Welcome to De Hessenhof
Welcome to De Hessenhof
Since 1981, nursery "De Hessenhof", beautifully situated in the Veluwe, has slowly grown into a truly unique place. It is not only the organic methods used, whereby everything is propagated and grown in-house, that make the nursery so special, but also the fact that all plants are grown in leaf mould without the use of peat. What's more, you quickly feel at home in the intimate atmosphere between hedges and wooded banks, where you are welcome to enjoy a drink in the nursery shed after taking in all the impressions.
All of this means that more and more people are visiting us. So much so that there are times when we can barely cope with the influx of people, which means we may not be able to give you the attention you would like. How should we deal with this? Should we expand? No, we definitely don't want to do that. At a size of over two hectares, we work here with 7-8 people during the high season. This is a pleasant, human scale and we manage to propagate and grow around 3,000 varieties of perennials. This is probably the largest assortment in Western Europe.
But it's not enough. Demand and interest in organic plants in a wide range continues to grow. More and more often, the plants on your wish list will be sold out. This means that we have to grow them again, which takes time. We ask for your patience and understanding in this matter. Due to our natural growing method, which follows the seasons, you will find the largest selection in late summer, during the months of August and September.
If you want to avoid the crowds, come early! Later in the day, especially when the weather is nice, it can get very busy and we may not have enough time to give you the attention you deserve. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause!
But it remains a wonderful profession; it is our passion and our life. Despite the hustle and bustle, you are very welcome!
Unrivalled in terms of plant variety
The Hessenhof has long been known for its unrivalled range of perennials. From a stock of 7,000 different mother plants, we propagate around 3,000 varieties each year. We mainly grow plants that we find beautiful, useful and reliable, and time and again we find ourselves unable to restrain ourselves. Because we never tire of them.
We particularly love botanical species. These are plants that occur naturally in the wild and have not been tampered with or bred. They can be wild plants from the Netherlands, but just as easily plants from the mountain meadows of Central Europe or beautiful American prairie plants that often attract just as many or sometimes even more insects.
Furthermore, and this is in the nursery's DNA, we grow a lot of drought-resistant plants because of the dry sandy soil in the Veluwe region (the groundwater is 15 metres deep here). This is very useful now that summers are becoming increasingly warmer and drier.
Shade plants and ferns continue to charm us. They often grow slowly, but once you have them, they will last a lifetime. We have a wide variety of them. Of course, we don't ignore the latest varieties; we're far too much of plant lovers for that. But we only add new varieties to our range if we are convinced that the new selection is genuinely better. Very often, there is an old, forgotten variety that is fairly easy to propagate and is just as good as the new patented cultivar.
Finally, and please don't hold this against us, we also grow plants for enthusiasts. These are plants that you will hardly find anywhere else because they are simply rare or only grow in specific locations. Sometimes they are plants that have a short lifespan or need a very specific growing location in pure sand or acidic, moist soil. From a purely economic point of view, like most growers in the Netherlands, we should mainly grow prairie plants, because that is what is in demand. But we are too much of an enthusiast, too passionate, too much of a plant person to ignore collector's items. Sometimes it's just fun to pamper plants, prepare a nice bed for them, water them, give them a little fertiliser and then enjoy watching them develop. 'Il faut cultiver son jardin,' as Voltaire wrote, which we like to translate as: 'Growing plants in your own garden makes many people happy.'
One-off due to own propagation and cultivation
Propagation is the nursery's forte. When we started in 1981, it was a matter of course. Every nursery propagated its own plants. Nowadays, you can buy a wide range of young plants, either from cuttings or seeds or even from a laboratory in a distant country, pot them up and call yourself a grower without ever having propagated the plants yourself. Not only does that take away our pride, it also means you are outsourcing the most enjoyable part of the work! Furthermore, when you propagate your own plants, you have much more insight into the authenticity and health of the plants, and by saving on transport, you reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, it is virtually impossible to purchase organic ornamental plants in organic cultivation. In recent years, we have been propagating 98% of our range ourselves.
Very occasionally, we are also forced to purchase planting material. This concerns patented varieties, which we are not allowed to propagate. These are never grown organically, which is why we apply for an exemption for these crops from Skal (the supervisory authority for organic products in the Netherlands). We try to keep this to a minimum and only purchase varieties that are so good that we believe we cannot do without them. Examples include Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' and Brunnera 'Sea Heart'. Of course, we purchase these plants as young as possible and they are grown organically from the moment they arrive at our nursery. We also have to purchase seeds sometimes, such as columbines, which cross-pollinate so extensively here at the nursery that we have to buy the seeds to maintain their colour.
Exceptional for organic cultivation
The word 'organic' is used too freely these days, but it is a protected term. It may only be used on certified products. All the plants we sell are organically grown (with Skal certification). 'Are there any advantages to that?' and 'I bet it's a lot more expensive' are comments we often hear. The advantages are now well known. Organically grown plants are simply stronger. This is primarily because they have not been rushed with artificial fertilisers. We use organic fertilisers, which means that the plants grow more slowly and are much more resilient. Because we use living leaf mould containing all kinds of micro-organisms, there is a kind of balance, which means that we hardly need to intervene. To promote this balance, we add mycorrhiza (natural soil and root fungi) to the potting soil and spray the plants with compost tea every two weeks, for example. So here at the nursery, you won't find rushed, flabby plants fighting for survival, but resilient, healthy plants that can take a beating.
We do not incur any additional costs for organic production compared to conventional non-organic companies. Thanks to the balance mentioned above, we do not need to purchase expensive pesticides and artificial fertilisers, and propagating our own plants is always cheaper. It also helps that you return the plastic pots (only those from here). They are sorted and reused.
Finally, as you will immediately notice when you enter the nursery, the wooded banks, hedges and meadows attract all kinds of birds, animals and insects. The biodiversity is enormous, which is fantastic for maintaining the natural balance.
Unique because it is grown in leaf mould
We have been growing our plants in leaf mould for over 40 years. At the time, it wasn't so much that the use of peat was under pressure; we didn't know that then. But we couldn't accept that the precious leaves from the nearby cemetery were being taken to the landfill. Over the years, we have grown, as it were, to cultivate our plants in leaf mould. We saw the advantages right from the start. These are mainly the slow, continuous, beneficial growth that results in a well-grown, strong plant. In winter, the leaf mould does not become a wet sponge like peat, but always allows sufficient water to pass through. Of course, we add organic fertilisers and some fibrous material (tree bark) and volcanic rock to maintain the structure. Nevertheless, 85% of our potting soil consists of leaf mould that we compost ourselves here.
Fortunately, there has been a lot of attention recently on reducing the use of peat, and more and more nurseries are reducing or even eliminating the use of peat. This is a positive development, as it is now widely known that peat extraction causes significant damage to nature and emits large amounts of CO2 released through extraction, transport and digestion. Take a look at the photo below in this context.
Finally, a nice place to go to
A visit to the nursery is well worth the effort. Visitors are always delighted by the atmospheric, intimate place where you can spend hours exploring. All the mother plants are planted here, and there can be as many as 7,000 different varieties. So there is always something in bloom. It is a unique collection that attracts visitors from all over Europe. You are always welcome to ask us any questions you may have or enjoy a cup of coffee in our cosy nursery shed. We often hear that the nursery is a lovely place, a kind of oasis where you can feel completely at ease among the tall hedges, far away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Once, after a long journey, a lady walked into the nursery and said, 'I'm in paradise,' and we were speechless. Plants can still move us like that, and once you've been touched by them, it never goes away.
