Getting my hands dirty since the age of six
Frond & Soil is what fifteen years of botanical fieldwork looks like when it finally lands on paper.
It started with my grandmother’s garden in Friesland — a place with no design, no plan, and no straight lines. Just ferns growing between the stone path, hostas as wide as dinner plates, and the particular smell of wet soil after rain. I didn’t know what any of it was called. I just knew it felt right. When I eventually studied plant biology at Wageningen, I spent three years learning the Latin names for things I had loved before I could read. That felt like the right way round.
After university, I spent twelve years as a consultant — first for botanical gardens in the Netherlands and Belgium, then for specialist nurseries focused on shade plants and perennials. I’ve walked hundreds of private gardens, diagnosed more sick plants than I can count, and spent entire seasons observing how light, soil, and water interact in ways no textbook quite captures. I moved to Haarlem in 2015 and immediately started transforming my 80 square metre city garden into a testing ground. Five years in, it still surprises me every spring.
I started Frond & Soil because most of what I found online about gardening was either too vague to be useful, or too local to apply anywhere else. I write in English because plants don’t have borders — and neither should good gardening advice. Everything here comes from direct experience: the successes, the failures, and the questions I’m still working out. I don’t take advertising money for opinions I haven’t formed myself. When I recommend something, it’s because I’ve used it, grown it, or watched it work with my own eyes.
What you’ll find here
Plants & Growing
Species profiles, cultivation guides and growing tips for ferns, perennials and everything in your garden.
Garden & Design
Planting combinations, layout ideas and outdoor design inspiration for gardens of all sizes.
Seasons & Care
Month-by-month routines and seasonal guides to keep your garden healthy all year round.
Nature & Outdoors
Wildlife gardening, biodiversity and the broader ecology beyond your garden fence.
You’ll find species guides, seasonal care routines, design ideas, and honest product notes. If something I’ve written helps you make one better decision in your garden, that’s enough for me. Now — go get your hands dirty.