Studio Toop

Studio Toop Designer of living and livable outdoor spaces. Living and livable outdoor spaces, that's what designs by Studio TOOP are all about.

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Anaphalis triplinervis plays in some ways a similar role in a planting as Allium senescens. They both work very well in ...
31/05/2026

Anaphalis triplinervis plays in some ways a similar role in a planting as Allium senescens. They both work very well in large drifts repeated through a planting and can provide considerable visual coherence. What I think Anaphalis may be stronger at is forming large colonies that offer considerable visual continuity throughout the year.

The grey foliage is striking and luminous, and the white flowers in the late summer add to the luminosity. And yet Anaphalis is very much a plant for a supporting role that allows other plant to be the star and truly shine.

In terms of permeability and stability, it hold a middle ground. It’s not quite stable and w**d suppressing enough to be a matrix plant in a large planting. In will always have a few gaps that allow other plant to grow in between. It is one of those plants that expands slowly outward and can become patchy in the middle, but it does this slowly and is surprisingly reliable for a long time.

In the Zeevonk borders we made large groups of it that cross over the path and expand across large sections of the border. I appreciate how it stays low, something that in this context helps keep the border light and see through. In the last few images you can see the borders from above how the pattern the grey foliage makes across the space.

Photos by Helma Sjamaar



Allium senescens I tend to think of as a semi-matrix plant. What do I mean by that? While it is too permeable to work on...
30/05/2026

Allium senescens I tend to think of as a semi-matrix plant. What do I mean by that? While it is too permeable to work on its own as a matrix plant, it works really well in combination with another matrix plant - like a Sesleria autumnalis or Geranium cantabrigiense. It is great at filling up the in-between spaces in a planting and creating visual cohesion, and when combined with other plants that are less permeable and stronger at suppressing w**ds, it can break things up in a colorful and welcome way.

It blooms at a particularly welcome time of year, when many of the early summer flowering plants have finished for the season but the fall flowering plants haven’t yet started.

So many Alliums are early flowerers and those species tend to collapse later in the season. The leaves of Alliums like ‘Purple Sensation’ fade into a mush, like most bulbs after flowering. But Allium senescens remains fresh till late in the year. Even after the flowers have dried, the leaves remain attractive.

I love it at the edge of a border and in large drifts. It works really well in a block planting as well. Here in the Zeevonk borders at De Goudbek - - we used it extensively in the first section closest to the house and wove it throughout the front of the border.

It’s a solid pollinator plant and bees always seem to be on it during flowering season.

Photos by Helma Sjamaar


These bold strokes of Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’ at the Dia Beacon art museum in Beacon, NY seem to occupy a moment...
29/05/2026

These bold strokes of Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’ at the Dia Beacon art museum in Beacon, NY seem to occupy a moment in time. A moment when the aesthetic of naturalism had become widely accepted and cultural institutions celebrated it, but discussion of ecological principles, plant sociology and biodiversity were not yet as much a part of the discussion. The planting reads and functions more like an art installation than a landscape that will be managed according to ecological and horticulture principles long term. But as an installation it is successful: bold, graphic, linear, on fire.

There is an inherent temporality to Imperata cylindrica. Although superficially it might seem similar to low bamboos like Sasa and Pleioblastus, it behaves very differently. While Sasa and Pleioblastus form very stable colonies and clumps that allow for continuity in and underplanting, and are naturally found in shade woodland settings in a late stage of succession, Imperata thrives in disturbed ecosystems and cycles of disturbance. Yes, it also forms a monoculture with low permeability and does not leave room for other plants to grow between its dense rhizomatous root system, but with time it becomes weaker and patchy. It doesn’t thrive in shade and its own leaf litter adds fertility that prevents it from thriving. A plantings like this is at its best in year 2 or 3 and will inevitably be spotty by year 5. It can be managed by replanting every few years, but those costs need to be considered in the management plan. Here you know the trees will ultimately form a challenge for the plantings underneath them.

Additionally Imperata can be very invasive and is flammable, so in some climates it is not an option. In the Hudson Valley where the winters are severe it is less of an issue than somewhere where the climate is more mild.

I think as an installation and a statement, this kind of planting has its place. It is striking, even if potentially ephemeral and ecologically uninteresting.

Such plantings were critical in a transitional phase which helped a broad public become open to a style that read as naturalistic because of high legibility.

