Jacques Wirtz was born at Schoten, Belgium, in 1924 and founded his own firm in 1950. It began with garden design but the work has broadened into landscpape architecture. Jacque Wirtz' sons, Martin and Peter, joined the Antwerp firm in 1990. They aim to work with the spirit of the place and with its architecture. Wirtz has a sculptural approach to the use of evergreens and a painterly approach to herbaceous planting. This makes at attractive combination, but one which, in artistic terms is more backward- than forward-looking. One could see the garden design work as a 'Hidcote and Sissinghurst' approach with a more contemporary use of hedging and materials. Peter and Martin Wirtz design work, as Wirtz International, is more quirky. The book by Patrick Taylor (on The Gardens of Wirtz, 2004)ï¾ can scarcely be regarded as unbiased and the suspicion remains that the sons lack their father's undoubted design flair.
Gardens designed by Wirtz, Jacques
