Field of Dreams - The naturalistic gem Hans Gieszen has created in former meadowlands near Utrecht in the Netherlands is the culmination of a lifelong passion

Ever since his mother gave him seeds as a small boy, gardening has been a passion for Hans Gieszen. He is completely self-taught, relying on garden visits and books for instruction, with one book in particular, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden by Henk Gerritsen and Piet Oudolf, influencing his style. “It was fascinating,” says Hans, remembering his first encounter with the book. “All those photos – pictures with mists and these tall and low plants and grasses. I realised I couldn’t do it in my small garden, but I kept dreaming and reading about it.”

- By Claire Masset

Ever since his mother gave him seeds as a small boy, gardening has been a passion for Hans Gieszen. He is completely self-taught, relying on garden visits and books for instruction, with one book in particular, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden by Henk Gerritsen and Piet Oudolf, influencing his style. “It was fascinating,” says Hans, remembering his first encounter with the book. “All those photos – pictures with mists and these tall and low plants and grasses. I realised I couldn’t do it in my small garden, but I kept dreaming and reading about it.”

Eventually, in 2011, after creating several small gardens, Hans and his wife Yuxian found the perfect spot for their dream garden: three acres of meadowland near Utrecht in the Netherlands. “After we built the house, we lived there for a year and did nothing. We just observed – the light, the sun, the atmosphere.” By 2012, Hans was ready to embark on his biggest horticultural project yet.

“I started with the front garden, planting groups of perennials. I got the right plants, but the groups were too big, so I made them smaller and little by little it came together. Then I added plants that self-seed. I had read about spontaneous self-seeding. Then I included grasses. And then I realised the next step was to try matrix planting.” Hans was following in the creative footsteps of the celebrated Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, and with every step he took, his garden got better.

The site’s poor, sandy soil was never a barrier to his dreams. “The plants I bought had grown in rich humus. To adjust to their new home, they made deep roots and became tough.” Instead of adding compost or fertiliser, Hans relies on an old-fashioned cutting regime. “I cut down all the plants at the end of February; micro-organisms start to work and the soil gets richer.”