Horticulture manager Erin Monda reveals what it's like to work in a garden designed by Piet Oudolf. Discover nine more gardeners' stories in our November 2026 issue.

Published: November 3, 2026 at 10:52 am

To mark our November issue of Gardens Illustrated , which is guest edited by the legendary Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf , we are talking to 10 of the gardeners and horticulturists who care for the gardens he has created over the years.

First up is Erin Monda, horticulture manager at the new Calder Gardens art space in Philadelphia, which saw its first growing season this year. Piet’s landscape there includes a meadow, woodland, sloping and sunken areas, and a ‘robust border’, all on a 7,000-square-metre trapezoidal lot enclosed by four busy roads of honking cars and bike commuters.

Erin Monda

Calder Gardens is unique because of the way art, architecture, and landscape are integrated into a single immersive experience.…