I want to expand further on this idea of permeability versus closure and stability and how thinking about that influence...
22/05/2026

I want to expand further on this idea of permeability versus closure and stability and how thinking about that influences the plants we choose in a given situation. Initially I wanted to contrast Liriope and Ophiopogon because they are plants many associate with each other, while they behave very differently in this regard. But I realized while looking through my files that not only do I not plant Liriope very often, but I don’t photograph it very often either. That’s because it’s kind of boring.

The interesting thing though, is realizing why I experience it as boring, and that is because it is so stable that it becomes static and a monoculture. Unlike Ophiopogon or Sesleria which leave some gaps, or Melica which leaves a lot of gaps, Liriope becomes an almost completely closed colony. The root system is so dense and rhizomatous that very few seedlings, or even bulbs, are growing in it. There are very few little in between spots that ensure a more dynamic and changing planting.

In lieu of Liriope, I am sharing what I think is Sasa veitchii, but may be Pleioblastus . Either way it is another rhizomatous low growing evergreen that creates a nearly impenetrable colony. Here it is pictured at Innisfree in the Hudson Valley. I like it maybe more than Liriope because there is a softness to its texture that allows it to still feel light, where as Liriope often feels heavy and heavy handed. Though I would caution to use this one with care and intention as well.

Where are these plants great and exceptionally useful? In a corner of your garden, or other context, where it is unlikely to get much care and dramatic w**d suppression is desired, and the cost of monotony is outweighed by the need for low input management.

The Basque Country has a climate and environment that is hyper-vigorous. The weather is mild, rainy and there is nearly ...
21/05/2026

The Basque Country has a climate and environment that is hyper-vigorous. The weather is mild, rainy and there is nearly year round growth. The soil is also mostly heavy clay and extremely fertile. Counterintuitively this makes for difficult conditions to grow in. The question becomes not how to get things to grow, but how manage the quick and exceedingly lush growth, slow down succession, manage w**ds and prevent dominant, high biomass plants from taking over.

Here too the Ophiopogon japonicus works exceptionally well. Its fibrous roots create a relatively stable environment that suppresses w**ds without becoming a monoculture. Planted in large it creates calm and makes the garden legible. It holds back chaos while allowing more exuberant plants to shine.

It is used throughout the garden as way to create structure in cohesion. Specifically important in the Lur Garden, it does so without becoming too rigid or formal. The fine texture of the leaves allow it to feel natural even when planted en masse.




Ophiopogon japonicus is broadly seen as an evergreen grass, but despite appearances it’s not actually a grass; it’s part...
20/05/2026

Ophiopogon japonicus is broadly seen as an evergreen grass, but despite appearances it’s not actually a grass; it’s part of the Asparagus family. Superficially you might associate it with Melica uniflora because they both have a very fine texture anda similar lightness visually in a planting, and they both help establish a somewhat natural feeling when used well, but they function very differently and fill a very different ecological niche.

Ophiopogon japonicus is far less permeable than Melica uniflora; its role is much more about creating a stable, continuous ground layer in the woodland floor. In its natural environment it is often found under evergreen forests in Asia, whereas Melica is found in deciduous forests in Europe. Where as Melica is part of an ecology that is highly dynamic with more seasonal change, Ophiopogon is much more stable and continuous.

Despite its light appearance because of its fine foliage, its root system is fibrous and has moderate biomass, so it is much more stable than it appears. It allows for a quieter planting that offers more w**d suppression than Melica does, but is still far more open than Liriope muscari (which it is often compared to) or Geranium macrorhizum. It is maybe comparable to Sesleria autumnalis in the way that it creates a stable base but still allows other plants to grow in the spaces in-between. It shares space.

I think its pairing with Erigeron karvinskianus in the Moon Garden at the Lur Garden - - in Northern Spain is ingenious. They have almost opposing but complimentary strategies in occupying space. The Erigeron seeds readily and is opportunistic, filling in little spaces where available, while the Ophiopogon forms an anchoring base layer that slowly spreads in drifts and modular colonies through its root system. The Erigeron brings movement while the Ophiopogon offers stillness. Combined the two form an almost perfect marriage.



