Mien Ruys and the Modern Garden

On March 28th, the Van Eesteren Museum will open the exhibition Mien Ruys and the Modern Garden. Mien Ruys (1904–1999) is one of the most renowned Dutch garden architects of the twentieth century. Her work, in which she combined a completely new, sleek design language with lush planting, was revolutionary in both Dutch and international garden architecture. She was one of the first designers to focus primarily on the use of perennials in gardens, using her experiment gardens to discover and apply new plants.

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The exhibition focuses on gardens in Amsterdam, particularly in the post-war expansion areas built from the 1950s onward. These AUP (General Expansion Plan) areas were designed according to the principles of het Nieuwe Bouwen (New Building), led by architectural groups such as De 8 and De Opbouw. Mien Ruys shared the modernist views of these architects and soon joined the movement. This marked the beginning of many collaborations with architects like Merkelbach, Van Eesteren, and Bonnema.

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Whereas a garden was still a privilege for the upper classes around 1900, this idea slowly began to change in the twentieth century. Mien Ruys believed that everyone should have access to a garden, as nature enhances human well-being. Within the iconic strip and courtyard housing of post-war architecture, she effectively applied her socialist ideals by designing communal gardens for social housing projects. The Geuzenhof and the diagonal designs for the Frankendaal neighborhood were the first in a long series of communal gardens that Mien Ruys created for the city of Amsterdam.

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With her concept of confectieborders, she also contributed to the democratisation of gardening. These pre-packaged plant borders, which could be purchased at department stores like V&D or nurseries and planted at home, made her plant expertise accessible to a wide audience. In addition, she designed other smart garden solutions, such as using railway sleepers to create height variations and developing the grion tile for a sleek yet natural look. Mien Ruys’ style is characterised by perennial plant borders and geometric shapes in her gardens. The clean lines define the lushness and unpredictability of nature, with ‘simplicity’ as the core principle of a good design.

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Who was Mien Ruys? What made her designs so special? And how did her work contribute to the democratisation of gardens? You will discover it all in the exhibition Mien Ruys and the Modern Garden.