Piet Oudolf

Piet Oudolf

2019 Medal of Honor

In recognition of his revolutionary genius, designing gardens that paint nature with vivid compositions, where visitors enjoy the beauty of plants in all seasons.

Proposed by: The Garden Club of Michigan, Zone X

Piet Oudolf’s work transcends conventional definitions of gardening and horticulture. He has revolutionized garden design, forever changing how visitors experience public gardens. With a vast knowledge of plants, his intricate planting style inspires visitors to enjoy his gardens twelve months of the year, finding beauty in the seedheads and the movement of grasses as well as the flowers of summer. His impressive body of work includes the High Line in New York and Lurie Garden in Chicago, gardens at Manhattan’s Battery Park, the Goldman Sachs headquarters in NYC, and the new Delaware Botanic Gardens. His most recent project, a garden in Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, will be his first garden commissioned by a garden club. As a leading figure of the “New Perennial” movement and author of nine acclaimed books, Piet Oudolf embodies the mission of The Garden Club of America. His influence runs deep, reaching environmentalists, horticulturists, landscape architects, gardeners, architects, artists, curators, and creative people around the world.

 

The Medal of Honor is awarded for outstanding service to horticulture.

The medal was designed in 1920 by sculptor John Flanagan who also designed the U.S. quarter dollar coin, first issued in 1932. The Medal of Honor was endowed in 1963 by the Bedford (New York) Garden Club in memory of their member, Mrs. Arthur Marvin Anderson. Previous winners include Henry Francis DuPont (1956), Judith D. Zuk (2000), and P. Allen Smith (2006).

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