Creative plantings and beautiful, sustainable paving

Flemish agency unites the best of both worlds

'With you, it's either very green or nothing at all'. We speak with Eveline Vekemans, founder of Bloesem Tuinarchitecten and a member of the Bloeimeesters cooperative. Early in the interview, we stumble upon the contrasts between gardening traditions in Belgium and the Netherlands. Bloesem seeks its own way in conversation with both traditions. Vekemans turns out to be an original, creative mind who stands for an idiosyncratic approach. Together with sparring partner Mara van den Breen, she has been designing "lively, dynamic and future-oriented gardens" for several years.

While the petrification of outdoor space in modal Netherlands will continue for some time to come, Dutch garden architects are actually making a name for themselves with their rich planting schemes. This is also gradually becoming more visible in public spaces as clients make a full commitment to greening and sustainability.  

Against the prevailing tradition, young garden designers are also making inroads in Belgium with richer and more diverse plantings. Eveline Vekemans is one of them: 'That is why we as Flemish garden designers fit in very well with the still mainly Dutch collective Bloeimeesters.'  

Green family

The young landscaper from Buggenhout near Dendermonde makes herself known as a modest and thoughtful person. When she speaks out about her profession, she carefully searches for the right words. "That I would end up in this profession was not at all obvious to me, even though I grew up in a green family - my father was a garden contractor - while my mother continued the business after his death. After high school, I went in a completely different direction. I then started studying history. That is not immediately a study where the jobs are there for the taking, so I eventually chose to study Landscape and Garden Architecture (Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent)."

There, Vekemans discovered her passion for beautiful, natural gardens and also developed her own approach. She found the ideal sounding board in Mara van Breen - who also works at Domani, a manufacturer of high-quality pottery - and that resulted in the establishment of Bloesem Tuinarchitecten, now two and a half years ago. At the time, the firm was making considerable headway. A fine and diverse portfolio was built up, encompassing both larger landscape gardens and compact city gardens. In this, Blossom distances itself from the traditional Belgian view, in which the emphasis is placed on the paving and structures, and the planting is often the closing item. "We design more natural gardens, like you see in Denmark and the Netherlands, with more variety in planting. This northern approach also seems to be descending a bit to our area, because there are now more Belgian designers who have left the rigid hedges behind. Yet you still don't see many natural gardens in Flanders."

The different garden traditions also result from the differences in clients' wishes. Vekemans: "While durable hard elements are most important for Belgian clients, most Dutch people generally attach less importance to this. You see that in the Netherlands, for example, wood types are regularly used for terraces that deteriorate significantly within just a few years."

Unfortunately, Vekemans believes, because the use of those less sustainable materials means the garden design is also lost far too quickly. "That is not our approach. For example, we are never going to use Concrete tiles that discolor in five or ten years, but look for a suitable alternative. A lot of sustainable material can also be found on the second-hand market, This is how we try to offer a solution for every budget."

Then again, in Belgium you see these very clean gardens with these perfectly finished pools, while the planting is very disappointing. Vekemans agrees: "In plantings, your designers are generally much better. It seems that many Belgian designers and contractors choose species they don't risk, and they are always the same: Stipa, Allium, Quercus Ilex, Pennisetum. Gaura, Verbena... If you drive through the more capital places here, like around Ghent and Antwerp, you see those species everywhere. Neat, but sterile. Of course I also have a number of fixed values, plants that always do well, but besides that you also have to dare to do something different and if it doesn't work then apply another species. This is how we at Blossom try to introduce a few new species in each garden, but in small numbers."  

Match

What stands out in the designs of Blossom Garden Architects is the interplay between lush plantings and beautiful hard elements, with green "play space" provided even between the tiles and stepping stones, creating a beautiful integral image and allowing living nature to flourish in conjunction with the hard framework. The carefully applied hard elements are also by no means standard. For example, the city garden "Own Culture" employs a tasteful combination of authentic Belgian materials: bluestone, Ardenner split and boulders also from the Ardennes. "In our designs, paving may look secondary," Vekemans explains, "but its quality must be very good and of natural manufacture. We bring together the qualities of both traditions: the combination of Belgian perfection in hard structures with the lush, natural plantings from more northern regions, that is the signature of Blossom."

