Mirco Bakker likes working with clear sightlines

ARTICLE

MARKET & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Rosanne de Boer, Wednesday 25 December 2024

159 sec

Designer Mirco Bakker wants to add a creative touch

In high school, Mirco Bakker wanted to become an artist but eventually chose the landscaping profession. As a designer at his father's landscaping company Marco Bakker Droomtuinen from Assen, he now combines art with greenery. He explains that his designs focus on sightlines and that he enjoys using surprising color combinations in plantings. He also works a lot with differences in height. 'In that respect, the decking from Awood and planters from Adezz fit in very well. These are beautiful elements to decorate a garden.'

mirco bakker and his father marco from marco bakker droomtuinen

portrait mirco bakker

'Last year, we were allowed to create a 7-by-7-meter rooftop garden in Groningen for a single woman who had picked up our business card at a trade fair,' says designer Mirco Bakker of Marco Bakker Droomtuinen from Assen. 'She kept our card for several years until she was ready to have her garden done. Now she often sits there with her friends, drinking wine. We paid attention to the sightlines, and from the garden, she has a beautiful view of the canal, where cargo ships pass by and there is always something to see.'

the adezz planters are eye-catchers in this groningen rooftop garden

customer friendliness

'In this garden, we installed nine planters from Adezz. Eight are standard size, and one was custom-made. This one is 30 centimeters wide and 330 centimeters long. We regularly make use of Adezz's custom options.' The planters are made of aluminum and powder-coated, allowing for any desired color. 'White matches the color of this apartment floor and was therefore chosen. These white planters also have a luxurious design look.' An integrated irrigation system ensures the plants get enough water.
What Mirco appreciates about Adezz is the user-friendliness of the website and the transparency during ordering. 'The website has everything I need. I see the price and know exactly what my order will cost. I also get an immediate delivery date, so I can schedule the garden work accordingly.'

in the middle planter are plants and shrubs of various heights, such as multi-stemmed osmanthus

height differences

'We mainly order planters, but sometimes also water tables, prefabricated ponds, and wood storage units.' In this Groningen garden, he created clear sightlines. 'Clear sightlines characterize our designs, alongside material choices and planting. We often use decking, usually from Awood, with whom we have worked for years, as we do with Adezz.
In terms of planting, we like to add a surprising element, for example, adding a bright red plant among the whites, blues, and purples. We also play with height differences, varying from low to tall plants and trees. Lagerstroemia is a tree we use frequently. On a rooftop garden like this one in Groningen, there isn't much opportunity to plant trees due to limited rooting space, but in other gardens, we can. In the middle planter, however, we were able to place a larger shrub like Osmanthus heterophyllus.
In a garden in Assen, Bakker worked with significant height differences and was able to use a wide variety of plants and trees. There's a 150-centimeter difference between the doorway and the far end of the garden. 'To accommodate the height difference, I used decking, aligned with the sightlines, creating a play of lines that makes the garden appear much longer. Each of the three terraces offers a different view.'

decking is a recurring element in mirco bakker's designs

young generation

Mirco's father, Marco Bakker, founded the landscaping company in 2004. As a child, Mirco did not dream of becoming a landscaper. In his final year of high school, he wanted to be an artist. But he ultimately decided not to attend art school, keeping art as a hobby, and chose the landscaping profession instead. As a designer at Marco Bakker Droomtuinen, he now combines his passion for creativity with greenery.
'Our company has now been around for twenty years. My father Marco started working as a landscaper at the age of fourteen. We now have eleven people working in the field, and my father often goes along to train and prepare the team for the job. This way, he helps guide the younger generation.
In addition to creating and renovating gardens, we also assist customers with garden maintenance. Our work area is around Assen, up to about one and a half hours' drive from our office.' Bakker's clients include private individuals and occasionally businesses. 'For the latter, we usually design office gardens where employees can have lunch outdoors. We often find what we need for these projects at Adezz as well.'

more aware

'Since the COVID period, we've noticed that people have become more aware and engaged with their gardens. I often hear customers say: "My garden is an extension of my home." We want to offer a broad range because every customer is different. But every design always includes a recognizable element of our style. You can see it in how we handle height differences and the established sightlines.'

This article was previously published on December 25, 2024 on the website of De Hovenier.

Marco Bakker Droomtuinen

AWOOD

ADEZZ

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