Why Hortiwijk?

I can’t remember the first time I planted a seed and saw it grow, but I do remember the feeling of wonder. Even now, whenever a seed I sow germinates, I stop to watch. Something tiny begins to appear, and it draws me in every time.

Horticulture, at its core, is about caring for and growing plants. Crops, gardens, trees, shrubs, and the landscapes we pass through every day exist because of patience, attention, and a willingness to nurture what we’ve been given.

That love of plants didn’t begin with me.

My roots go back to Harderwijk, a city in the Netherlands where parts of my family have lived for generations. It’s a place deeply connected to learning and the study of plants. Carl Linnaeus, the botanist who developed the Latin naming system we still use today, studied there. I find comfort in knowing that the language we use to understand plants was shaped, in part, by the same soil my family once walked on.

The name Hortiwijk brings those threads together.

Horti comes from horticulture—the art and science of growing plants for food, beauty, medicine, and the health of the land.
Wijk is a Dutch word meaning a district, neighborhood, or village—a place where people live, work, and belong.

Together, Hortiwijk suggests a cultivated community—a shared space shaped by care.

A nearby London plane tree holds a special meaning for me. It grew in my dad’s childhood backyard, on the same land where my Opa’s old town pharmacy once stood. He was very interested in what plants could teach us, especially their medicinal uses. That curiosity influenced my dad, who later studied horticulture. Over time, that interest was passed down again.

The tree still stands today—bigger now, quietly watching over that place and its history.

This blog is my space to share what I’ve learned from years of working with plants—both professionally and personally—and what I’m still discovering. Teaching, at its best, is simply paying attention and inviting others to do the same. When practiced thoughtfully, horticulture can be sustainable, diverse, and even regenerative. It can heal soil, support pollinators, restore damaged environments, and reconnect people with the land beneath their feet.

Hortiwijk isn’t just about expertise. It’s about noticing, caring, and sharing what we learn so we can tend to what we’ve been entrusted with more thoughtfully.

If this space becomes a small neighborhood of shared observation and care, then it’s doing what it was meant to do.

Welcome to Hortiwijk.