Clients who approach Bloesem directly are obviously familiar with the firm's style, but sometimes people are referred by a contractor or are looking for a landscaper in their immediate area. "In the latter cases, there is not always a match," Vekemans says. "We therefore try during an introductory meeting to get to know the client somewhat and to test whether the visions match.

If there turns out to be a match, we then try to get the best possible picture of the client's needs so that we can really customize. But we equally look at what might fit into the design. Sometimes the wish list is far too comprehensive: both a vegetable garden and a conservatory and a swimming pool and three terraces and a trampoline. In a small city garden, that's obviously not possible."  

In addition to the client's wishes, the project's landscape context is also a determining factor. Vekemans: "The location certainly influences the design. We approach a city garden very differently than a garden outside the city, in the middle of the Flemish fields. A city garden is often walled in, so that gives a specific framework, which is more likely to lead to a creative solution than a garden surrounded by a beautiful landscape. You then look for connection with the surroundings. You have to integrate such a garden into that landscape, whereas with an urban garden that is not really an option. People in those gardens actually want to distance themselves a bit from the urban landscape, have the illusion that they are not in the city."

Another tension between client wishes and design vision. "An island like that doesn't actually fit into our philosophy," Vekemans believes. "But you can indulge conceptually and go a little more zany, with more eye-catching paving and, say, a Japanese maple, magnolia or ginkgo. I would have resolutely refused to design that Spanish-style garden in the past, but we were given carte blanche by this client - apart from the olive tree - for the whole journey, and it's also a nice challenge to go against your own principles for a change. I find it much more fun when, as a landscaper, you can draw something that fits into the landscape, where it looks like it has always been this way."  

Teaching moment

"We regularly get requests from people who have just built or bought," Vekemans continues. "Then you actually already know: they're not going to have 15 thousand euros for the right materials. They do exist, but those are really the lucky few. On the basis of a kind of master plan, we then visualize the options for the client. In those situations, we direct them to tackle the project in phases and at least get the aspects that will be done immediately right. We are getting better at this, and if things do go wrong, we learn all the more from it. The category of clients who insist on having all their wishes realized in one go, even though the budget is inadequate, are the ones to watch out for. This then leads to materials of inferior quality being chosen and then, within 5 to 10 years, the garden will have to be redone radically."

In addition to dealing with unrealistic client wishes and monitoring the design vision, technical aspects also require a lot of attention. Meanwhile, climate change presents the necessary challenges. Vekemans: "The beech, for example, is no longer doing so well with us. It has been very hot in recent summers. That is why we are now combining the native species with plants from more southern regions. It's still a bit of a search. You have to choose between species that may last another ten years and species that are not in their element here now but will be in two or three years. It's hard to say where it will go. Some species will adapt, others will disappear. That's nature."

Not an end product, but a process

Working with living matter means that the design and construction of a garden are actually just the first steps of a process, where the garden continues to evolve over time. Without management, the garden design quickly disappears from view. Vekemans: "There are quite a few landscapers and garden contractors who don't think about that. A garden is not a thing, but a process, and that really only begins properly with the delivery. The management is perhaps the most important, which is why we certainly go to the gardens we design several times a year to see if everything is in order and if everything is growing as it should. "Everyone asks for a low-maintenance garden these days, but maintenance is always needed. We also try to 'read' the client well on this point: are they expecting it to be done by the time of delivery or do they allow for periodic maintenance? If we know in advance that regular maintenance is not in it, we already take that into account in the design."

The communication between the designer and the contractor is very decisive. Vekemans: "We prefer to work with a garden contractor who also takes care of the aftercare. We are still looking for a good form, because the result also depends on the contractor's planning. If you have planted bulbs under perennials, those plants must be kept short in time, otherwise the bulbs will be too dark. The best thing is if the customer could do the fine maintenance themselves, just take care of a planting section every day in five minutes. Then it goes well and working in the garden is healthy too."

As far as maintenance is concerned, it is also a matter of questioning the client properly in order to provide customized solutions. Vekemans: "The only thing we ask carte blanche for is the preliminary design. Everything that follows is in dialogue with the client and, as soon as a contractor joins us, with that as well. We think primarily aesthetically, the contractor rather practically. Finding the right contractor for the job is crucial. As far as we are concerned, a good contractor is one who follows the plan and does not rush everything. Someone who also thinks with you, points out any mistakes in the plan and keeps in touch with you during execution. Only then will you arrive at good solutions together."