I can remember vividly the first time I really noticed Melica uniflora; it was at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2014 and it...
19/05/2026

I can remember vividly the first time I really noticed Melica uniflora; it was at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2014 and it was everywhere. I understand why, and as I have gotten to know the plant better, I understand it more. There is probably no grass better suited to the springtime woodland garden than Melica uniflora, or the slightly more ornamental and lighter flowered variety M. uniflora f. albifora.

It is found naturally in woodlands throughout Europe all the way to West Asia, though in Ireland, the UK and Scandinavia particularly. It belongs to a flora where Primula, Geranium, Campanula and ferns also grow.

Melica uniflora is a true cool season grass and it will often become ratty and faded in the heat of summer. For that reason it is better used in a setting where that seasonal nature is appropriate. For example, I would have not chosen it for the entrance area at De Goudbek, where you have to walk through the space every day all year. There we chose Sesleria autumnalis. But in the fern garden, the fact that it retreats more to the background in the summer is less of an issue and its beauty in the spring can be appreciated.

Also different to Sesleria species, Melica uniflora is much more permeable and less stabilizing. This has advantages and disadvantages. It does not suppress w**ds and competition as throughly; what also means that it allows other self seeding plants to more easily weave and grow through it. It can function as a matrix plant, but its presence is lighter and less dominant. It allows for a more dynamic planting.

In smaller gardens where it would be less desirable to have plant that fades back for a large part of the summer, Melica uniflora is better suited in small grouping in-between other plants than in large drifts. But in a large woodland garden, those large drifts can be magical and enhance the seasonal experience.

Photos are by both Maria Savoskula - - and Helma Sjamaar-


We used Carex ‘Kyoto’ as a connecting element through both entrance border (Ode aan Vlaskamp) and the fern garden at De ...
18/05/2026

We used Carex ‘Kyoto’ as a connecting element through both entrance border (Ode aan Vlaskamp) and the fern garden at De Goudbek. In the the entrance matrix plant is Sesleria autumnalis and in the fern garden it is Melica uniflora, and the Carex guides the transition between the two and helps link them.

The addition of the Carex is especially important with the Melica, which is a cool season grass and can look quite tired and faded later in the year. The Carex offers a counterweight to this with its more solid and reliable presence. It forms comparably large every green clumps that form anchors in the planting.

Here you see its role in both borders throughout several seasons.

Photos Helma Sjamaar




Mature Carex ‘Kyoto’ form clumps that are about 60 - 70 cm wide and form a bit of a hummock. They are less suited for cr...
11/05/2026

Mature Carex ‘Kyoto’ form clumps that are about 60 - 70 cm wide and form a bit of a hummock. They are less suited for creating a carpet or that lawn like texture that is so often associated with Carex, and are much better placed as a loose repeated texture throughout a woodland like planting.

Here they are used together with the fern Dryopteris atrata under a shrub and a small tree heavy planting with Saxifraga fortunei and Campanula poscharskyana underplanting. This is a high texture, high contrast planting that requires only minimal care.

Photos by Jolanthe Lalkens


That fresh green sedge you see dotted between the borders in this garden is Carex ‘Kyoto’. It’s originally a Japanese ev...
10/05/2026

That fresh green sedge you see dotted between the borders in this garden is Carex ‘Kyoto’. It’s originally a Japanese evergreen forest sedge and it functions quite differently than many of our European sedges like Carex caryophyllea, Carex divulsa and Carex flaca - which are all more dry meadow and meadow and woodland edge in origin. Carex ‘Kyoto’ does well in moist, humus rich conditions like you commonly find, or create, in a garden. It thrives well in the conditions that many herbaceous perennials thrive and grows well between them. In that sense when you are creating a slightly more cultivated and less purely naturalistic planting, it’s a very good choice.

Here I filled up all the leftover space between the more colorful glowering plants with Carex ‘Kyoto’ . It creates a kind of soft base layer and coherence. In itself it doesn’t ask for a lot of attention, but the lighter color of its leaves causes the entire border to feel a bit fresher. It also offers an evergreen element all winter without having to use heavier shrubs.

It is moderately drought tolerant but it is not going to do well in the more extreme dry summer conditions that some of the other European sedges handle so well. In the wet, maritime climate we have in the Netherlands and in South Western France though, it is frequently useful though.

It is a selection introduced by Belgian Chris Ghyselen, who is also responsible for so many wonderful Persicaria selections.

Photos by Jolanthe Lalkens


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