The Gardens of Mien Ruys

Strong Design, Lush Planting, and the Origins of the Modernist Garden
A celebration of 100 years of the Mien Ruys Gardens, considered the birthplace of revolutionary modern landscape design, where legendary designer Mien Ruys conducted her lifetime of experimentations and innovations that have deeply informed today's naturalistic gardening movement.

A celebration of 100 years of the Mien Ruys Gardens, where legendary designer Mien Ruys conducted her lifetime of experimentations and innovations that have deeply informed today's naturalistic gardening movement.

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. 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. She 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.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.