James van Sweden: The Poetry of the New American Garden
- Quiet Ink
- Nov 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 11
The Designer Who Painted with Grasses
To walk through a James van Sweden garden was to walk through light itself. Co-founder of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, van Sweden (1935–2013) redefined American landscape architecture in the late 20th century by rejecting manicured perfection in favour of movement, seasonality, and texture.
His work became synonymous with the “New American Garden” — a bold, painterly approach that blended structure with spontaneity. For van Sweden, a garden was not a static composition, but a living symphony that evolved daily with wind, shadow, and time.
From Architecture to Landscape
Trained as an architect, van Sweden brought an architectural rigor to naturalism. His collaboration with Wolfgang Oehme, a German-born plantsman, transformed American garden design forever. Together, they replaced clipped lawns and boxwood parterres with sweeps of native grasses, perennials, and bulbs, blurring the line between garden and meadow.
This approach was revolutionary — especially in a cultural moment that favoured neat lawns and predictable flowerbeds. Their work spoke of ecology before ecology was fashionable, proving that a designed landscape could be both sustainable and profoundly aesthetic.
Design as Gesture, Not Grid
While John Brookes built his philosophy on the measured line and the human grid, van Sweden painted in motion. His gardens were not mapped in strict geometry but in gestural strokes of form and colour.
He described his planting plans as “brushstrokes across the earth.” The repetition of form — a drift of miscanthus, a rhythm of echinacea — created compositions that shifted with wind and season.
Key principles of his style included:
Mass planting for unity and visual rhythm.
Contrast in texture, pairing fine grasses with bold perennials.
Loose structure, balanced by deliberate architectural anchors.
Seasonal narrative, where decay was as beautiful as bloom.
The Power of Atmosphere
Van Sweden understood atmosphere as deeply as form. He designed for sensation — the sound of grasses, the play of shadow, the coolness of morning mist. His gardens were immersive experiences rather than visual compositions.
He often said that “a garden is not meant to be looked at, but to be felt.” This humanistic approach resonated beyond the United States, influencing designers across Europe who were already exploring naturalistic planting — from Piet Oudolf in the Netherlands to Nigel Dunnett in the UK.
Landscapes of Emotion
Van Sweden’s gardens were never neutral. They carried emotion — serenity, vitality, nostalgia. His preference for native and naturalised species lent authenticity to his designs; they belonged to the land rather than sitting upon it.
Even in urban projects, such as the World War II Memorial and the Federal Reserve Board Garden in Washington D.C., his plantings softened monumental architecture with fluid, organic movement. The result was a new kind of public landscape — both civic and soulful.
The New American Garden: A Philosophy of Freedom
The New American Garden style emerged from van Sweden and Oehme’s shared belief that nature should not be trimmed into submission. Instead, it should be celebrated for its wildness within order — a managed spontaneity.
This philosophy was more than aesthetic; it was cultural. It represented a break from European formality, asserting a uniquely American expression of landscape — democratic, open, diverse.
For UK readers, his approach echoes the spirit of naturalism found in the English landscape movement, yet with a distinctly modern cadence. It was less about pastoral illusion and more about ecological truth.
Mentorship and Influence
Though his work was rooted in the U.S., van Sweden’s influence became global. His firm trained a generation of designers who carried his ethos into contemporary practice:
Thomas L. Woltz, whose landscapes at Dumfries House and Cornwall’s Eden Project bear van Sweden’s textural signature.
Sheila Brady, his partner, who continues the OVS tradition of planting as architecture.
Countless designers who learned to replace ornamental restraint with botanical expression.
As with John Brookes, van Sweden believed deeply in mentorship. He shared his vision through books such as Gardening with Nature and Architecture in the Garden, blending poetry with precision.
Lessons from a Master of Movement
As a designer, I found van Sweden’s work transformative. His gardens taught me to trust in the process of change — to design for light, not for permanence. Where Brookes gave me geometry, van Sweden gave me rhythm.
His line was not drawn but implied, his grid invisible but felt. It was a kind of choreography, where every blade of grass participated in the dance.
In my own projects, whether private estates or contemporary courtyards, I carry his lessons forward:
Allow planting to lead architecture, not follow it.
Design for seasonal contrast and natural decay.
Let imperfection become part of the aesthetic story.
Humanity in Design
Van Sweden’s work stands as a counterpoint to rigidity. He believed design should restore emotional connection to the land. His landscapes remind us that gardens are not about control, but collaboration — with nature, with time, and with the people who inhabit them.
His gardens were democratic in spirit: accessible, unpretentious, profoundly humane. They invited touch, movement, and contemplation in equal measure.
Legacy and Continuum
After his passing in 2013, the Oehme, van Sweden firm continued his vision, evolving toward new ecological expressions without losing the essence of his approach. Today, designers worldwide reinterpret his principles through a climate-conscious lens — the wild garden, redefined.
His influence can be traced through public parks, estates, and even small urban courtyards. Wherever designers seek authenticity, movement, and seasonal beauty, his voice endures.
In Dialogue with the British Landscape
For a UK audience, van Sweden’s legacy feels both foreign and familiar. His meadows echo Capability Brown’s borrowed landscapes yet with a modern ecological consciousness. His spontaneity parallels the Sheffield School of planting design, led by James Hitchmough and Nigel Dunnett.
Where Brookes gave structure to British gardens, van Sweden reminds us to loosen it — to let the light and air shape form as much as design does.
The Garden as Living Art
James van Sweden’s greatest gift was the idea that the garden is alive in time, not trapped in design. Each gust of wind, each shadow, each bloom became part of the composition.
In a world increasingly digital and fixed, his work feels revolutionary again — tactile, sensory, slow. It invites the viewer to step in, not just look on.
He once said,
“We design with nature, not against it. The wildness is the beauty.”
In Reflection
James van Sweden’s landscapes are more than gardens; they are philosophies of being. His sense of movement, humility before nature, and painterly use of plants changed how we think about beauty and balance.
For those of us working today, he remains a quiet mentor — reminding us that design is not just about space, but about the emotion of belonging within it.
Through every wind-swept border, every play of shadow, his voice whispers: “Let it grow.”
