John Bergmans, garden architect and botanist

John Bergmans was a garden architect who grew into a botanist, grower and author of books on the world of plants.

John Bergmans designed villa gardens, neighbourhood green spaces, botanical gardens, recreation parks, and cemeteries in Noord-Brabant and Limburg. This online exhibition showcases some stunning examples of his work from the interwar period and the Post-World War II reconstruction. A number of his designs are now national heritage sites or protected townscapes. Special Collections curates a large portion of Bergman’s oeuvre, including nearly 700 design sketches.

About the exhibition

This online exhibition drew extensively from John Bergmans, 1892-1980: tuinarchitect en plantenkenner (John Bergmans, 1892-1980: Garden Architect and Botanist) by Johanna Karssen-Schüürmann and Marianne van Lidth de Jeude (Bonas, 2018. ISBN 978-90-8704-750-4). Research for this book was based on John Bergmans design oeuvre, which was donated in 1980 to Wageningen University & Research Library - Special Collections. It was carried out under the auspices of the Bonas Association, the Wageningen University & Research Library - Special Collections and the Dutch National Garden Society.
Book cover of John Bergmans, 1892-1980: tuinarchitect en plantenkenner. Hilversum: Bonas, 2018.
Book cover of John Bergmans, 1892-1980: tuinarchitect en plantenkenner. Hilversum: Bonas, 2018.