We are now publishing a large selection of new press images of Piet Oudolf’s garden at the Vandalorum Museum of Art & Design in Värnamo, Sweden. The images showcase, among other things, the inner courtyard’s perennial meadow, which was planted in spring 2025 and has now fully matured, blooming in a rich variety of colours.
The photographs were taken by John Nelander and are free to use for journalists and others reporting on Vandalorum.
Piet Oudolf's garden at the art and design museum Vandalorum in Värnamo in Sweden is his first at a cultural institution in Scandinavia. In 2022, Oudolf presented a remarkable master plan for the entire Vandalorum site (8.4 ha). In 2023, work began, and the first phase—transforming the museum’s entrance area—was transformed by the planting of 26,000 perennials, 47,000 bulbs, and 7,000 shrubs, trees, and hedge plants, all according to Oudolf´s vision. Two years later, in 2025, the second phase of the masterplan was completed, namely the courtyard, which forms the heart of Vandalorum. The courtyard has been transformed into a bowl-shaped plant environment designed for visitors to experience and enjoy. It features a meadow with 8,000 perennials, artworks, rest areas, walkways, spaces for educational activities, and an outdoor seating area for the museum’s restaurant guests.
“A garden is not a painting that you look at, but a dynamic process that changes all the time.” — Piet Oudolf
About Piet Oudolf
Oudolf has created gardens worldwide, including the plantings at The High line in New York, Vitra in Weil am Rhein, and Noma in Copenhagen. He is a pioneer in the movement that since the 1980s has advocated for alternatives to decorative and strictly controlled gardens. The inspiration is instead drawn from nature, with a focus on perennials, grasses, and shrubs of which many traditionally have not been considered garden plants. Oudolf's strong visual expression is rootedin his deep knowledge of plants, and is characterized by unique combinations, flowing forms, and shifting sightlines.
Piet Oudolf's garden at Vandalorum is made possible by:
Christina Hamrin, Bengt & Gunnel Liljedahl, Mats Skogsfors, Bengt Svenstig, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts/Hjalmar Wicander's Fund, Bertil & Britt Svenssons Foundation for Lightning
Amidst the fields on the outskirts of Värnamo in Sweden you will find Vandalorum, a museum presenting the most influential art and design today. A few minutes away, freeway E4 meets highway 27, which together connect Sweden. Vandalorum’s initiator is Sven Lundh and the build-up of Vandalorum is supported by the business families Hamrin, Liljedahl and Svenstig. The buildings, reminiscent of the monumental barn that once dominated the site, are built according to an original concept by the award-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano. One of Vandalorum’s four barns is the home of Smålands Konstarkiv, whose exhibitions primarily highlight artists associated with Småland. Vandalorum's garden is designed by the Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf.