From concrete to green
The Hague, Netherlands, 2024 - Harvest the Rain
Before
Unfortunately, this is not an abnormal situation in the Netherlands. It has become the Dutch standard over the years to have the full backyard filled with concrete tiles and if there’s any green it’s artificial grass. The main reason for this is to have a ‘maintenance-free’ yard. In my blog-post (in Dutch) on ‘maintenance-free yards’ I elaborate more on the question whether this is even possible or mostly a myth (spoiler, it’s the second!). In yards like these that are also south-facing, the yard becomes unpleasantly hot to be in during summertime; the moment that you want to be in you yard! Both the tiles and the artificial grass absorb a lot of heat and radiate it out during the whole day, which makes the yard feel very warm. With the lack of greenery, there is also very little evapotranspiration (‘sweating’) happening, which can naturally cool the air around plants. Furthermore, in yards like these you will notice weeds far more than when you have a more natural yard. Luckily there’s more and more people and organisations that want to get rid of this concrete again, such as the owners of this yard!
Requirements
After the initial talks and inspiration presentations with the client, this was the shortlist of requirements they had for their permaculture yard design:
- Less tiles
- More green
- Kid-friendly
- Grass to play/sit on
- Space for their trampoline that should also be anchored to the ground in case of storms
- Seating area
- Small area for the BBQ
- Not too much maintenance necessary, but not a big barrier, since they will hire someone for the maintenance once or twice a year
- Where possible choose lower-budget options (e.g.: no fancy borders)
- Less straight lines
Design
Much to my excitement, the owners of this yard were most enthusiastic about option 3, and they wanted to go even further with leaving an even smaller space with tiles! All they wanted to leave was a small square to put the BBQ on. To be able to still reach the shed and the gate without having to walk on grass, some tiles were re-used as stepping stones. With the addition of the pergola, the rainwater tank did not fit within the budget and unfortunately had to go.
Plantingplan
Most of the plants they already had were re-used. In addition to that, quite some plants were added that have edible elements such as Hardy Kiwi, passion flower, strawberries, raspberries, rosemary and mint. If you’d like to receive the complete plant list for this garden, feel free to send me a message!
Wintergreen plants have been placed strategically to ensure the garden remains visually appealing even during the colder months. Plants were selected so that there is always something blooming throughout the year, providing food for pollinators.
Materials used
For the pergola, we used douglas wood, which is ideal for pergolas and is also sourced from Europe instead of tropical countries. Woodchips were used from a local arborist that had them left over, and compost and grass was supplied by a company just 1 mile away.
More questions?
If you want to know more about the process of desiging and building this yard, or if you’re keen to brainstorm ideas for your outdoor area, just drop me a message or give me a call!