Het Loo a palace near Apeldoorn Netherlands

I will start this post with two thoughts one from Deuteronomy 6:4,5 and one from Leviticus 19:18.

Then see what Jesus says to a lawyer who asks a question: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?’

Here are the two Old Testament quotes:

Hear, Oh Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. (Sandy says this is not passive, I will do it when I feel like it love.)

Then

You will not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you will love your neighbour as yourself.

I am the Lord.

Then Jesus’s answer to the lawyer: ‘You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You will love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

How do we love God and our neighbour? Go back to Exodus 20: 1-17 that fills in the detail. Then Isaiah says: ‘ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ Isaiah 8:20

This post has travelled in time already but the place we are visiting although closer to now has some surprises. I want you to notice planting and flowers in this amazing palace. It is a short cycle ride from Apledoorn in the Netherlands. We have cycled from a farm park up for Bugzy so we have done about 8 miles. This is our first feeling of awe. A tree lined entrance. A place to lock our bikes and now for the palace of Het Loo ( said low). Why the name? It was built on an historic woodland estate, ‘loo’ translates to forest glade. The name then becomes ‘The Palace in the Woods’.

King William III of Orange and later king of England and his wife Mary II had it built as a summer retreat. This all happened 1684-1686. We can see the rooms as they were at this time in part of the castle and then in another section the rooms are as they were just before the war when in the spring of 1940 Wilhelmina had to leave her beloved home in Gelderland. The wise lady had Major – domo Paul Wiessner take photographs of the royal apartments before all the valuables were taken to safety. The German invasion then took place and the palace seized.

My interest in flowers, chairs and gardens will override all else. The history of this place, opening times etc are easily available as we ourselves discovered. Let us let it show itself:

A long drive between tall trees preparing one for grandeur then wild flower meadows on each side of…

A carefully bricked walkway with a nature path running parallel. This is between two rows of small trees with balancing beams and stepping stones. We did this parallel path fun for 7 year -olds with a 0 next to it.

Then Het Loo. Splendid!

It is the perfume of flowers that I noticed first. They come from the green houses on the property so I was told.

Irises, peonies…purples, pinks a mass.

Roses, delphiniums and two red oriental poppies all in an enormous vase…

Then red-hot-pokers in their tall grand way are held as one of a crowd the container is so big.

They all smell wonderful. I touched one so my eyes would believe they were all real.

These palaces always have amazing bedrooms and stairways. Let us look inside:

This is the room set up for Queen Mary once she was crowned in England but she never returned to Het Loo. Why? Mary died of smallpox at the age of 32.

Notice the blue and white flower pagoda. Mary collected Asian porcelain and Delftware which you can see in other rooms.

William had a large collection of paintings. Mary’s vases and his paintings.

Then here is a place with mirrors to double the collection of porcelain but Mary died and so William put all her books in it. A great chair to sit in.

Now for the pre-war section.

Bedroom. I particularly like the movement in the flower arrangement.

The nursery. Everything so detailed as for a little adult.

Ah, a close up of those transitory flowers amongst so much age.

Then for a view of the gardens from the roof and then we will walk in them.

Order, symmetric, discipline

hedging, water

Power, awe,

A who lives here and thinks of this?

And as we walk amongst this there is this

What is this? It’s an office in the garden with one way glass and a pond. An inside outside. Look at it from the outside.

It is the work of Rob Voerman. Research his work a little it is interesting.

A large blue and white urn, decorative on the fine terracotta coloured brickwork with fountains large and small.

Lawn made into a maze with a central tree sculptured by time with its surroundings well placed.

The last of the tulips they must have been lovely at the beginning of May.

Het Loo, a fine place, we saw it in late spring.

We travel on.

Take care,

Sandy 🙂