Tag Archives: plants

Volunteers Wanted: Help Bring the Stijltuin Back to Life

Stijltuin Gardening, , , ,

Do you enjoy being outdoors, getting your hands in the soil, and working together with others on something meaningful?

We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help care for and revive the beautiful Stijltuin at Huize Frankendael. Together, we are restoring this historic garden into a peaceful, inspiring place for everyone to enjoy.

Led by Lynn Shore and Tamara Last (English and Dutch spoken), our friendly and international group meets weekly to work on the garden. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just curious to learn, you are very welcome.

When

Every Monday, 09:30 – 13:00 (year-round)
Join us for part or all of the morning—whatever suits you. We take a relaxed coffee break together in the middle of the session.

What do we do?

Our work focuses on:

  • General garden maintenance (like weeding and pruning)
  • Planting and repositioning to improve the borders
  • Growing plants from seed and cuttings
  • Gradually restoring the garden in a natural, historically sensitive way

We are working towards a planting style that reflects the heritage of Huize Frankendael, while creating a space that feels vibrant and welcoming today.

Who are we looking for?

Anyone who:

  • Enjoys being outdoors
  • Is happy to get involved and learn
  • Would like to contribute to a shared project

No gardening experience is needed, and you don’t have to come every week. Even occasional help—locals or visiting guests—is greatly appreciated.

Where

The Stijltuin is located directly behind Huize Frankendael, home to Restaurant Merkelbach, in Park Frankendael (Amsterdam Oost).
Address: Middenweg 72, 1097 BS Amsterdam

Join us!

We provide gloves, tools, coffee, and a variety of tasks—just bring yourself and your enthusiasm.

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, feel free to get in touch via email or come by on a Monday morning.

You can also follow along and stay updated via our Instagram: @stijl.tuin 🌱

We look forward to growing something very special together.

City Herb Events for Children

Urban Herb Walks, , , ,

City Herb Foraging for Children
Sunday 7th April and Sunday 21st April
Park Frankendael Foraging Gardens
10:30-12:00

These are small group sessions for children aged 7+ and their parents.

An introduction to some common Amsterdam herbs that grow in parks, streets, and gardens. A handout with information and recipes will be provided. We will make herb tea and some herbal concoctions after foraging the herbs.

Learn how to:

  • Identify, forage, and use key plants safely & ethically
  • Identify (and avoid) look-a-likes and common poisonous plants
  • Create simple foods, lotions, and potions using local herbs.

Each session will be led by Livvy de Graaf and assisted by Lynn Shore. Lynn is a professional foraging teacher (member Association of Foragers) and consulting herbalist. Livvy, is Dutch-British and has been harvesting and eating wild food for longer than she can remember. She is Lynn’s daughter.

We will be mainly in the River of Herbs foraging gardens, behind Huize Frankendael, which Lynn has run as a community project for the past 10 years.

Price per session
1 child – €15
1 child + 1 parent – € 25
[8 spaces available in total – no spaces available for adults alone]

Sugar and rain
As the beautiful Dutch saying goes, we are not made of sugar. So our events go ahead come rain or shine. We will postpone (and refund) if severe weather is forecast, such as a storm, because that could make the outdoor event unsafe. Otherwise, as the other saying goes – There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing..

To Book
Please Email stating your preferred date of event and how many children/adults.
To secure your place, payment must be received by bank transfer. We will send you the payment details when you email to book. Please look out for that reply as without payment, your booking is not complete and only a small number of places are available for Livvy’s events.

Refund Policy – Fully refundable up to 24 hours before the event. If you need to cancel after that time (so less than 24 hours before the event start time) a refund can only be made if we can fill your place with someone else.