Actually, I had come to New England to see the Indian summer. But Superstorm Sandy had, among the havoc it had worked on the entire eastern seaboard of the United States, blown away the remaining leaves in the New England forests, and brought a period of hawkish weather in its wake. My colleagues had more…
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The girl next door enters our livingroom, drops down on a chair and looks out into the garden. ‘He, you have a new tree!’ I look out of the window – a new tree? But instantly I understand what she is looking at – our Rhus Typhina (azijnboom) – it looks like it is set…
Read MoreDutch elections aren’t completely over yet, the exit polls have given their preliminary results, the outcomes of the big cities aren’t clear and the last votes are still to be counted, but the first lobbyists are making themselves ready to present their case at the political celebration soirees of the winning parties. Some more restrained…
Read MoreIn August we spent our summer vacation in Tuscany. The timeless splendour of the scenery combined with perfect weather conditions (unlimited sunshine and a continuous firm breeze) and the healthy cuisine is so appealing to the senses that we cannot resist it. This year we rented a summer house at the Villa d’Arceno, an extensive…
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The magnificent steppes always seem to be framed by mountain chains; wherever you move you experience a 360°of both space and enclosure. The gently flowing rivers cross carpet-like grass lands, on which cows, horses, sheep’s and buffalo’s are running freely and peacefully. Once in a while a group of two or three white round…
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From 18 to 22 April this year, as a representative of the Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (PBL) I attended the yearly meeting of the LE:NOTRE network in Antalya, Turkey. Under the name “LE:NOTRE Landscape Forum” the first of a new series of meetings was organized with the aim to encourage landscape specialists from many disciplines…
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The Dutch have a rich tradition in creating polders, nowadays approximately 50% of the country consists of polder land. But the difficult and challenging task of land reclamation would never have been possible without a strong sense of solidarity and an urge for cooperation. That is the explanation most often heard for the historical origin…
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The necessity of being in contact with nature and actually ‘bringing it back’, the nature-based needs in big cities and suburbs seem to be increasing and have taken many forms over the last years. The fact urban citizens nowadays are more and more interested in having a bit of green nearby whether it is a…
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Recently, the website nu.nl and the eight o’clock news came with a news item “Urban Farming is growing because of crisis”. A quote from this article: “From lettuce next to an old Amsterdam gas filling station to radish growing out of the fish manure in a Rotterdam shed. A new phenomenon is introduced in the…
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The city of Leiden has announced plans to develop the 6 km long fortification walls (Singel) encircling the historic city centre into the “longest, most beautiful and exciting city park in the Netherlands.” A few weeks ago I gave a lecture on linear parks to a public meeting about the new park, as part of…
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