Botanical Garden and Nursery with a worldwide collection of Bamboo, Grasses & Hardy Exotics
Gelderland
Update season 2025: Starting from March 2025 we have a limited number of places available for Wwoofing/horticultural internships at our botanical nursery.
You can apply for wwoofing at our nursery. Please apply with your CV and motivation letter if you are interested in learing to grow and work with our type of plants, wanting to start your own nursery or landscaping work in the future. Kind regards, Johan
In our botanical nursery we test and produce many new, unknown plants with emphasis on bamboo, ornamental grasses, gingers and various kinds of bold leaf plants, Arums and shrubs. During the last couple of decades we have collected many intereseting plants and visitited natural habitats and collections around the globe. The plants are produced by means of ecological sound organic principles. Johan also works as a landscape designer making plans for private gardens, public parcs, urban projects, wellness, recreational parcs and special projects in Holland and elswhere around the world.
Please be prepared to do basic garden work like pruning, weeding, watering, fertilizing, potting, digging and planting etc. Apart from that, I will share my knowledge with you depending on your interest. The nursery has a production area, plant sale store and a showgardens.
The nursery is located in the riverine area in the middle of The Netherlands. The district is called 'De Betuwe', it is an area with a high concentration of orchards (mainly apple and pear) along river 'De Linge' with a nice sceenery to explore by bike. We have easy connections to cities like Utrecht, 's-Hertogenbosch (15-30 min)
We have a private accommodation available at the nursery. It is complete with hot shower, small kitchen, fridge, oven, furnuture, toilet, heating, coolfan, bike, WiFi etc. We also have an unheated caravan available with electricity during summer. The nursery is situated 20 km south of Utrecht and a trainstation is close by (10 min walking distance).
Non-smoking and no drugs! Please send a motivation email with some personal information. Because of busy work at the nursery it might take some time for us to reply. Minimum wwoofing period is 1 month or more.
Organic methods: ABOUT PERK BOTANICAL GARDEN & NURSERY
Quality plants with care for the environment
We grow manually propagated quality plants to ensure the original species characteristics. Our plants are produced outdoor according to ecologically sound methods in our production field and in containers with our own compost and organic fertilizers to make them hardy and healthy for direct use in the garden.
Warning: many bamboo plants that are available in garden centers, are derived from tissue culture (in vitro). With this method of cultivation, plants are artificially propagated in a laboratory. The bamboos from this origin often show growth failures and loss of vitality. For this reason we only work with traditional, manually propagated plants by dividing our own mother plants or making root cuttings from the original plants. In this way we are assured of the original species characteristics.
Working method
At our botanical nursery we continuously collect and observe new species and selections. By exchanging knowledge and experiences with fellow pioneering plantsman Hans Prins and Jos van der Palen we frequently evaluate the qualities of new species. From this pioneering spirit, we are always looking for improvements and additions to our collection. Once a plant has proven itself in the show garden, showing additional value, we include the species in our cultivation plan. Of course, there are often small numbers of new plants available for the adventurer which are still partly under observation. Criteria besides shape, color, texture and weather resistance of a plant are also disease resistance, cultivation and maintenance.
Closed production cycle
At the nursery, all crop residues, pruned stems and twigs, leaves, grass clippings etc are shredded and composted with aeration, moisture control and microorganisms and converted into the main raw material for the nursery: humus compost. To this compost we add volcanic powder, clay, peat and organic fertilizers to create the ideal basis for a healthy ecological cultivation.
Local production
Although our bamboos, grasses and exotic plants are collected in different continents, the plants we grow and sell at our plant store are propagated locally at our nursery. After collection of the appropriate starting material in the form of seeds or rhizomes (roots) on site we observe the plants and bring the best into cultivation. So we don’t import our sale stock that may or may not lawfully be collected in the wild!
Environment
Beside beautiful plants we also produce tons of clean oxygen and en passant our plants also fixate tons of greenhouse gases. Plants contribute to a cleaner and more pleasant environment. Especially bamboo has a high environmental activity. Rapid growth means faster absorption of greenhouse gases which are converted into fresh oxygen and biomass. Evergreen bamboo groves also contribute to cleaner air (capturing fine dust particulates), noise reduction and water retention in urban areas. If you have a project in which environmental issues are important, pleas
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Learning opportunities
Forestry
Flower farming
Green Building
Renewable energy production
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Johan
Member since 2019
Languages spoken:
Dutch, English
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 5 days
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Open
Planned visit
Closed
Gelderland
Nearby airports: Eindhoven, Schiphol (Amsterdam), Rotterdam, Weeze (Germany)
International bus: Eurolines, Flixbus (Utrecht/Arnhem/Nijmegen/'s-Hertogenbosch)
Train: trainstation Beesd (line Geldermalsen - Dordrecht), 10 minutes walking in western direct
Reviews
Peter
Slovenia
•
June 2023
Johan is a kind and considered host, and his knowledge and understanding of Bamboo and other plants is tremendous. His business partner Pieter, with whom I worked with the most, is also very knowledgeable and kind. Both together make a great team and I can recommend the nursery to anyone who wants to get practical and applicable knowledge of nursery work. Since I stayed during the spring period, I learned most about propagation and production of bamboo, ornamental grasses and gingers. I also learned a lot about thanking care of the plants, and the experience and knowledge I gathered will stay with me for life.
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Chad
United Kingdom
•
June 2018
I had such a fantastic time with Johan and the guys at Perk Groen in Beesd. Johan was an amazing host who was so kind and helpful to me doing all he could to help me begin my time in the Netherlands. I learned alot and was really happy I chose this as my first wwoofing place here in Holland. Johan is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and so willing to share. I can't say enough good things about my time there. What a great experience it was I fell even more in love with Holland while I was there and 5 weeks flew by as if it was only 2. Once again guys thanks so much for having me!! I hope to see you all again soon.
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Karlo
Serbia
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August 2017
First, I planned to stay two months, to learn about horticulture, but after all, I spent almost 4 months! Very beautiful place for education about botanics, and also searching for inside harmony working with plants. For every my personal need, or wish to learn more, Johan was really obliging, and we will stay friends forewer. Also, Bamboo was for me a new discover, with so much different ways of use. It was also very good point for discovering the Netherlands by bicycle from inside. For someone who truly like work with plants, I warmly recommind this place.
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James
Netherlands
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March 2017
I couldnt not have had a better first experience at wwoofing. Working and living at Perk Bamboo was a great environment with good facilities and friendly staff. I learnt so much about new plant species, nursery work and landscaping. And not to mention plenty of Dutch! Johan was a fantastic host who was friendly, approachable and very willing to teach me anything. His family were also very welcoming and friendly. Thankyou for everything!
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Pol
Spain
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October 2016
Perk Bamboo Nursery is the perfect place to work as a woofer. Johan, his family, his friends and all the people around are very welcoming and friendly. The accommodation and the conditions of work and living are unbeatable! What I learned there about plants, more than a lot, change my perspective about the world of landscaping.
Jesse
Canada
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April 2016
It was my pleasure to work at Perk Bamboo Nursery. Johan has a great wealth of knowledge and if you are looking to learn he is a great teacher. Always busy with different projects this is a lively nursery. The accommodation was adequate and provides all the necessities in a comfortable guest house. Very close to public transport and the village has everything you'd need in a pinch. Thank you for the great experience!
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