a large, diverse menu for them.The garden definitely gives biodiversity here a big boost—a true paradise for both people and nature.
The absolute best moments are early in the morning and late in the evening, when the light is at its most beautiful.
I won’t say too much more—pictures speak louder than words in this case. Below are some seasonal snapshots to give you a feel for the garden. (L)
SUMMER
AUTUMN
WINTER
SPRING
THE LINKING PIECE | PART 2
Now that the forest has been planted, the meadow has taken shape, and the foundation of the garden is in place, it’s time for Part 2: our new house.
The house is designed to serve as a linking piece between the wild, uncontrolled nature and the carefully managed natural areas.
House, garden, and nature are fully coordinated and subtly flow into one another. To achieve this, all design processes have been running in parallel over the past few years. Every detail has been thoughtfully considered to create the best possible living experience for every living being here (though the schedules themselves have been all over the place).
In Part 2, I’ll dive deeper into the design details of the house and garden, and how they’ve been perfectly aligned.
For now, have a wonderful day!
Love,
Linda
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