Palace garden Het Loo

Betterbuxus®in the royal garden of Het Loo Palace

The gardens of Het Loo Palace were laid out in the 17th century as a baroque garden by order of King-Stadtholder William III and his wife Queen Mary II, the founders and first inhabitants of Het Loo Palace. This Dutch baroque garden, symmetrical with many parterres, impressive fountains and historical plants, was intended to give Willem and Mary status and prestige and was designed to impress visitors.

At the beginning of the 19th century the Baroque gardens were covered with sand and on this – following the new garden fashion – a landscaped park was created, with winding paths, bushes, shrubs and many types of trees. The contrast with the 17th century palace gardens could not be greater. In the 1980s the garden was brought back to its original Baroque style.

As a result of occasional water nuisance and the advancing fungal disease in the Buxus hedges, after a thorough renovation in 2012 the Buxus was replaced by Ilex crenata, also known as Japanese holly. However, the care of these Ilex hedges requires more attention than expected and after extensive discussions with garden advisor Willem Zieleman and garden curator Renske Ek, both working at Het Loo Palace, attention was drawn to our breeding programme of resistant Buxuswood against fungal diseases. After visits to our nursery and the test location of our Betterbuxus varieties, it was decided to extensively test three low varieties from our range in the King’s Garden.

Historically, however, Buxus was the most suitable plant in this classic baroque garden. Moreover, because of its great adaptability, Buxus can grow on almost any type of soil. Therefore, at the beginning of 2020, the groundwork was started, followed by the planting in the King’s Garden with these three varieties from our Betterbuxus® assortment: ‘Renaissance’, ‘Heritage’ and ‘Babylon Beauty’. They were expertly planted by the garden team at Het Loo Palace and incorporated into the beautiful, graceful Baroque patterns.

They are extensively tested for their vigour and pruning possibilities. These varieties have also been planted in Château de Villandry in France and in Herrenhausen Garten in Germany where they are also extensively tested in other soil types.

We are delighted to be able to help restore the historic character of this beautiful baroque garden.

Update: March 2022

Meanwhile, the plants have been in the King’s Garden for 2 years and are more than meeting the expectations set by the garden team. There are, of course, differences between the 3 planted hybrids. Both Betterbuxus® Renaissance and Babylon Beauty seem best suited to low hedges.

There are plans to also plant the Queen’s Garden in autumn with Betterbuxus®.

Betterbuxus® hybrids are resistant varieties developed in the breeding program of Herplant BV and are resistant to Calonectria (Cylindrocladium).

More info on www.betterbuxus.com and www.paleishetloo.com.