The Gardens of Mien Ruys

Widely considered the Mother of the Modernist garden, Mien Ruys (1904-1999) is one of the most influential gardeners and landscape architects of the 20th Century. Her lifetime of experimentations and innovations evolved within her own gardens, deeply informing today’s naturalistic design. The Gardens of Mien Ruys is the first authorized book in English to discuss her life, influence, process, and designs, written by the head of the Mien Ruys Gardens who continues to steward Ruys’s horticultural legacy. Part illustrated biography and part garden case study, this book is an important link to history that can help us put into context a future of gardening in line with nature, as informed by a strong, feminist leader.

Ruys worked hard to break down the elitism of gardening, and was a woman far ahead of her time. She is known best for her use of small spaces, designing gardens without large lawns, and using materials like concrete, railroad ties, and exposed gravel long before they were in style, and was influential in bringing a modernist garden design into cities and public places where they could be enjoyed by all, rather than just behind the walls of the private estate. Ruys had an extensive knowledge of plants, especially perennials, and included in the book are some of her iconic planting plans. Also featured in the book are tips on how to design a small garden in the Ruys style, and a list of Mien’s 100 favorite plants.