Tips from the green exhibitors of MASTERS EXPO

Temperatures rise year on year, and the pandemic has anchored us at home. This shapes our lifestyle: we spend increasing time in the garden. What was once a flower bed has become a lounge paradise. We want to swim, entertain, cook and live outdoors. Why wait for a holiday? We bring Ibiza to your backyard. MASTERS spoke to leading outdoor specialists.

It gets warmer every year and corona makes us spend more time at home. This affects our lifestyle: we spend more and more time in our garden. Why not upgrade from flower bed to lounge paradise? We'll bring Ibiza to our own garden! MASTERS spoke to some leading outdoor experts.

Online editing: Natasha Hendriks | Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer
Image: Peter Baas

Appropriate plan

The temperature is rising rapidly, heat waves are no longer an exception in the Netherlands. How long will it take before palm trees grow on the boulevard in Scheveningen? Many households are getting ahead of the tropical climate that awaits us and are designing their gardens accordingly. Of course also inspired by the coronavirus, which turns favorite destinations such as Spain and Croatia red and does not exactly encourage people to board the plane in a hurry. Even Ibiza and Mallorca received negative 'orange' travel advice last summer. But if we don't go to Ibiza, why don't we bring Ibiza here?

The Green Contractors, independent experts in exclusive garden projects, recently created a large Ibiza-style garden for a festival organizer. “He lives on the water, jumps straight into the water from his terrace,” co-owner Duuk Muilwijk paints the picture. “That was really the assignment: create a garden in which we imagine ourselves in Ibiza. The customer helped in the design phase by providing direction through a mood board. This way we already got a bit of the atmosphere he was looking for. We always take full charge of the garden, find the right parties – landscape architect, contractor, gardener – and draw up a suitable plan in consultation. In this case we looked for typical Spanish materials, such as agstones: natural stone slabs with an irregular shape.” His partner Wim Takkebos adds: “Winter hardiness is also important. You don't want a garden that is three-quarters dead at ten degrees of frost. You can't just plant everything, expertise is indispensable for that.”

Holiday feeling

In recent years, landscape architect Erik van Gelder has noticed that people want to create a holiday feeling in their own garden. “They get inspired when they are on holiday. If they have stayed in a nice hotel in Bali or the Maldives, they also want to experience the atmosphere they experienced there at home. So they look for a landscape architect or designer who could think of and design something in that trend for them.”

Just like The Green Contractors, Erik van Gelder was recently commissioned to create a garden with an Ibiza atmosphere in Halsteren. “We have done everything we can to create that ultimate holiday feeling. Because we were dealing with quite high walls, it became a kind of patio. The shelter that prevails there allowed us to use other plants. We installed an infinity pool that is not super large, but has a very luxurious look - with mosaic on the floor and an eight-inch high glass edge that is highlighted. The associated outbuilding can be closed off with a glass wall, so that you can sit there even in periods of bad weather and still have a view of the swimming pool.”

Choices, choices, choices

Erik van Gelder confirms that people spend more money on their garden. “They understand that outdoors is also a worthwhile investment, because the time they can enjoy it increases. Before I started my own business in 2004, I gained a lot of inspiration - I worked in Australia and did an internship in America. The outdoors played a much bigger role there than here. I wondered what I could do to extend the time you can enjoy your garden in the Netherlands. By using elements such as canopies, heaters and fire elements in my designs, it is possible to sit outside for two months a year longer. This way the garden becomes more of an extension of the house, something that was already happening anyway. It is worth something to people to be able to sit outside for 30 or 40 percent of the year. So yes, the amount they are willing to spend on their garden is higher than it was five or ten years ago. But you also see that in the interior design field; that is even a bit ahead of outside. I see it as my job to take the field to a higher level by showing people what is possible. Because many people have no idea at all and they still think that the garden is limited to a patch of grass, some plants and a nice lounge set. Nowadays we have really come a long way.”

According to Duuk Muilwijk, many clients in the high segment do not have a number in mind before taking on a project. “They often have no idea what a garden costs. They did think a bit about how much it might cost. Gradually they discover that there are choices to be made. Thick or thin trees? Swimming pool or no swimming pool? Ultimately, such choices determine the budget. If we are able to convince ourselves sufficiently that certain elements have added value, the budget can be increased quite easily.” “People attach importance to the fact that the budget is subsequently monitored, especially in times of crisis,” is Wim Takkebos' experience. “If someone says a ton, it shouldn't be a ton and a half. That's why you hire us: we are not just project managers, we also take care of everything.”

Visit Erik van Gelder and The Green Contractors at MASTERS EXPO. From November 18 to 22 in RAI Amsterdam: MASTERS EXPO – The Forward Edition. Ticket sales start this month.